Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness

This book is an overview of the first five years of the strip, ranging from the early strips in which the focus is mostly on Milo, through the introductions of Binkley, Bobbi, Cutter John, Opus, Oliver Wendell Jones, Steve Dallas, and finally, Bill The Cat. Personally, I've always had a preference for the early, pre-Bill The Cat strips; I could deal with the silliness inherent in Opus and Oliver's anthropomorphic computer, but Bill just seemed one step over the line. But I know that he's very popular, and he's here, too. There are a few strips here that were reprinted from the previous three collections, but most of this material is NOT reprints. Of course, much of the humor will be completely incomprehensible to anyone who wasn't politically aware during the '80s, but I suspect that even for such a (hopefully) young person, there's plenty here to enjoy.

Where have you gone, Opus? We need you now more than ever. I just checked this out again from my shelf, and after Sept. 11, I sure could use a laugh. Opus and company never disappoint. Along with the Far Side, Doonesbury, and Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County led the "modern" period of comic strips out of the Family Circus and Apartment 3-G hell that we have unfortunately now returned to...Bloom County created an entire world full of funny, amazing and outrageous characters that stand the test of time and break out of the monotony of the vast majority of other comics. And, by the way, it was also the best drawn comic strip ever, IMHO.It's a shame that most of these books are out of print, with only this book still hanging around. If you want to check out a real comic, get this book!

Terrific compilation of Berke Breathed's totally original comic strip which managed to comment on issues of the 80's without alienating anyone due to Breathed's wryly lovable character Opus. Breathed had a sense of humor unlike any other cartoonist - many times his humor stemmed just from the ludicrous situations his imagination devised or from the drawings themselves. I agree that the printing of this particular edition could be better, but if you're a Bloom County/Outland fan, don't let that deter you. This is an essential for the Bloom County collector.

This book provides a worthy overview of the first five years of Breathed's Bloom County comic strip. Some of the material was previously published elsewhere, but this isn't a merely self-congradulatory coffee-table book, there's new material in here that's found nowhere else. You are able to witness Breathed's maturation as an artist and writer, most obviously pointed up in the increasing sophistication in the way he draws his characters, and in the manner in which he drifts away from aping "Doonesbury," a comic that, like Bloom County, would do well to retire while it's still worth reading. Not unimpeachable, but surely worth reading.

Unlike most "coffee-table" retrospective books, which consist mainly of collected strips already reprinted in other volumes, "Bloom County Babylon" is something more. While there are several strips here that appeared in earlier collections, over 50% of the book is material never published in book form before or since. The very earliest days of the strip (with "The Major," Milo's grandfather, as the main character) appear here, just to show you how far the strip had progressed. Also, the year 1985 is recounted, including the complete run of strips that trace Opus and Cutter John's ill-fated balloon ride to Washington, Opus's subsequent return with amnesia, and Bill the Cat being exposed as a Communist spy. The volume also includes "The Great LaRouche Toad-Frog Masacree," a great prose story ostensibly written by an adult Binkley in that "Lake Wobegon" style. All in all, this is a great book to add to your Bloom County collection, provided you can find it.