An early Opus appearance in the strip Bloom County

Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and children's books of Berke Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. Breathed has described him as an "existentialist penguin" and the favorite of his many characters. He currently appears in the Sunday-only strip Opus. Image File history File links Earlyopus_bc. ... Bloom County was a popular American comic strip by Berke Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Basic Characteristics There is some debate as to what constitutes childrens literature. ... Berkeley (Berke) Breathed (last name rhymes with method) is a cartoonist, childrens book author/illustrator, director and screenwriter, best know for his comic strip Bloom County, a 80s era cartoon-comic strip which dealt with socio-political issues, as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters, and humorous... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... Bloom County was a popular American comic strip by Berke Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ... Existentialism is a philosophical movement emphasizing individualism, individual freedom, and subjectivity. ... Opus is a weekly (Sunday only) comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ...

Introduction and Appearance

Opus was originally introduced as a one-time gag about hapless Mike Binkley bringing home what he thought was a German Shepherd, which turned out to be a penguin, much to the disappointment of his father. However, Opus' popularity quickly grew until he became the signature character of Breathed's comic strips. Michael Mad Dog Mike Binkley was a major character in Berke Breatheds cartoon strip Bloom County. ... The German Shepherd Dog or Alsatian (See History), is a breed of dog. ... Modern Genera Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus For extinct genera, see Systematics Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are an order of aquatic, flightless birds living exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

Opus' appearance has changed dramatically since his inception - he originally looked like a common penguin, but between 1982 and 1986 his nose grew dramatically (developing its signature bump in the middle, of which Opus is very self-conscious). Mike Binkley, during one Sunday strip, points out the fact that Opus more closely resembles a puffin. (In the final panel of the same strip, Opus responds by telling Binkley that he looks like a carrot.) Species Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata For prehistoric species, see article text. ...

He is usually seen wearing a bow tie and collar, though he sometimes switches to a diagonally striped necktie when running for public office. Beginning in Outland during the 1990s, he is also occasionally seen inexplicably wearing white briefs. This may have been inspired by Disney forcing Marvel to put Howard the Duck into trousers, so he bore less of a resemblance to Donald Duck. One option to tie a bowtie The bowtie is a mens fashion accessory, popularly worn with other formal attire, such as suits. ... Blue necktie. ... Outland was a Sunday-only spin-off of Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. ... Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ... Briefs are a type of Y-shaped underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs. ... Disney may refer to: The Walt Disney Company and its divisions, including Walt Disney Pictures. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Entertainment, Inc. ... Howard the Duck is a comic book fictional character created by Steve Gerber for Marvel Comics and featured in several comic book series of the same name about the misadventures of an ill-tempered humanoid duck trapped in a human dominated world. ... Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. ...

Notable Storylines

Over the years, Opus has served as Steve Dallas' legal secretary; journeyed to Antarctica in search of his mother; played the tuba in heavy metal group Deathtöngue (later renamed Billy and the Boingers); wooed an abstract sculptor named Lola Granola; worked as a newspaper personals editor, lifestyle columnist and comic strip writer; had brief, experimental stints employed as a farmer, garbageman and even a stripper; and run for vice president on the National Radical Meadow Party ticket, along with his running mate Bill the Cat. Steve Dallas was a fictional unscrupulous lawyer in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County, by Berke Breathed. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... Billy and the Boingers is a fictional heavy metal rock band from the comic strip Bloom County. ... The Deathtöngue (later Billy and the Boingers) lineup Billy and the Boingers is a fictional heavy metal rock band from the comic strip Bloom County, originally known as Deathtöngue. ... Lola Granola was a fictional abstract sculptor in the comic strip Bloom County by Berke Breathed. ... Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... ... A striptease dancer performing. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... The National Radical Meadow Party (or the Meadow Party as it is sometimes known) was the fictional political party from Berkeley Breatheds 1980s comic strip, Bloom County. ... Bill the Cat is a fictional cat-based character appearing in the works of cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, beginning with the comic strip Bloom County in the 1980s and continuing in Outland and Opus in the following decades. ...

