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The Opus Interview
Brad1138 writes "MSNBC has an interview with Opus re: his return to Sunday comics. Some interesting/funny bits of info. It was also nice to see how many people loved Bloom County/Opus, they are running a poll and currently 94% 'loved Bloom County & will read "OPUS"'." Here's another article talking about Opus's Return to the Sunday Funnies.
But come on? Pole?
-Peter
Anyone seen the strip online?
Was he a puffin or a penguin?
Opus: Yep. Great guy. Can't understand a word he says, just like Bill."
I can understand Ozzy. You just have to "tune in."
Or was that "Opus" almost nothing like the one we know? And if the author can't write the character correctly, and put in things about Burke writing dialogue, why do the mock interview at all?
Bush: He's Liberal in all the wrong ways.
Some of the old cast for sure, but I hear the negotiations with Bill are not going well. He got a raw deal the first time around: he was paid per word, and all he usually said was "Ack!" and "Thppt!" And Berke's trying to bring in some of the mutts from his new book, "Flawed Dogs", but apparently they're in a different union than the meadow animals. I just don't get all of this legal mumbo-gumbo-rambo.
Oh, man! Bill the cat has got to make a return. Aaaaack Thppppt!
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
A Calvin & Hobbes announcement similar to this would have made me much more happier.
Wow, I must be a total weenie- I got my copy of the post today and was nearly moved to tears by the return of Opus.
I can't wait to see what's going to happen to him...
"Opus: Who says there's money in comics?"
Answer: Scott Adams does, because you get to do nothing but slack off and make fun of people all day, but you are paid for it. As opposed to most people who slack off and make fun of people all day, but are paid for some other duty, like manager or peon or programmer.
I miss Bill the Cat, who was my fav toon when I was a kid.
Remember when he quit writing Bloom County and then started up a Sunday only strip called "Outland" (with the same characters)? How long did that last? 6 months, maybe?
I think the same fate awaits "Opus".
And when Onion magazine asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer was simple: "Dad. The rest is frosting."
Boy, if that is not a ploy to tug at the heartstrings of the Deseret News subscriber, I don't know what is. But given that this is Utah, I am not surprised they chose that little nugget to end the story with.
No need for perversion. I guess it is merely a matter of "running it up the pole and see if anyone salutes" here.
And as this is great news, I, for one, will salute.
Otherwise, I think Tux oughtta be allowed to make a guest appearance...
SIGBUS @ NO-07.308
Pthbbbt.
I regularly report MSN spam to the Hotmail admins.
I can't stop thinking about the one when BtC had about a hundred smokes in his mouth and he's going Aaaaack Thppppt!
Geez that was funny stuff.
Because we are both attorneys and we both get tons of chicks.
Breathed was also interviewed in Salon last week, and in The Onion's A.V. Club in 2001. He gets to swear in these interviews, too.
It's only alluded to in these articles, but Berkeley Breathed demanded that all the newspapers who carry the new strip give him a half-page slot. So we should be expecting great things, right?
I liked both of his other Bloom County series, but today's strip unfortunately underwhelms me completely.
Get off my launchpad!
The Austin American-Statesman also has a story about the return, recounting the incident with the Daily Texan which helped lead to the start of Bloom County.
...and this one is with the man himself... ;-)
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
Interesting that Breathed said he'd taken Bloom County about as far as it would go. I suppose if one looks at the comic as a linear narrative, that could be true--but it was also a running commentary on the politics of the time. Politics are always changing, new names and faces, new events, new history to be ridiculed. I see it as a tad unfortunate that he didn't consider keeping up a continuous semi-political cartoon; that part of Bloom County, having direct relevance to my world, was always my favorite. Perhaps he didn't want himself or the comic to be typecast.
;)
Still, a pity. I can only imagine what he could do with our current administration.
The coolest voice ever.
Al Qaeda has ninjas!
I for one would like to offer a 34 armpit fart salute. Man the dandelions!
I regularly report MSN spam to the Hotmail admins.
I was like "those bastards, they finally cancelled it!" Then I found it on another page, read Opus and was slightly confused and amused.
