Outland
Outland header featuring Opus the Penguin
Author(s)	Berkeley Breathed
Current status / schedule	Cancelled
Launch date	September 3, 1989
End Date	March 26, 1995
Syndicate(s)	Washington Post Writers Group
Genre(s)	Humor, Politics, Satire

Outland was a Sunday-only comic strip written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed from 1989 until 1995. It was a spin-off of Breathed's strip Bloom County, featuring many of the same characters. 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. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up syndication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... ... The webcomic genres are the types of themes a webcomic can take. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... 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. ... A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... Bloom County was a popular American comic strip by Berke Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ...

Overview

On September 3, 1989, a month after retiring Bloom County, Breathed began his second syndicated strip with a minor character from the previous strip. Ronald-Ann Smith, a little girl from the "wrong side of the tracks" in Bloom County, entered a magic doorway in a grimy alley that looked down into a cheery world of "cotton-candy trees" known as the Outland (the ground of her world did not sync up with that of Outland, so the door originally appears to be hovering in the sky above it). September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ...

In its earliest form, Outland had been intended to be an experimental strip for Breathed, featuring a channel for creativity in the forms of new characters (like Mortimer Mouse, based on the rejected name for Disney's Mickey Mouse) and bizarre backgrounds (many of which initially resembled those seen in Krazy Kat). However, Opus the penguin returned in the strip's third installment, and Bill the Cat appeared mere months after that. Before long, the premise of another world beyond a magic door had been lost completely. Mortimer Mouse is a fictional character created by Floyd Gottfredson for The Walt Disney Company. ... The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Mickey Mouse is an Academy Award-winning comic animal cartoon character who has become an icon for The Walt Disney Company. ... Krazy Kat is a comic strip created by George Herriman that appeared in U.S. newspapers between 1913 and 1944. ... 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. ... Bill the Cat Articles with similar titles include Billy the Cat. ...

Eventually, the strip began to evolve into something a little less weird and a little more familiar - as Breathed himself wrote in the first Outland book collection, it became "Bloom County without the continuing narrative that a daily appearance allows.". Other characters from Bloom County, such as Milquetoast the Cockroach, Steve Dallas, Oliver Wendell Jones, and Michael Binkley, became major players in the strip. Some characters, such as Cutter John, made an occasional guest appearance. A few prominent members of Bloom County, such as Milo Bloom, didn't make an active appearance at all (Milo did appear in the second-to-last installment of Outland, as a background extra on a bus). Milquetoast the Cockroach was a fictional character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ... Steve Dallas was a fictional unscrupulous lawyer in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County, by Berke Breathed. ... Oliver Wendell Jones was the most recurring African American character in Bloom County, a comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ... Michael Mad Dog Mike Binkley was a major character in Berke Breatheds cartoon strip Bloom County. ... Cutter John is a fictional character in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County by Berke Breathed. ... Milo Bloom Milo Bloom was a central character in the American comic strip Bloom County. ...

In 1991, Breathed wrote a children's Christmas book entitled A Wish for Wings That Work. The story revolved around Opus and included several Outland characters (although the Outland itself wasn't explicitly referenced in the story). It was made into an animated television movie that same year. Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story was a childrens book by Berkeley Breathed that was published in 1991. ...

Finally, on March 26, 1995, Breathed decided to end the strip and retire from cartooning. At the strip's end, Steve Dallas came out as being gay, and eloped to California with Mark Slackmeyer from the comic strip Doonesbury. Opus returned to Antarctica to live with his mother, whom he had finally located (much of the original comic Bloom County focused on his quest to find her). March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... GAY can mean: Gay, a term referring to homosexual men or women The IATA code for Gaya Airport Category: ... Doonesbury is a comic strip by Garry Trudeau, popular in the United States and other parts of the world. ...

Eight years later, Breathed abandoned retirement and picked up where Outland had left off. The result was the Sunday-only reunion strip, Opus. Opus is a weekly (Sunday only) comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ...

Recurring characters

• Ronald-Ann Smith
• Mortimer Mouse
• Tim W. Forty
• Opus the Penguin
• Bill the Cat
• Milquetoast the Cockroach
• Truffles the Pig
• Oliver Wendell Jones
• Michael Binkley
• Steve Dallas

Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ... Mortimer Mouse is a fictional character created by Floyd Gottfredson for The Walt Disney Company. ... 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. ... Bill the Cat Articles with similar titles include Billy the Cat. ... Milquetoast the Cockroach was a fictional character in Berkeley Breatheds comic strips Bloom County and Outland. ... Oliver Wendell Jones was the most recurring African American character in Bloom County, a comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. ... Michael Mad Dog Mike Binkley was a major character in Berke Breatheds cartoon strip Bloom County. ... Steve Dallas was a fictional unscrupulous lawyer in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County, by Berke Breathed. ...

Reprints

• Politically, Fashionably, and Aerodynamically Incorrect (1992)
• His Kisses are Dreamy...but Those Hairballs Down my Cleavage...! (1994)
• One Last Little Peek, 1980-1995: The Final Strips, the Special Hits, the Inside Tips (1995)

Many Outland strips have never been reprinted in color, though all appeared in black & white in Comics Revue magazine. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Comics Revue is a monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press. ...

Outland strips also appeared in the 2004 book Opus: 25 Years of His Sunday Best, which reprinted strips from Bloom County and the new Opus strip as well.

External links

• Berkeley Breathed's website
• Toonopedia