Berkeley Breathed is pure evil genius. Thanks to him, my sister and I spent our childhoods shouting "Banana! Banana!" and "Devil I snort thee!" Oh, and of course, "Ack!" Don't ask. These cartoons are heavily rooted in the Reagan years, so be willing to be transported back in time quite a ways, but it's like if Doonesbury were populated by drooling alley cats and neurotic penguins, 6-year-old computer hacker geniuses, and drunk men in their underpants. And it's way funnier than Doonesbury ever was. ( )

Babble on and on and on: Bloom County is on my short list of all-time favorite comics. The original form, before short-lived "Outland" or the current "Opus", is long gone, though. Picking up this book was a wonderful piece of nostlagia.

The series peaked some time in the early 80s, and "Babylon" offers a sample of that time. I had forgotten how topical it was, full of references to then-current supermodels, presidents, movies, and sitcoms. Despite that, much of the humor has aged well. Milo's anxiety closet, for example, never needs to end. Various bogey-men (and -women) will reside there for their times, and move on. The anxiety will always be there, however, no matter how silly it looks to everyone else.

Even a book this size can't capture every strip in the five years (82-6) that it covers. That means that some of my favorite characters, like winsome Pistachio, barely even had cameo appearances. I'll take what I can get, though, and this is a pleasant sample.

If you ever liked any strip comic, you liked Bloom County or will like it. Maybe the 80s were before your time, but the characters will still look right up to date. Enjoy!

//wiredweird

You have to have a certain twisted sense of humor to enjoy these - hence my attachment to them. ( )

Need more Opus!!! ( )

Oh how I miss Opus and Bloom County. It got me through Bush I, but there's nothing other than slim hope to get through Bush II ( )