Cartoonist Bloom County Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus
Brilliant political cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is putting his penguin on ice, and will pull the plug on his comic-strip career and “Opus” after Nov. 2.
“Opus,” a 5-year-old Sunday comic with a madcap political bent, stars the pudgy penguin from Breathed’s classic “Bloom County” strip. It will end just before the presidential election.
In an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times, the 51-year-old cartoonist said: “30 years of cartooning to end. I’m destroying the village to save it. Opus would inevitably become a ranting mouthpiece in the coming wicked days, and I respect the other parts of him too much to see that happen. The Michael Moore part of me would kill the part of him that was important to his fans.”
On August 31, 2008, “the Creator” (Berkeley Breathed) spoke to Opus and hinted (foreshadowing) that the strip will end soon. The next week, Opus was visited by the ghost of Elvis who told Opus to find a place where he wants to be forever, because he will stay in that one spot after he “dies.” e.g., Elvis is condemned to sit on the toilet forever because that’s where he happened to be when he died.
“Opus” will end with an online contest asking readers to guess the fate of the penguin. At Breathed’s website there is a notice that “The Opus Paradise Contest” begins Oct. 12. The Times has not yet decided on a replacement for “Opus” on Sundays.
Berkeley has won a Pulitzer Prize for “Bloom County,” also writes screenplays, novels and children’s books. In a press release from the Washington Post Writers Group, which syndicates “Opus,” he said, “With the crisis in Wall Street and Washington, I’m suspending my comic strip to assist the nation. The best way I can help is to leave politics permanently and write funny stories for America’s kids. I call on John McCain to join me.”
Oh man this really hurts but it’s probably better this way for me. Nothing ever filled the void of “Bloom County” for me. I got my hopes up when Opus returned but it was not quite the same. R.I.P. Opus and Berkeley I will miss your brilliance!!