This message is encrypted with Quad ROT-13 to protect the author's copyright under the DMCA.
The Opus and Bill (by Delrina at the time) screensaver brough me hours of joy while they shot the little Toasters flying by with a shotgun.... The toasters had wings until Berkley complained/sued, and the toaster wings were changed in to helicopter toasters. :)
Berkeley Systems v. Delrina Corp., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1993). Represented Delrina in copyright and trademark infringement action arising from its "Opus 'n Bill" computer screensaver and parody of Berkeley's "flying toasters."
It's not my favorite strip. It's the Simpsons of the comics I suppose. Crude & rude, and sometimes funny.
I guess I much prefer the fun and gentleness of strips like Mutts
I'm glad you're back, Opus. I've missed you and the whole woodland critter crowd.
Too bad the Hawaiian babe thing didn't work out.
Chip H.
Naw, Tux should fill in for a week some time when Opus take a vacation.
Bloom County made the '80s tolerable for me, and I sure could have used it for the last three years of Dubya. Welcome back, Berke! Let's keep it up for a while this time, m'kay? Your legions of fans have waited a loooong time for this.
+++++++
"Look, dear, it's a crazy hairy scary man!"
Several months back I spoke with a friend, Suzie, that works in the comics section at the Washington Post. She ran into Breathed at a conference. Since they were both new parents, they talked about their kids. Suzie suggested that a new strip might be a great way to express his views about this new phase in his life. He agreed. Thus Opus
... was the best character, and the hacking storylines the only ones I still find funny.
Banana Junior 6000 4ever!!!
Apple Open Firmware Home Page
http://bananajr6000.apple.com/
The latest Slashdot meme.
Shouldn't that be "America's Second-favorite Penguin?"
that I've no clue what slashdot is talking about. Usually I can decipher it somewhat, but this has me stumped.
Who is 'Opus'? The article goes on like I should have a clue who/what he/she is, but I've never heard of him/her.
I just had a horrible vision of Illiad filling in. His sunday strips are so very uninspired.
Straight from the author. [berkeleybreathed.com]
-"It seems like you're trying to exploit a security hole. Would you like help?"
It's in my newspaper yesterday, I liked it. If you're really depserate you could buy a subscription to an out-of-town newspaper.
Or, you could maybe, you know, right a letter (yes on a dead tree) to your paper and politely suggest they carry it.
If you're feeling adventurous hand-deliver yor letter and tell them you'll never buy their lousy tabloid again if they don't include "Opus". Proceed to break down into tears right in front of them. You never know.
P.S. I'm not just being exceptionally cruel, I don't own a scanner.
Thanks!
Random Musings at Rum Smuggler
Gates and Ballmer are gonna have conoraries once they read about this...
:)
I always saw Opus and Tux as cousins...
+1, SP.
For those of your that don't have time to read the article, it's an essay on why it won't be funny.
I liked Bloom County the first few years, it go really bad and then to make it official they called it Outland, and every silly over the top idea was cast as precious, every joke an inside joke.
I think Breathed is a great talent, but maybe too full of himself? Or maybe I just don't get him.
On the bright side, newspaper comics are in such a sorry state he can't possibly hurt.
-pyrrho
...his co-runner was a dead cat called Bill...
Bill wasn't dead! (just brain dead)
LIBRARY
It's not often that we get something for free. I wonder which one is his mom... prolly the stinky penguin... wait.. they're all stinky. Who knows. They all look alike to me
my newspaper publishes the sunday funnies on saturday. I have to say I have never been much of a fan of breathed's sunday strips. To me he was at his best when he was doing serial stuff during the week in black and white. thats why Im disappointed that Opus is pretty much the same thing as Outland. In fact, if you go by the first comic, it seems worse, but I'll reserve judgement. When Bloom County left I eventually took solace in what was then called Robotman. (Its now called Monty, and the innocent character of Robotman, who was manufactured to sell toys originally, was gone).. Well, I'm starting to ramble, but what endeared those early cartoons was that Opus seemed to be the innocent naive straight man, just as robotman was. we identify with him, but we laugh at bill the cat, who is the cosmo kramer to opus's george costanza, if i can use a seinfeld comparison. Lately I've been reading "Arlo and Janis" which most people probably don't read or get but I find it's defeatist perspective humorous. Foxtrot is always decent as well. theres a few others like for better or for worse that i wouldnt admit to reading normally but hey im essentially anonymous. so what the heck, theres always a joke in that one. in fact, for better or for worse is one of the few comics that follows the original bloom county daily style (except in a serious tone).. Furthermore, I seem to be on a rant here, I didn't care for the way Berke Breathed's art has evolved. It's as if he's trying to work out a saturday morning cartoon deal with fox. oh well, im all ranted out, but thats where I stand on the subject.
