Toons for Our Times

Bloom County Volume Two: These strips aren't just funny. They're laugh out loud, roll on the floor, tears streaming down my face, people coming into the room to see "WHAT-are-you-laughing-at?!" funny.Berkeley Breathed has created a perfect 'toon universe populated by funny and poignant humans, along with funny and poignant penguins, groundhogs, Bill the Cat and purple critters that hide in your closet of anxieties waiting to grab you as soon as you sleep. Breathed was an absolute genius at seeing some topical issue of the day (circa 1984 for this voume) holding it up to the light so that we could see it just the way that he did, then skewering the thing with what would be the humor equivalent of cupid's arrow.

Although some of the cartoons are dated due mostly to political and entertainment themes, much of the humor from Opus, Steve Dallas, Michael Binkley, Cutter John, Milo Bloom, Bill The Cat, Hodge-Podge, Portnoy and many other characters is timeless and holds up well today.

This is such a wonderful strip. Remind me again why I'm not giving it a "ten"? Oh yeah - because the creator bailed on the strip at the height of his powers. So did Bill Watterson with "Calvin and Hobbes", but that was a better strip, and I hold grudges.

Early Bloom County was so damn funny. Cutter John, Yaz Pistachio, Binkley's closet of anxieties, and Opus was still a penguin. This was the good stuff, before it all became Bill the cat in his jockey shorts.

This definitely scream late 80's early 90's it is an interesting look into that period of time from the leading cartoon of the time. Too bad Breathed quit this strip it would be interesting to see where it would be today.