I got hooked on Bloom County in college and not only read it our university newspaper, but I bought the softbound collections. Someone even got me a small, stuffed Opus the Penguin that I still have on my bookshelf in my office.
For those of you who don’t know, Bloom County was a Pulitzer-Prize-winning comic strip penned by Berkley Breathed. The initial star of the strip was Milo Bloom, a young newspaper reporter with a penchant toward the sensationalized story. However, Opus, the penguin with a big nose soon became the star.
There were many other interesting characters such as Binkley, the confused best friend of Milo; Steve Dallas, an unethical and ineffective lawyer; Lola Granola, the hippie; Cutter John, the wheelchair-bound vet; Rosebud the basselope and others whose names escape me at the moment.
Breathed’s storylines went after anyone and everyone on all sides of the political spectrum. He was actually better balanced than many of the newspapers his work appeared in. He was also funny. I found myself not only laughing at how he made fun of the positions I didn’t like but I could even laugh at his take on the positions I supported.
Now, the entire comic strip is being collected to be released in five volumes. Bloom County: The Complete Collection, Volume One has been released and I’m reliving my college days. This volume offers margin notes with information about the subject matter in the comics and also gives them some context. This is useful for younger readers because many of the storylines skewered current events of the 1980’s.
Read it and enjoy. That’s what I’m doing.
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