Anyone who believes that a Talking Penguin actually gave an interview deserves to be fooled.
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals."
Personally, I think that Opus is coming back to remind us of penguins before Tux. Opus thought that he was the "be all" and "End all" of penguin mascots. That all changed right after Opus Retired.
At that point in time, hardly anyone knew who Tux was, let alone that he was a Penguin. Fast forward 7 years or so, and all of a sudden (HA) Tux is the penguin mascot of the day.
Opus realizing that Tux has overtaken him has "America's favorite penguin", and now seeks to be reinstated.
Which leads us to the grudge match of the century. Geeks everywhere are going to have to pick their favorite penguin in the next Slashpoll.
Opus vs Tux in "Mascot wars"
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
Oh come off it, authors give interviews posing as their favorite characters all the time.
His artistic capabilities are the equivalent of Taco's literary capabilities.
Why is it that the Open Source movement is so filled with incompetence?
From my local rag. But I agree with later comments -- It won't be right until Bill coughs up a hairball. Bill the Cat, of course, is the most creative comic character ever. Most animals are portrayed as heroic or clever (Garfield, Heathcliff, Grimm). Bill is the dud of a pet many of us have had at some point -- a lobotomized eunich who has embarassing things in his past, and messes the carpet.
Funny, but untrue.
When a devotee of show X has a plot continue into show Y, there's a good chance that said viewer will venture into the community of Y to follow the plot. I did that once with a Practice episode and decided I kind of liked Boston Public as well.
Essentially, it's a way of bridging two "universes" -- often in a way that could have been handled by having similar characters invented on the fly, but in a way that can lead one into the other universe temporarily.
My favorite example of this sort of crossover, actually, is the way the famous author Isaac Asimov combined his Robots series with his Foundation series. There, I imagine most fans of one were already fans of the other, so it wasn't a "come on" like on TV series, but more of a real sense of closure in the last years of his writing.
Mencken had it right. So glad that's old news.
Since this hasn't been moderated as trollbait... yet... I'll respond :)
/. is not "news for nerds" in the classical sense but is still of general interest. If you don't like it, don't follow the link.
---
Oh, come on! I'll bet most nerds who are old enough to have been readers of Bloom County back then were also fans. I, for one, really appreciated the reminder to read the comics today.
Much of what appears on
Mencken had it right. So glad that's old news.
I imagine it is similiar to 'running a train.'
Wasnt mentioned by anybody, but I remember this being a recycled idea.
Manipulate the moderator system! Mod someone as "overrated" today.
Penguin Lust!
My gallery: www.estiasis.com/modules.php?name=gallery2&g2_ite
Now I don't feel so odd explaining my Bill tattoo to anyone, now I can say RTFSP! Happy, happy day!
"Never pet a burning dog."
Mod Points: Helping you keep your opinion to yourself.
I really loved how he made fun of tipper gore's senator wife hearings on censoring music.
Went to get some items at the store today and by miracle remembered this was coming out so I bought the first paper I've bought in about 8 years.
A little pricy for one comic, but I liked it!
"Hacker's as a rule do not handle obsolesence well."
"These laws they're passing won't even compile anymore, let alone execute." - anon
I, for one, believe that Opus actually gave the interview. In fact, I met him myself in a dandelion field many years ago while I was searching for some mushrooms. He is quite articulate.
You obviously didn't see him after a few dandelion snorts.