Opus
Opus the Penguin
Author(s)	Berkeley Breathed
Current status / schedule	Sundays
Launch date	November 23, 2003
Syndicate(s)	Washington Post Writers Group
Genre(s)	Humor, Politics, Satire

Opus is a Sunday strip by Berkeley Breathed. It is Breathed's fourth comic strip, following The Academia Waltz, Bloom County and Outland. Image File history File links Opus_strip. ... An early Opus appearance in the strip Bloom County Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and childrens books of Berke Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. ... Cosette Dwyer is an amazing author. ... Guy Berkeley Berke Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, childrens book author/illustrator, 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. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up syndication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Washington Post Company is an American media company, best known for owning the newspaper it is named after, The Washington Post, and Newsweek magazine. ... The webcomic genres are the types of themes a webcomic can take. ... See also Comic strip and Daily strip. ... Guy Berkeley Berke Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, childrens book author/illustrator, 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. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... The Academia Waltz was Berke Breatheds first cartoon, published daily from 1978 to 1979 in The Daily Texan at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a student. ... Bloom County was a popular American comic strip by Berke Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Set in Bloom County, the strip documents the adventures of Breathed's popular character Opus the Penguin, parodying both pop culture and politics along the way. It was launched with much fanfare on November 23, 2003, and is syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group. An early Opus appearance in the strip Bloom County Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and childrens books of Berke Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Washington Post Company is an American media company, best known for owning the newspaper it is named after, The Washington Post, and Newsweek magazine. ...

Characters

Opus

Opus is the title character and protagonist of the strip. Though he returned to Antarctica at the end of Outland, Opus has since traveled back home to Bloom County, only to find that time has changed everything and everyone he once held dear. His employment usually depends on the week's joke - since Opus began, he has so far been a political operative, a garbageman, and a newspaper ombudsman - but he is most often depicted as a syndicated cartoonist. An early Opus appearance in the strip Bloom County Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and childrens books of Berke Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. ... An ombudsman (English plural: ombudsmans or ombudsmen) is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. ...

While his mother is no longer "long-lost", she wasn't all he had imagined her to be after a decades-long search, and he is frequently seeking the comfort of an ideal mother-figure.

Regular characters

• Bill the Cat - the first of Opus' old friends to re-emerge (just months into the strip), Bill seems to be the only one completely unchanged by time. Still in a state of catatonia, he is occasionally tapped to run for political office but most often seen relaxing by Opus' side.

• Steve Dallas - Steve was reintroduced little more than a year in, now having appeared in all four of Breathed's comic strips. Dallas, who had come out as a homosexual at the end of Outland, is back to his chauvinist ways apparently due to reparative therapy. Steve's lack of ability to charm women, however, has not improved.

• Pickles - A little girl with a little bit of "snarky energy" (she first appeared as a self-proclaimed Viking princess), Pickles immediately began tagging along with Opus and Bill. She has appeared much less frequently as of late.

• Auggie Dallas - Steve's long lost son, reunited with his father after many years. He has nothing but admiration for Steve, even though Steve is sometimes reluctant to act like a father figure.

Bill the Cat Articles with similar titles include Billy the Cat. ... This is a page about catatonic state. ... Steve Dallas was a fictional unscrupulous lawyer in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County, by Berke Breathed. ... Chauvinism is extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. ... It has been suggested that Ex-gay be merged into this article or section. ... The term Viking commonly denotes the ship-borne warriors and traders of Norsemen (literally, men from the north) who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of the British Isles and mainland Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8th–11th century. ...

Other characters

• Senator Bedfellow - Though previously convicted on corruption charges, Bedfellow has returned of late, still usually drunk and plagued by reporters.

• Editor of the Bloom Picayune - Usually Opus' boss, the Picayune's editor is depicted as hyper-stressed and suicidal, though somewhat older than he was in Bloom County.

The following are minor characters from Berke Breatheds comic strip Bloom County. ...

Absent characters

Early on in the strip, it was revealed that Michael Binkley had fled Bloom County to become a teenage Tibetan eunuch after a disastrous first kiss. He was not heard from again until June 3, 2007, when he appeared in his child form without explanation.[1] Michael Mad Dog Mike Binkley was a major character in Berke Breatheds cartoon strip Bloom County. ... Tibet (older spelling Thibet; Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: Bod; Lhasa dialect IPA: [; Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 西藏, Hanyu Pinyin: XÄ«zàng; also referred to as 藏区 (Simplified Chinese), 藏區 (Traditional Chinese), ZàngqÅ« (Hanyu Pinyin), see Name section below) is a plateau region in Central Asia and the indigenous home to the Tibetan people. ... European illustration of a Eunuch (1749) A eunuch is a castrated man; the term usually refers to those castrated in order to perform a specific social function, as was common in many societies of the past. ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year (155th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Opus eventually ponders the whereabouts of his other buddies from the past. Among those that Opus remembers are Milo Bloom and Oliver Wendell Jones, although the whereabouts of both have not yet been discussed. Additionally, Ronald-Ann Smith, the original protagonist of Outland, has not been referenced at all in the strip. Milo Bloom Milo Bloom was a central character in the American comic strip Bloom County. ... Oliver Wendell Jones was the most recurring African American character in Bloom County, a comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ... Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ...

