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Berkeley Breathed's Opus: The Complete Library: Sunday Comics: 2003-2008
It's Berkeley Breathed's final spin around the dance floor with his most quirky and endearing character-Opus. The Pleasant penguin has long been the moral center of the Berkley-verse, and nowhere is that as abundantly clear as in his own self-named book. Aside from our waddling friend, this book contains numerous characters readers will fondly remember from the days of Bloom County. This volume collects the entire run of Berkeley Breathed's Opus, from first to last, and features an introduction and running commentary from Breathed.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 27, 2012
37 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Berkeley Breathed
91 books415 followersGuy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed is an American cartoonist, children's book author/illustrator, director, and screenwriter, best known for Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip which dealt with socio-political issues as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters (e.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 25, 2022
Opus.
I revisited Breathed’s Bloom County comic earlier and thought I’d give this a try.
Seems he came back to Opus in 2003 and ran this as a weekly for a few years.
It’s not Bloom County. (sigh)_
I liked it, Opus is such a fun character, an Breathed’s playful political satire is amusing, and we see some of the old gang back like an older (but none the wiser) Steve Dallas. But this had the tone of a victory lap, which is all fine and good but …
Not Bloom County. We can never go home again.
I revisited Breathed’s Bloom County comic earlier and thought I’d give this a try.
Seems he came back to Opus in 2003 and ran this as a weekly for a few years.
It’s not Bloom County. (sigh)_
I liked it, Opus is such a fun character, an Breathed’s playful political satire is amusing, and we see some of the old gang back like an older (but none the wiser) Steve Dallas. But this had the tone of a victory lap, which is all fine and good but …
Not Bloom County. We can never go home again.
May 24, 2013
At times, the strip devolves into a sort of bewildered, "get off my lawn," old man ranting against the young and their newfangled devices vibe, but overall this is a satisfying last fling for one of pop culture's most enduring characters. Opus acts as a great observer of modern life, and an even better reaction to the craziness that often comes with the human condition. The ending is bittersweet but oddly perfect, and while I'll miss the little pudgepot, I take solace that I got to accompany him and the rest of the Bloom County crew on a thoroughly enjoyable 30 year ride. Goodnight, Opus.
August 22, 2018
Opus is mostly a retread of Bloom County with a slightly different characters in a Sunday-strip-only setting. When it's good, it's not quite as good as B.C. at its peak. I even missed the lack of strip commentary -- virtually all that was given is when he offered replacement strips. It feels like Breathed is finally getting tired of the idea of the comic strip. It would have been a sad place to end his run creatively, but it leaves the character Opus in a good spot.
I'm glad that Breathed got the cartooning itch again many years after this book ended.
I'm glad that Breathed got the cartooning itch again many years after this book ended.
March 15, 2016
Probably the most political comic strip starring an antropomorphic penguin, in existence. Several years after Bloom County ran it's course, Opus returned to comment on the insanity of Bush era.
Starting more or less as an solo series, Berkeley Breathed soon gets other well known characters like Steve Dallas and running gags like the always funny anxiety closet back into the mix. Since this new incarnation contains only sunday pages, there are no long storylines to be followed, which were the biggest strength of Bloom County. An exception to this, is the bittersweet goodbye to this universe at the end of the book.
But the wit and the courage to tackle uncomfortable topics is still there.
Starting more or less as an solo series, Berkeley Breathed soon gets other well known characters like Steve Dallas and running gags like the always funny anxiety closet back into the mix. Since this new incarnation contains only sunday pages, there are no long storylines to be followed, which were the biggest strength of Bloom County. An exception to this, is the bittersweet goodbye to this universe at the end of the book.
But the wit and the courage to tackle uncomfortable topics is still there.
July 30, 2025
After an eight year retirement from the funny pages, Breathed brought back Opus for a five year run. This time around, Opus is navigating through post 9/11 America. Near the end, this book gets meta as Opus goes on an existential journey to make peace with his creator. The last two strips are heartbreakingly beautiful.
January 19, 2013
Man, do I ever miss Bloom County. This book, though, isn't Bloom County. It's more of a reminder of what was a "golden age" of comic strips. And by golden age, I mean golden age in MY lifetime. There are comics that predate me (Peanuts, etc.) that are just as legendary.
