Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus: 'I'm destroying the village to save it'

EXCLUSIVE

Berkeley Breathed is putting his penguin on ice. The 51-year-old cartoonist said he will pull the plug on his comic-strip career and “Opus” after Nov. 2.

In an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times, the 51-year-old Breathed wrote, “30 years of cartooning to end. I’m destroying the village to save it. Opus would inevitably become a ranting mouthpiece in the coming wicked days, and I respect the other parts of him too much to see that happen. The Michael Moore part of me would kill the part of him that was important to his fans.”

"Opus," a 5-year-old Sunday comic with a madcap political bent, stars the pudgy penguin from Breathed’s classic “Bloom County” strip. It will end just before the presidential election.

Breathed, who won a Pulitzer Prize for “Bloom County,” also writes screenplays, novels and children’s books. In a press release from the Washington Post Writers Group, which syndicates “Opus,” he said, “With the crisis in Wall Street and Washington, I’m suspending my comic strip to assist the nation. The best way I can help is to leave politics permanently and write funny stories for America’s kids. I call on John McCain to join me.”

“Opus” will end with an online contest asking readers to guess the fate of the penguin. At Breathed's website there is a notice that "The Opus Paradise Contest" begins Oct. 12. The Times has not yet decided on a replacement for “Opus” on Sundays.

-- Sherry Stern

Image of Opus, drawn by Berkeley Breathed, courtesy of the artist and the Washington Post Writer's Group.

January 2007 photo by the Associated Press shows Berkeley Breathed and his penguin creation.

Comments

[Roger]

Note to Times: Here's an opportunity to replace a dull and predictable political strip with something funny (think "Mutts"). Thank you for going away Mr. Breathed.

[auramac]

If he's anti- McCain, we need Opus even if Obama wins, which better happen or else I will follow Timothy Leary's advice to drop out of this rapidly deteriorating, conservative, racist, sports-obsessed 15 minutes of fame society. To preserve my own sanity, I will have to avoid anything and anyone who would even consider as rational a tattooed-lipsticked white trash pig such as Sarah Palin. That includes friends and family. You and those institutions are all dead to me if that's where your racist butts are at.

[kyle]

@ john frumm:

Are you wholly unfamiliar with Mr. Breathed's work, or are you being facetious?

[john frumm is popular!]

The Michael Moore side of him and the crisis on Wall Street? Read this link before it's pulled down.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0de7db153ef933a0575ac0a96f958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=2&sq=subprime%20clinton%20minorities&st=cse

[Bill Hoffman]

Opus was my class mascot, I graduated in 1988....***waves goodbye to an old friend***

[Jerry D]

Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts?

[Barbara McCullough]

This Great-Grandma is really going to miss you..

[TJ Edwards]

I am only three days older than Mr. Breathed and I met him very briefly once. I've loved the stuff he's come up with, and got a kick out of how often we seemed to have some interests or thoughts in common. I was heartbroken when he ended Bloom County and thrilled when he brought back Opus, though it's never been quite as satisfying as the good old days. He seems to have a detachment to the characters we love. I can only hope he can give his most loyal followers an ending that wouldn't hurt any more than the ending itself. Charles Schulz chose not to give his fans a happy closure (letting Charlie Brown finally kick the football) perhaps because he felt he wasn't getting a happy ending himself. I can only hope Mr. B will return Opus to the one place we would most like to remember him: surrounded by all his old friends, happily at home in the dandelion patch of Bloom County.

[John Warner]

One of the four best strips in the paper. I will miss it.

J. Warner

[Steven Schmid]

I can't believe you guys didn't get the joke about John McCain. Mr. Breathed is retiring, and he's calling on Mr. McCain to join him! Laugh a little, people!

[brian b. banko]

Ya know what?...everyone should retire sometime,so good luck hope ya have fun,but what are we gonna do without OPUS?????

[Shirley Laukhuff]

I am very sad about not being able to see and read about Opus. That was the highlight of my Tuesday morning read!!! Wish all the luck to Mr. Breathed in the Future and thank him for all he does for dogs and (cats) that need good homes!!.

[Steve]

After the Far Side, and then the crushing loss of Calvin and Hobbes, I'm gradually learning to be grateful for the work these people have done. The creativity, the insight, the satire and the heart of Breathed and Watterson are inspiring on good days, and comforting on bad ones.