At an autograph party for an Opus anthology book, Breathed revealed that the reason many of the original child characters had not returned is because in the years since the end of Outland, the child characters would have aged into teenagers, and Breathed has no interest in reviving the characters in that form.^[1]

Artwork and availability

In numerous interviews before launching Opus, Berke Breathed stated his hopes that the strip would help reinvigorate the medium of newspaper comics. He criticized many modern strips, especially Garfield, for lacking expressive artwork or original humor.^[2][3] Some critics of the strip have countered that Breathed has reused many plots and punchlines from his own 1980s strip, Bloom County. This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... Bloom County was a popular American comic strip by Berke Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ...

The original syndication contract for Opus stipulated that the strip occupy an entire half of a newspaper page. According to The Washington Post Writers Group, this was to provide "space for Breathed to offer richness and depth, similar to the breathtaking imagery in his popular children's books."^[4] While this style can appear hand-painted or airbrushed, it is actually rendered by Breathed on a computer using Adobe Photoshop. The half-page requirement has since been lifted, and the strip is now scaled down by most newspapers. Its original illustration style has also been largely abandoned in favor of a more hand-drawn look, much like that of Breathed's previous strip, Outland. The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) is an American media company, best known for owning the newspaper it is named after, The Washington Post, and Newsweek magazine. ... The airbrush is a small, highly precise spray gun for applying paint. ... Adobe Photoshop, or simply Photoshop, is a graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Systems. ...

Initially, in an effort to help boost physical newspaper sales, the strip was barred from appearing online; however, in 2005, that too changed and Opus became officially available on the web^[5]. Some sources initially claimed that the strip was printed in a special "unscannable" DRM ink by some papers ^[6] but this is an urban legend. Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (or the Web) is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. ... Digital Rights Management (generally abbreviated to DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to any of several technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to and usage of digital data or hardware, and to restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work or device. ... An urban legend or urban myth is a kind of modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ...

The movie

In August 2006 The Weinstein Company revealed in a press release for an animated version of The Nutty Professor that it has a "CG-animated project" called "Opus" "in the works".^[7] Numerous online movie databases, including The New York Times, have entries for the movie, titled Opus: The Last Christmas, and give a release date of December 19, 2008.^[8][9] Some of these sites name Berkeley Breathed is the director ^[10], while others list Tim Bjorklund and Paul Taylor.^[11] Initially Miramax Films was reported to have obtained the movie rights to the series^[12], but the project migrated to The Weinstein Company with the departure of the Weinstein brothers from Disney and Miramax^[13]. August 2006 is the eighth month of that year, and has yet to occur. ... The Weinstein Company is an independent American film studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after the pair left the Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979. ... A news release or press release is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. ... The Nutty Professor, starring Jerry Lewis, was filmed from October 9-December 17, 1962. ... Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... Guy Berkeley Berke Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, childrens book author/illustrator, 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. ... Miramax Films is a film production and distribution brand that was a Big Ten film motion picture distribution and production company headquartered in New York City before being bought out by The Walt Disney Company. ... The Weinstein Company is an independent American film studio founded by Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 after the pair left the Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979. ... Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ...

However, on May 8, 2007, during an interview^[14] by NPR radio host Diane Rehm and in response to an e-mail question regarding the existence of Opus: The Last Christmas, Mr. Breathed replied, "Uh, the better question is, 'Is there an Opus movie going to come out?' and the answer is 'no.' And, now I can say it's all for the better. Uh, the Weinstein brothers at Miramax tried for five years to develop an Opus movie, their first animated film, and it was, let me just say, it probably wasn't destined to be, as ... as it probably shouldn't. And the problem with developing these kinds of movies and films is that inevitably they discover that a property as idiosyncratic as a comic strip doesn't translate well unless you have the confidence of bringing the creator in and factoring him into the creation of the movie. They never, never do that. Yeah, um, they just don't trust us. So without that control there probably shouldn't be an Opus movie." In a June 2007 interview with Salon.com, he confirmed that the Miramax feature was "dead", but left the door open for an independently-produced Opus film: "There'll only be a movie if I'm writing it, which will probably keep him off the big expensive screen ... probably just as well."^[15] NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ... Diane Rehm Diane Rehm (born 1936 in Washington, D.C.) is an American public radio talk show host. ... June 2007 is the sixth month of that year. ... Screenshot of Salon. ... Miramax is a Big Ten film distribution and production company. ... An independent film, or indie film, is usually a low-budget film that is produced by a small movie studio. ...

Trivia

• In a 2003 interview with The A.V. Club Breathed revealed that "Opus was named after a Kansas song." (The band's 1976 album Leftoverture includes the song "Opus Insert" and a suite called "Magnum Opus".) He also added, "If you're too young to know who Kansas was, to hell with you."^[16]
• In an interview appearing in the April 2007 issue of Texas Monthly, Breathed announced that he planned to end the strip by killing off the main character.^[17] On April 2, 2007 the journal Editor & Publisher reported on this interview in a story titled "Will Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed Kill Off Opus the Penguin?".^[18] However, Breathed's editor has reportedly quoted him as stating, “I mentioned Opus’ literal death just for talking points on my [book] tour coming up. Not gonna kill him, but it’s good for copy.” ^[19] Breathed confirmed that he was joking in an interview with Salon: "I was kidding about killing Opus, by the way. I'd like to walk the streets free from fears of spontaneous garroting."^[20]

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. ... Kansas is a 1970s American rock band, specializing in progressive rock with a distinctly American flavor. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ... Leftoverture is the fourth album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1976 (see 1976 in music). ... April 2007 is the fourth month of the year. ... Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine published in Austin, Texas. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... E&P redirects here. ... Screenshot of Salon. ...

References

Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine published in Austin, Texas. ...

External links

• Berkeley Breathed official site
• Opus at Comics.com
• Opus archive at washingtonpost.com