Berkeley Breathed Quitting Opus

Image from source, MSNBC

If there is an axiom for our age, it is that brilliant cartoonists retire their strips, and mediocre-to-bad cartoonists let them run forever. And ever.

There was a day when the comics section was the best part of the paper. The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes were must reads, but my favorite was always Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. His odd assortment of humans and anthropomorphic animals lampooned 80s America. It wasn't always--or even usually--a flattering reflection, but it was almost always funny.

In fact, reading a compilation of Bloom County can usually reduce me to fits of giggles, complete with tears and fogged glasses. Much of the humor was provided by a regular roster of characters, with names and personalities I'll never forget: Milo, Binkley, Steve Dallas, Lola Granola, Rosebud, Oliver, Hodge Podge, and of course, Opus the penguin.

Breathed cancelled his strip, in favor of a weekends-only mind-trippy strip called Outland. It was at first quite a departure, and not all fans were impressed. Eventually though, it segued into a weekend Bloom County, sort of. Still, it was something. But somewhere along the way, Calvin and Hobbes' and The Far Side's creators, Bill Watterson and Gary Larson, cancelled their strips too. And eventually, so did Breathed.

This left a gaping hole in the funnies that just couldn't be replaced. What was left were retreads and imitators. Strips that hadn't been funny in years still weren't. I gave up. And then came Opus, another version of Breathed's classic strip, still only on Sundays. The few times I've read it, it has been a blast from the past, and simultaneously very timely. And still funny.

But I stopped reading the funny papers, and getting back in the habit--especially for one lonely strip--just never came to pass. I suppose it's just as well, since Breathed is now cancelling his third take on his characters. And since I've missed most of them, I can wait patiently for a new (to me) collection of all new cartoons!

[Excerpt]

‘Opus’ creator to retire from comic strips
Berkeley Breathed is running contest asking fans to guess penguin's fate

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is retiring, leaving a hole in Sunday comics pages after nearly 30 years because he wants to save his strip’s main character, Opus, from being dragged down in the current political climate. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the tip.