Berkeley Breathed
| Berkeley Breathed | |
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editorial cartooning 1987 |
Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (
Early life
Born in
Cartooning career
Breathed was first published when he was hired part-time by the
On December 8, 1980, Bloom County made its debut. It featured some of the characters from Academia Waltz, including former frat-boy
Bloom County earned Breathed the
Breathed replaced the strip with the surreal Sunday-only cartoon
In 2003, Breathed began the comic strip Opus, a Sunday-only strip featuring Opus the Penguin, who was one of the main characters of Bloom County.
Several newspapers chose not to run the August 26, 2007, Opus cartoon because it might offend Muslims.[6]
On October 6, 2008, Breathed announced plans to discontinue all work on comic strips with the final Opus strip to run on November 2, 2008.[7] Breathed planned to focus on writing children's books.[1] Breathed explained that he felt that the United States was going to face "tough times", and that he wanted to end the saga of his most memorable character "on a lighter note".
The last Opus comic strip appeared on schedule, but in what may be a comic first, the final panel required an online link. The final panel of the strip showed Opus sleeping peacefully in the bed depicted in the classic children's book, Goodnight Moon. This panel was available only online, and the Humane Society of the United States page that displayed it was later removed.[8]
Breathed said that he had no regrets in leaving political cartooning, as he believed the atmosphere became too bitter for him to make quality cartoons.[9]
In July 2015 Breathed hinted at a return to the strip when he posted a photo to Facebook of him at his computer, starting a cartoon entitled "Bloom County 2015". He added: "A return after 25 years. Feels like going home."[10] The strip was later posted to Facebook.[11] He has subsequently been posting new Bloom County strips via Facebook on an almost-daily basis, as of January 2018.[12][13] (In 2016, "2015" was dropped from the new strip's name.)[14]
In 2021, Breathed penned a series of strips featuring characters from Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. Panels featured Watterson's Calvin as Spaceman Spiff and Hobbes the Tiger.
Other works
Breathed's syndicated and Facebook cartoon work has produced at least thirteen cartoon anthology books, as of January 2018. Starting in 1992, he designed a greeting card and gift ensemble collection for
As of January 2018, Breathed has produced ten children's picture books. Two were made into the animated films:
Breathed's writing has also been featured in numerous publications, including
Breathed has been a supporter of the
Breathed cameos as himself in the 2004 short film Tim Warner: A Life in the Clouds, a fictional tale about an unhappy cartoonist and his unfunny strip, The Silver Lining.[19]
Personal life
Breathed is a fan of outdoor activities such as
Breathed has said that he is an atheist, yet he doesn't fear death more than "sharing a room in a detox center with a sobbing Rush Limbaugh".[20]
On May 18, 2008, in his comic strip Opus, Breathed announced he was suffering from a condition known as spasmodic torticollis.[21]
Bibliography
- Cartoon compilations
- The Academia Waltz, Sterling Swift, 1979, ISBN 978-0-88408-122-7
- The Academia Waltz: Bowing Out, Bantan Hall, 1980
- ISBN 978-0-31610-710-5
- Toons for Our Times, Little, Brown & Co., 1984
- ISBN 978-0-31610-725-9
- ISBN 978-0-31610-309-1
- Billy and the Boingers
- ISBN 978-0-31610-735-8
- ISBN 978-0-31610-738-9
- Classics of Western Literature: Bloom County 1986–1989, Little, Brown & Co., 1990, ISBN 978-0-31610-754-9
- Happy Trails, Little, Brown & Co., 1990, ISBN 978-0-316-10741-9
- Politically, Fashionably, and Aerodynamically Incorrect, Little, Brown & Co., 1992, ISBN 978-0-316-10701-3
- His Kisses Are Dreamy but Those Hairballs Down My Cleavage!, Little, Brown & Co., 1994, ISBN 978-0-31610-867-6
- One Last Little Peek, Little, Brown & Co., 1995, ISBN 978-0-31610-690-0
- Opus, 25 Years, Little, Brown & Co., 2004, ISBN 978-0-31615-994-4
- Bloom County: The Complete Library: Volume One: 1980–1982, ISBN 978-1-60010-531-9
- Bloom County: The Complete Library: Volume Two: 1982–1984, IDW Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-60010-583-8
- Bloom County: The Complete Library: Volume Three: 1984–1986, IDW Publishing, 2010, ISBN 978-1-60010-755-9
- Bloom County: The Complete Library: Volume Four: 1986–1987, IDW Publishing, 2011, ISBN 978-1-60010-899-0
- Bloom County: The Complete Library: Volume Five: 1987–1989, IDW Publishing, 2011, ISBN 978-1-61377-061-0
- Outland: The Complete Library: Sunday Comics: 1989–1995, IDW Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-61377-176-1
- Opus: The Complete Library: Sunday Comics: 2003–2008, IDW Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-61377-408-3