In the tradition of many other popular characters, Opus apparently died (while unwillingly brought along on a balloon expedition to Washington, DC to zap the ambassador from apartheid-era South Africa with a ray that would temporarily turn him black) only to return with amnesia. He later regained his memory after being in a state of intense and total shock; he heard an erroneous report that Diane Sawyer (on whom he had an enormous crush) had married Eddie Murphy. Another storyline led Opus, in search of his mother, to a Mary Kay Cosmetics testing building, which he was shocked to find out was cruelly using animals as test subjects for various cosmetics. Another memorable storyline featured Opus being the subject of moral scorn as a perpetrator of "penguin lust" (an allegory for homosexuality). Opus' scandalous memoirs, entitled Naked Came I, became a bestseller in the Bloom County universe, leading Opus to even more notoriety than he had as Bill the Cat's running mate. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... Amnesia or amnæsia (from Greek ) (see spelling differences) is a condition in which memory is disturbed. ... Lila Diane Sawyer (born December 22, 1945) is a television journalist for the U.S. network ABC News and co-anchor of ABCs Good Morning America with Robin Roberts. ... Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian and actor. ... Mary Kay is a brand of color cosmetics sold by Mary Kay Inc. ... Homosexuality refers to sexual and romantic attraction between two individuals of the same sex. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... Naked Came I is a bestselling 1963 historical novel by David Weiss based on the life of sculptor Auguste Rodin. ...

In addition, Opus has a very amusing (but somewhat unfortunate) history of "losing parts"; on several occasions, his "fanny" has fallen off (often with a clanking sound on the floor), and he has also had instances where his nose droops or is taken completely off as a result of sneezing while using dental floss and so on. Sometimes these are combined; he has had either his nose and rear end fall off, or his nose droop while his rear end has fallen off, and so on. He eventually learned that his navel was in fact the screw which attached his rear end to his body.

Post Bloom County

Opus the Penguin

Opus was the first Bloom County regular to appear in the Sunday-only Outland strip (aside from Outland's original protagonist, Ronald-Ann Smith). He also appeared in some of Breathed's children's books, including A Wish for Wings That Work and Goodnight Opus. Image File history File links Opus_blue. ... Image File history File links Opus_blue. ... Outland was a Sunday-only spin-off of Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. ... Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ... A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story was a childrens book by Berkeley Breathed that was published in 1991. ... Goodnight Opus is a childrens book by Berke Breathed featuring Opus the penguin. ...

Eight years after Outland ended, Opus returned in a second Sunday-only strip simply titled Opus, in 2003. The first few strips showed Opus's discontent living in Antarctica with his overbearing mother. A misdirected Mars probe happened to give him the means to return to Bloom County, where he set about looking for his old friends. To date, he has been reunited with two (Bill the Cat and Steve Dallas). Opus is a weekly (Sunday only) comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ...

According to the July 10, 2005 edition of the Opus comic strip, Opus currently lives at 996 Melba Lane, presumably in Bloom County. July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Opus is a weekly (Sunday only) comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ...

Species

Opus is apparently a king penguin (Milo said he was an Aptenodytes patagonica in one strip) or possibly an Emperor penguin, although one strip has him labeled as a "red-nosed magellanic flatfanny." King penguin seems more likely, as its natural habitat is the Falkland Islands which is where Opus is originally from. It has previously been noted in Breathed's comics that Opus looks more like a puffin than a penguin, something which horrified Opus. Binomial name Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller,JF, 1778 The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 15 kg (24 to 33 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin. ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species. ... Species Fratercula arctica Fratercula corniculata Fratercula cirrhata For prehistoric species, see article text. ...

External links

• Berkeley Breathed's website
• Opus archive at washingtonpost.com