But I digress.
As a kid who never understood the joys of the sports page, I would gravitate to the comics section of the Sunday newspaper each and every week. So my childhood and teens were spent on a solid diet of Berkeley Breathed and Bill Watterson. When Bloom County ended, I had the last strip cut out of my local newspaper, mounted on poster board, and pinned it up on the wall next to my Apple IIc.
I miss Bloom County.
Opus is a Sunday only comic that ran in the new millennium while print media was slowly spiraling into oblivion. As bad as political correctness was in the nineties, the past decade has taken the American mindset to such an extreme need for sanitized entertainment that it would have been impossible for Breathed to recreate the magic of Bloom County again... but dammit, he tried.
This book just missed the mark for me, though. Aside from the obvious limitations that newspapers put on the strip (there were at least three or four strips that noted that an alternate strip was sent along with it "just in case" the newspaper opted not to run it due to it's controversial content,) there were a couple of things that the book as whole did that made it less enjoyable.
1. A Lack of Notes: In the previous Bloom County and Outland volumes, Berkley Breathed and his editor would occasionally offer pop culture insight or side stories at the bottom of random strips. That is sorely missing from this volume.
2. Cohesion in Storytelling: Breathed did this in the beginning (introduced Steve Dallas appearing along with other characters,) but later in the narrative he just gave up. Binkley just shows up... the same age. No explanation. Oliver has a cameo and, again, no explanation. I know it's just a comic strip - but this bothered me for some reason.
I enjoyed reading the book for the feeling of closure. In the end, though, "Opus" just serves as a reminder of how great Bloom County was by showing that there couldn't be a Bloom County again.
But I digress.
As a kid who never understood the joys of the sports page, I would gravitate to the comics section of the Sunday newspaper each and every week. So my childhood and teens were spent on a solid diet of Berkeley Breathed and Bill Watterson. When Bloom County ended, I had the last strip cut out of my local newspaper, mounted on poster board, and pinned it up on the wall next to my Apple IIc.
I miss Bloom County.
Opus is a Sunday only comic that ran in the new millennium while print media was slowly spiraling into oblivion. As bad as political correctness was in the nineties, the past decade has taken the American mindset to such an extreme need for sanitized entertainment that it would have been impossible for Breathed to recreate the magic of Bloom County again... but dammit, he tried.
This book just missed the mark for me, though. Aside from the obvious limitations that newspapers put on the strip (there were at least three or four strips that noted that an alternate strip was sent along with it "just in case" the newspaper opted not to run it due to it's controversial content,) there were a couple of things that the book as whole did that made it less enjoyable.
1. A Lack of Notes: In the previous Bloom County and Outland volumes, Berkley Breathed and his editor would occasionally offer pop culture insight or side stories at the bottom of random strips. That is sorely missing from this volume.
2. Cohesion in Storytelling: Breathed did this in the beginning (introduced Steve Dallas appearing along with other characters,) but later in the narrative he just gave up. Binkley just shows up... the same age. No explanation. Oliver has a cameo and, again, no explanation. I know it's just a comic strip - but this bothered me for some reason.
I enjoyed reading the book for the feeling of closure. In the end, though, "Opus" just serves as a reminder of how great Bloom County was by showing that there couldn't be a Bloom County again.
September 20, 2013
Nice to get a collection of the Opus strips, as I don't think these were carried by anyone in the UK. While they never quite reach the heights of Bloom County, possibly because the Sunday only format didn't really allow for any particular narrative, there are still good proportion of incisive and funny cartoons.
The final writing out of Opus is both moving and appropriate. After 25 odd years as the penguin savant, he finally gets to rest where he most wants to be.
The final writing out of Opus is both moving and appropriate. After 25 odd years as the penguin savant, he finally gets to rest where he most wants to be.
January 27, 2022
I think the longer break taken between Outland and this worked in this strip's favor (as opposed to the lack of break between Bloom County and Outland). It feels much more refreshing and slightly less flat than Outland. Still, there is a lot of repeat from the Bloom County years and occasionally the humor verges on old-man-doesn't-underatand-the-youths nonsense which, becoming an old man myself, I find less and less funny.