- Berkeleyworks: The Art Of Berkeley Breathed: From Bloom County And Beyond, IDW Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-61377-651-3
- Berkeley Breathed's Academia Waltz And Other Profound Transgressions, IDW Publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-1-63140-076-6
- Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope, IDW Publishing, 2016, ISBN 978-1631406997
- Bloom County: Brand Spanking New Day, IDW Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1684050970
- Bloom County: Best Read on the Throne, IDW Publishing, 2018, ISBN 978-1684053148
- Children's books
- ISBN 978-0316107587
- ISBN 978-0316107617
- ISBN 978-0316108539
- Red Ranger Came Calling, Little, Brown and Co., 1994, ISBN 978-0316102490
- ISBN 978-0316144254
- Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound, Little, Brown and Co., 2003, ISBN 978-0316713597
- Breathed said that Flawed Dogs's intended audience is different from the intended audiences of his other picture books. He said that Flawed Dogs would be "perfect" for 8–12 year olds, but that he would not read the book to his (in 2009) 5-year-old son.[9]
- Mars Needs Moms!, Mars Needs Moms!released in 2011)
- Pete & Pickles, Philomel Books, 2008, ISBN 978-0399250828
- Flawed Dogs: The Shocking Raid on Westminster, Philomel Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0399252181
- The Bill the Cat Story: A Bloom County Epic, Philomel Books, 2016, ISBN 978-0399546624
Awards
- Inkpot Award, 2010[22]
- Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, 1987[4]
- Golden Duck Award for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction for Mars Needs Moms! 2008 Picture Book[23]
References
- ^ a b Berkowitz, Lana, "His latest opus: Bloom County creator finds a more constructive path writing children's books Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine", Houston Chronicle, April 4, 2007
- ISBN 0-316-10754-9.
- ^ a b Ellen, Mary, "Berkeley Breathed, drawn back to 'Bloom County' but looking forward" Archived 2009-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times "Hero Complex" blog. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ a b "Info". www.pulitzer.org.
- ^ "The Official Berkeley Breathed Website". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008.
- ^ Donaldson-Evans, Catherine, "Washington Post, Other Newspapers Won't Run 'Opus' Cartoon Mocking Radical Islam" Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, August 28, 2007
- ^ Stern, Sherry, "Berkeley Breathed says goodbye to Opus: 'I'm destroying the village to save it'" Archived 2008-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2008
- ^ "The Opus $10,000 Paradise Contest". Humane Society of the United States. 6 November 2008. Archived from the original on November 10, 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Vick dog inspired 'Bloom County,' 'Opus' creator Archived 2009-10-15 at the Wayback Machine." CNN. October 13, 2009. Retrieved on October 13, 2009.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
- ^
National Public Radio. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Katie (February 21, 2016). "When Harper Lee, of 'Mockingbird,' Corresponded With Opus the Penguin's Creator". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ Breathed, Berkeley (January 26, 2018). "Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County". Facebook and Berkeley Breathed. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Bloom County Sunday Funnies Cartoon OPUS the PENGUIN American Greetings Birthday Invitation Cards". Amazon. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ "Secondhand Lions (2003)". IMDb. 19 September 2003. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Lewis, Noah. "Berkeley Breathed". Vegetus.org/Noah Lewis. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ISBN 0446394920.
- ^ "Tim Warner: A Life in the Clouds (2004)". IMDb. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Whitney, William, "Berkeley Breathed Pokes Fun" Archived 2022-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, Psychology Today, January/February 2004
- ^ Breathed, Berkeley, Opus: "Anyone got a remedy for pain?" Archived February 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Salon.com, May 18, 2008
- ^ "Inkpot Award". Comic-Con International: San Diego. December 6, 2012.
- ^ "sfadb : Berkeley Breathed Awards". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
Further reading
- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1
External links
- Berkeley Breathed Interview by Tasha Robinson for The Onion "A.V. Club" August 15, 2001
- "The penguin is mightier than the sword", interview at Salon.com, November 20, 2003
- Comic Book Awards Almanac
- Berkeley Breathed at IMDb
- Bloom County at Don Markstein's Toonopedia.
- Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
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