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Last edited by AgentSapphire
November 30, 2022 | History
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Berkeley Breathed

Berkeley Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, children's book author/illustrator, novelist, director, and screenwriter, best known for Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip which dealt with socio-political issues as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters (e.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.

His first regularly published strip, Academia Waltz, appeared in the Daily Texan in 1978. The strip attracted notice from the editors of the Washington Post who recruited him to do a nationally syndicated strip. On December 8, 1980, Bloom County made its debut and featured some of the characters from Academia Waltz, including former frat-boy Steve Dallas and the paraplegic Vietnam war veteran Cutter John.

Bloom County earned Berkeley the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1987. The strip eventually appeared in over 1,200 newspapers around the world until he retired the daily strip in 1989, stating, "A good comic strip is no more eternal than a ripe melon. The ugly truth is that in most cases, comics age less gracefully than their creators".

He replaced this strip with the surreal Sunday-only cartoon, Outland in 1989, which featured some of the Bloom County characters, including Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat. He ended Outland in 1995.

Eight years later, Berkeley began producing the comic strip, Opus, a Sunday-only strip featuring Opus the Penguin, who was one of the iconic characters from Bloom County. He colors the cartoon himself with Adobe Photoshop.

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Photo of Berkeley Breathed

American cartoonist

Born 21 June 1957

38 works Add another?

  • Cover of: Flawed dogs: the 2004 catalogue of the Piddleton Dog Pound's very available leftovers, unpolished gems! one-of-a-kind finds! some minor blemishes, presented for your consideration by Heidy Strüdelberg: proprietor, Piddleton Dog Pound
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    First published in 2003 — 4 editions
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  • Cover of: Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big

    First published in 2000 — 4 editions
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  • Cover of: Bloom County: "loose tails"
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    Cover of edition penguindreamsstr00brea First published in 1983 — 3 editions
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  • Cover of: A Wish for Wings That Work

    First published in 1991 — 3 editions
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  • Cover of: Bloom County Babylon: five years of basic naughtiness
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    Cover of edition bloomcountybabyl00brea First published in 1986 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Goodnight Opus
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    First published in 1993 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Happy trails
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    First published in 1990 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: The last basselope: one ferocious story

    First published in 1992 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Tales too ticklish to tell: Bloom County
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    Cover of edition talestooticklish0000brea First published in 1988 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: 'Toons for our times: a Bloom County book of heavy meadow rump 'n roll
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    First published in 1984 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: A wish for wings that work: an Opus Christmas story
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    First published in 1991 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Goodnight Opus

    First published in 1996 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: The Last Basselope: One Ferocious Story

    First published in 2001 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Red Ranger Came Calling

    First published in 1997 — 2 editions
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  • Cover of: Billy and the Boingers bootleg
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    First published in 1987 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: The Christmas Opus 'n Bill

    First published in 1994 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Classics of western literature: Bloom County, 1986-1989
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    First published in 1990 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Edwurd Fudwupper fibbed big
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    First published in 2000 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: His kisses are dreamy-- but those hairballs down my cleavage--!: another tender Outland collection
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    First published in 1994 — 1 edition
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  • Cover of: Mars needs moms!
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    1 edition
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Photo of Berkeley Breathed

American cartoonist

Born 21 June 1957

Subjects

Children's fiction, Humor, form, comic strips & cartoons, Fiction, Comic books, strips, Juvenile fiction, Penguins, fiction, Christmas, fiction, Humorous stories, Pictorial American wit and humor, Penguins, Stories in rhyme, Adventure and adventurers, fiction, Animals, mythical, fiction, Bloom county (Comic strip), Brothers and sisters, fiction, Christmas, Comic books, strips, etc., Comics & graphic novels, general, Dog shows, Dogs, Fiction, general, Honesty, fiction, Humorous fiction, New York Times bestseller, Santa claus, fiction

Places

United States, New York, Vermont

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Alternative names

  • Berke Breathed

History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
November 30, 2022 Edited by AgentSapphire merge authors
September 30, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot add ISNI
March 31, 2017 Edited by MARC Bot add VIAF and wikidata ID
May 13, 2010 Edited by Lance Arthur Add bio, photo, link, birthdate
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import