OPUS by Berkeley Breathed: The Complete Sunday Strips from 2003-2008 (Bloom County)

From beginning to its bittersweet end this was a wonderful read, a trip down memory lane to a simpler time before there was such a thing as virtue signaling and false outrage.

First off, let me say that I am an independent conservative. Berkley Breathed is a liberal and PETA member. However, I enjoyed his earlier work in Bloom County and, to a lesser extent, Outland. He would pick on anybody, but he was never mean about it. As a conservative who has no use for political correctness, I can laugh at myself and others without having having to file a legal or federal case about it. He did such a good job of picking on those people (liberal, conservative, etc. etc.) that many requested signed copies of the strips that he picked on them. It was funny.In Opus, I see Berkley becoming more like Garry Trudeau with Doonesbury. He picks on conservatives, Rebulicans - and with more of a vicious (almost hateful) manner. Garry Trudeau doesn't mask he is a statist liberal who has nothing but hatred in his "heart" (if he even has one). Berkley's strips in this book take on a similar tone. There are some good ones in this book - The flashbacks and throwbacks to the Bloom County days. I think he has only drawn Milo Bloom like three times since Bloom County stopped. The commentary in this book is also lacking compared to the previous books.It is worth getting to complete the collection (the binding and outer cover are correct - no repeat of the previous problem with bindings). However, Bloom County fans, be prepared to be a bit disappointed. I am glad that Mr. Breathed finally decided to give up Bloom County / Outland / Opus. His work was not nearly as enjoyable as those in the past. If an artist is cranking out garbage for the sake of cranking out garbage, he needs to call it quits.Thank you, Mr. Breathed, for some great works. Despite 'Opus', I will continue to remember Bloom County with great fondness.

I've read a lot of comic strips as a child. As I grew up, I read less and less, but I continued to read The Far Side, Bloom County pretty much every day. When both of those classic strips ended, so did my daily routine.... Until Berkeley Breathed brought Opus back for an encore. Believe it or not, I re-subscribed to the local newspaper, just so I could read it.Unfortunately, he retired the character and the strip a few years later, so this book essentially captures every Sunday strip from the series. It brings back such great memories, not just of the strip itself, because it also reminds me of the people, places and things of that era.In my case, I ordered the Kindle version, because I've made it a point to stop buying printed books, so I was concerned that it would be hard to read on screen, but I'm happy to say it's absolutely beautiful. I can zoom in when I need to, but for the most part, it looks great as-is.

This follows the collection of Breathed's Bloom County and Outland series and is much the same, as entertaining and enlightening as those other volumes. All Color Sunday strips with some limited commentary near some strips. REALLY wish he had put more comments in but as he sometimes remarks it was hard to recall what he was thinking when he did certain strips. The volume matches the other works in the collection and BB could be as hard hitting as Doonesbury but was usually much funnier. Opus was a cultural hero that too many missed! Pick this up and get acquainted or reacquainted with one who should be the best known Penguin in the world this side of Burgess Meredith. Very Good Quality in the work and book format.

It could be reincarnation and the great circle of life goes on. Where is the cartoonist that undererstand s Trump? They cancelled Non sequitur!

BB real insight I am sure for most us was his ability to tie the characters to us with common vulnerabilities. Yes the absurd to makes us smile yet common understanding to link us to a moment. Thank you

The artwork in this collection is great, and on occasion, Breathed reaches back and finds that special something that put him, at his best, in the same class as Schulz, Watterson, Trudeau and the early McGruder. Too often, however, he comes up short. Overall, one has the impression of an artist who, precisely at the moment when he has mastered the techniques of his craft, finds himself running on fumes. Not coincidentally, it was at this moment that Watterson walked away to focus on his paintings - to the benefit of Calvin and Hobbes. Breathed comes back for one more bout and, however happy we were to see him again, one can't shake the feeling that this fighter would have done himself a good turn by staying retired.

Highest marks for intellectual content plus meaningful silliness.(They say I need twelve more words. Am I part of the comic strip now?)

FInal(?) collection of strips from Berkeley Breathed featuring more of Opus the Penguin and friends. Great to visit what seems like old pals once more.

Finally, Breathed's final series is available. Been a fan since the early 80's, and have all of the Bloom County and Outland collections, and was eagerly awaiting this release. I was not disappointed! The artwork in the Opus series is the best of Breathed's work. We all wish Opus would return to the comics pages, and better yet, as a daily feature, but alas, it's not to be. The ending of the series was done in a heart warming way, too. Bloom County and Outland were both ended on a funny note, but the ending of this series made me feel truly happy for Opus, while at the same time feeling sad for the ending of the strip. Oh well, there are always the reruns and my books...

per chi conosce Bloom County ed i suoi personaggi, questa raccolta delle strip di Opus mostra purtroppo un andamento a calare sulla qualità dei "dialoghi" e storie, di contro il passaggio alle immagini digitali (ovvero il disegno rispetto a quanto visto in Bloom County e Outland è editato con effetti digitali) mostra vignette esteticamente molto curate, piene di dettagli.consigliato a chi ha già gli altri volumi di Bloom County e di Outland e desidera completare la collezione

Such a good strip! The Sunday strips sometimes continue ongoing story arcs but also stand alone as individual thoughts and delightful comments on the angst and joy that is life. The characters are brilliantly portrayed and draw us in to their weird and wonderful lives.So many dandelion fields!

love Berkeley