[Shooshie]

Thanks for 30 years of great cartooning. Hang the false modesty and Trudeau's accusations (which you freely admit to); you're one of the all time great cartoonists, Berke! Don't worry; we'll always have your books, and I'm happy not to have to divide them between "before" and "after." It made me sad to see Walt Kelly become so morose and affected by political tripe which few of us now remember. His early strips were so light and carefree, with just the right edge of political irony -- you can still read those books and laugh; not his later ones. Johnny Hart -- another great cartoonist -- became offensively evangelistic in his later years. I guess that's one other unacceptable alternative to aging with politics. It's a rare cartoonist who can maintain his edginess in his late years without ending up in one of the pits of aged self-absorption and disgust with the weakness of man, which become so clear after seeing it repetitively for so long. So I congratulate you for following the path chosen by the wise ones -- Watterson and Larson, to name ...umm... the other two. That is, retire when it's still mourned by the fans and celebrated by the witless.

[Mary Ann]

When you lived in Albuquerque, Opus was looking for his mother. I wrote to you and offered to adopt Opus. Never heard from you. Heart breaking.
Now you're searching for a paradise for the boy. Send him to me. I will cherish him forever.

[IAN]

Bloom County is famous for retiring this comic forever – and then resurrecting it as some crazy incarnation (Outland, anyone?). Still, it makes me kinda sad ... an era gone, forever?

[KSJ]

All good things come to an end.
Those who don't like Opus obviously aren't bright enough to 'get it.'
It is/was brilliant.
To the happy place!

[KSJ]

All good things come to an end.
Those who don't like Opus obviously aren't bright enough to 'get it.'
It is/was brilliant.
To the happy place!

[AT]

I have been a loyal Opus follower since discovering Bloom County in 1982. I am sad to see the strip finish but "all good things do come to and end".

I hope Mr Breathed will end his leagcy with the dignity it deserves. I wish him and his family all the best in his new career path. I also want to take this opportunity to thank him for the laughs and the opportunity to see a poem rhyme with Casper Weinberger.

Opus will alwasy have a spot on my bookshelf.

Goodbye old Freind.

[Jerrold Cohen]

Nelson Jones, I have always read Opus. I have always looked forward to it. I never read Cathy. I get exhausted even thinking of reading Cathy.

[Latven]

Even for this Republican, Opus is a classy comic and one I enjoyed from its earlest days in ABQ. Berk is one of the few comics whose political satire is subtle and in a way intellectual - Yeah, lefties, it was also elite (but not elitist). Doones has become harsh this latter cycle and Trudeau bitter (as most of the press has) and will do or say anything - true or not - to slime over a true American like McCain, in order to get their know-nothing-about-him-'cept-he's-******. (Like to get this by the port moderators over at the LAT.)
Compare BB's non vicious way he pokes fun at the right while respecting what's due (Mrs. Reagon's portrait) and campare him to the spate of bludgeons that has sprouted recently swung by those intellects like Lalo Acaraz (La Cucaracha) and Darrin Bell (Candorville) and of course, at the top of the LAT page Trudeau himself. Berk never had to crawl into the gutter to get his point across and in the present, to get his maan (sic) elected.

[Jim Rota]

When Berke Breathed decided to stop publishing Bloom County in 1989 it inspired me to write a tribute song to Bloom County called The Dandelion Patch. I have since recorded this song and now it appears relevant again. You can view it on youtube.com or go to unifiedtheory.com. Here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gU6x9SHKeg

[kevin kelly]

Dear Cartoonist:
I humbly ask that you reconsider a permanent ban. Although you may have gotten as Jerry G would say, "Old and in the Way" please remember that the shrinks believe reading the comics first in the newspaper helps tremendously in dealing with the rest of the paper before it hits the recycle bin. Take a break if you wish but I think you'll see that if Tuesday's outcome is as you believe there will be more to "draw on" than you might expect. Having a go at our next Irish president O'Bama isn't a racist exercise. I hope I'm wrong about this but something tells me you're fearful of being accused a racist..that would be beyond sad. Listen up Pilgrim I'm a registered conservative since 1976 and will find things less enjoyable without Opus or Bill or whoever srikes your fancy. Take a break but don't leave the adults behind.

[Dawson]

Wow I just got the Sunday paper went to the sit it said and had another part my child hood die.

[Jeff Chell]

I agree with Kevin Kelly that my world will be less enjoyable without Opus or Bill or Steve and all the rest of Mr. Breathed's wonderful cartoon world. Take whatever time you need, sir, but don't stop sharing your humor and love of life with all of us who have come to appreciate it so much! Perhaps a continued mix of new and classics, like Lynn Johnston's "For Better or Worse". Please? And a belated thank you for so many wonderful laughs from years past.