Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope

BLOOM COUNTY is back, and it hasn't lost its touch. This isn't OUTLAND. This is the genuine article. (Please note that all sentences here end with two spaces.)

To the uninitiated, Bloom County might seem wholly alien in its concept and execution, as if from another time.That’s fine. That’s because, it is. It is from a better time. And a better place.For those of us lucky enough to have been graced by the original strip during the 80s and early 90s, Episode XI has almost a canonical significance. For Bloom County religious fanatics, this volume serves almost as a lost testament, not unlike the Dead Sea Scrolls. Only in better condition, and available through Amazon (and on Kindle).The richness of the Bloom County editorial tapestry is hard to understate; Breathed won a Pulitzer for his work, and very deservedly so. If you are new to Bloom County, you are cheating yourself of the richness of the experience if you don’t start from the beginning, and Bill the Cat’s various spiritual awakenings (and blackouts) over the course of his several lives, (and rumored deaths), his various cult group affiliations, Communist defections, and peripatetic presidential candidacies.With the utter lack of civility and original thinking in today’s editorial discourse, it is refreshing to return to the tableau of Breathed’s Bloom County, where his familiar cast of characters represent not only us, but also the pitfalls and hopes of society in general, and give us some ability to poke fun at the absurdity of our existence.If introspection completely fails you in every aspect of your life, Bloom County is likely not the comic for you. If, on the other hand, you find this random walk as absurd as the rest of us, you will surely find kinship with Opus, Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, Milo, Rosebud, Oliver, Binkley, and hopefully all other characters that have yet to return from the crypt of Breathed’s twisted genius of superhuman imagination.Oop Ack!

My life had been going along, ho-hum, this-that, bliz-blaz... and then The Donald threw what would have been a hat, had it been able to totter upon his pompadour, into the "Hey, Who Wants to Run For President?" ring. After the momentary stillness, that moment when men reach down to reassure themselves their testicles are still there, Berkeley Breathed came roaring back on Facebook with a form of salvation only seen in the funny papers. My heart awoke. Opus had returned from a 25 year sleep, Binkley's anxiety closet was rocking, and Steve Dallas had a bedpan on his head.Berkeley Breathed is back--and no one can tell him NO. He invites us to visit Bloom County, share moments with the gang, and whatever your political stance, we all leave the Meadow feeling good about ourselves. This is the magic of Bloom County.I have seen the majority of the strips in the book on FB, but that hasn't stopped me from laughing out loud as I've turned the pages. And now that it's socially acceptable for grown-ups to color, some of the pages, umm, don't look like the original rendering. But I know I'm forgiven.If you want to see one of the most talented comic strip writers in an uncensored state, BUY THIS BOOK. When I say "uncensored" I am not implying cuss words are present. Nope. Nopity nope. Welcome back, Berkeley.Note: A word of caution for we oldsters who read the funnies on the living room floor every Sunday, trying not to spill our cereal on the rug... Silly Putty will not pick up an image off a computer screen. It still bounces, though, so there's that.

This book brought a smile to my face. I cannot believe how much I missed Bloom County and Opus since I started reading the new adventures of Milo, Opus, Steve Dallas and the others. The Christmas subplot of Steve Dallas spending time with a young boy struggling with chemo was perhaps the most moving story that Mr. Breathed has ever done.After Bloom County was "retired" years ago, I tried to find a replacement with Dilbert and other strips, but somehow it just didn't have the same heart as Opus and company. Thank goodness, Breathed did a partial comeback with "Outland," and "Opus."And just to be a pain, I would argue with the first sequence where Opus wakes up from his "twenty five year nap." He did woke up again in the above mentioned segments. So our favorite penguin hasn't been oblivious to what's been going on in the past three decades. Being picky like that is what makes a fan, a fan.Mr. Breathed can be both heartfelt and yet very, very snarky. I don't know if I could say or do anything to upset the balance of how and what he writes, but he's the best at what he does.Anyway, Opus is back. Steve Dallas is back. and IMHO the return of Bloom County is one of the best draws in the past [email protected]

I had (some how) not heard that Breathed was doing new Bloom County strips so when I saw this is was a must buy. I stopped counting how many times I laughed out loud while reading this. Some great athletes try to keep going well past their prime but in this case The Master has returned and he is just as good as he used to be! So many new situations to see the characters in and so many new pieces of tech for them to get introduced to.What could be the harm of Opus typing in two unrelated words to see how the internet works? He was shocked but I laughed like hell.Double BB thanks for taking it up again, glad to read you too are enjoying the work this time around.I still would like more comments by Berkeley on his own work but I also liked the messages left on facebook when the strips were released.If you like the old strip-buy the new.The book itself is a bit larger than most reprint strip collection, the have black and white "daily" strips and two page color Sunday strips.IDW please do more books like this with some of the modern Masters strips, Pickles, Frazz could be great additions.When's Episode XII? I am waiting.......

Bloom County used to be one of my favorite comics and I still love going back and reading the old books so it is not that I have grown up and changed my like of the characters during his retirement period, but rather what he has changed them into. I can fully understand his wanting to change and update the characters, but the new versions are all more dull and grey and just not funny. The only character who I would say has improved is Steve Dallas as he has transformed from funny but a total jerk to not funny but the most likeable of the lot. The two new books I got were also disappointing in that the covers advertised presumed narratives focused on Star Wars and Game of Thrones, yet there was only a bit of Star Wars splattered about in this one and almost no references to Game of Thrones in the Game of Thrones one. The other way he has changed in the negative was that before he was much more balanced in his political criticisms, but now he seems to have become one of these people locked in their basement being brainwashed into spewing propaganda like hitler youth when pretty much all politicians are jokes and should be universally mocked by cartoonists.

If this is what a 26 year absence can do for quality I am thinking of taking some serious time off. I have always liked Bloom County, but for fans rest assured this is not a pre-retiral money grubbing last gasp. I think it is fresher and funnier than the originals, For folks not familiar with the series worry not, it is current, funny and wonderfully drawn. Think the love child of Doonesbury (current politics and irreverence), Bill Waterson (imagination and beautifully drawn) and Breathed (bloke with a weird name), or maybe don't.I loved it. Best "new" comic I have read since Richard Thomson's "cul de sac".

Just enjoy,laugh out loud ,get weird looks on buses or trains,opus,bill,steve,cutter,enjoy these strips,make people, smile at you laughing out loud ,still the best ,just enjoy

This man is a genius.Every nuance of his prose and drawings oozes meaning. Lured out of retirement by the lunacy of the present US elections, Berkeley Breathed once again shows us what sideways humour is all about.

Excellent return to Bloom County from Berkeley Breathed. Had me laughing out loud from the start. Brilliant.