The artwork in this collection is often surprisingly beautiful.
The artwork in this collection is often surprisingly beautiful.
January 17, 2025
It`s Berkeley Breathed; how can you go wrong here. He created one of the best series of comic strips of all time with Bloom County and it's spinoffs, taking you back up to 40 years of history. Funny how things in the political world never seem to change! It's nice to take a break from my history and nonfiction books and grab something great like this and kick back and have a laugh.
April 30, 2018
Reading these strips that are now 10+ years old, I'm not sure if I should be sad or comforted that "the more things change, the more they stay the same". A few minor changes and most of these strips could have been written today.
February 19, 2022
Nostalgiia to the max... one of my favorite strips, back by popular demand. Not as intensely funny as the strip when it was day to day, it's still a delightful roll in the dandelions with Opus and his new friends.
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June 1, 2023A journey with familiar friends
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.
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.
June 25, 2024
I remember when this strip debuted, the newspaper made a big deal about it. I was too young to remember Bloom County and Outland, and most of the jokes went over my head. Revisiting it now, I think it's Breathed's best work. It is colorful and funny and as inventive as ever.
June 16, 2020
Always great
The humor and intelligence is his comics are inspiring. He continues to mix it up with all sides. That's why I love his work.
The humor and intelligence is his comics are inspiring. He continues to mix it up with all sides. That's why I love his work.
October 22, 2021
Pogo redux
It could be reincarnation and the great circle of life goes on. Where is the cartoonist that undererstand s Trump? They cancelled Non sequitur!
It could be reincarnation and the great circle of life goes on. Where is the cartoonist that undererstand s Trump? They cancelled Non sequitur!
April 10, 2022
A lot of these strips were missing something that would return sporadically and then more permanently in 2015. The end will destroy you, even knowing that a return was on the horizon.
June 27, 2017
The 'final' collection of Bloom County strips that mainly feature Opus and Steve Dallas before Berkeley Breathed's current revival of the series on Facebook, it starts with Opus in Antarctica deciding to return to Bloom County.
But how things have moved on. Many of his friends from the Bloom County strip are not present. Steve Dallas appears, but is now older (but not much wiser) and has a son! Bill the Cat is there, unchanged (but then, it hard to tell if he has changed). The strips also have a bitter overtone to the humour; more biting and ranting at the then political and cultural situation in the US.
But the ending of the collection all but makes up for it; for Opus is detained by Homeland Security and by the last panel, Steve Dallas appears to save him. But in the end, Opus does not need saving; for he is, at last, really in his happy place.
But how things have moved on. Many of his friends from the Bloom County strip are not present. Steve Dallas appears, but is now older (but not much wiser) and has a son! Bill the Cat is there, unchanged (but then, it hard to tell if he has changed). The strips also have a bitter overtone to the humour; more biting and ranting at the then political and cultural situation in the US.
But the ending of the collection all but makes up for it; for Opus is detained by Homeland Security and by the last panel, Steve Dallas appears to save him. But in the end, Opus does not need saving; for he is, at last, really in his happy place.
May 6, 2015
Reading this last volume of Breathed's comics, I realized that I missed quite a few of the Opus Sunday strips. None of the local newspapers carried it. Like the previous collections, I can only marvel at the craziness we seem to be reliving over and over again. Kind of scary too. Scratch that. Without Opus to help navigate life, it's frakkin' terrifying.
August 4, 2013
Take a trip back to the Bush years... Although I really never want to revisit that nightmare, these strips had me laughing out loud a lot!
June 5, 2015
this was my week for disappointing reads. I had forgotten that I didn't like OPUS as much as Bloom County or even Outland. oh well....
February 15, 2014
No Opus! Do not go!
April 19, 2022
The definitive collection of Breathed's final (until _Bloom County 2015_) comic strip. Opus remains the befuddled everyman we all wish we could, at some level, be. Plus, funny as all get out.
November 23, 2021
(Humble Comics Bundle: Bloom County 2019)
Possibly my favorite Berkeley Breathed so far. (I’m reading them in order from the beginning.)
Possibly my favorite Berkeley Breathed so far. (I’m reading them in order from the beginning.)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews