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330th out of 949 books
—
325 voters
Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness
An anthology of cartoons from the syndicated comic strip, "Bloom County" encompasses highlights from the five-year span of the strip.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
September 30th 1986
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published 1986)
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For the 200th book I've added to Goodreads, you'd think I'd pick a classic of Western literature, like The Sun Also Rises or Atlas Shrugged. Confession: I can't stand Hemingway, and I believe that Bloom County at its best, was as sharp, witty and basically honest as any more weighty political cartoon on the editorial page--sometimes more honest.
And it's hysterical.
And I love it.
Good social commentary holds a mirror up to life, and bolsters normalcy through its absurdity. Before Berke Breathe...more
And it's hysterical.
And I love it.
Good social commentary holds a mirror up to life, and bolsters normalcy through its absurdity. Before Berke Breathe...more
As an '80s kid of little means, I would stare at the shelves of the most cutting-edge section of my local Waldenbooks- the comics section. I didn't have the nerve to pick up volumes of Maus, or do more than skim Matt Groening's pre-Simpsons Life is Hell, or vocally covet collections of newspaper comic strips such as THIS one. I kept my mouth shut. My mother bought me plenty of age-appropriate books but she could never have afforded the niche-market prices of graphic novels for grownups... and sh...more
I still quote this strip--perhaps too often, but in a charmingly dorky way, I like to think: (Is this list spoilers? Not out of context, I think, but just in case, spoiler alert)
So he folded up his tongue, and he moved to Malibu
I suspect you're carbonating my hormones
Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts
Man, those Samoans are a surly bunch
What does it mean, to 'wind a watch'?
I'm sorry, sir, but today's topic is Nun Beating
Devil bunnies! I snort the nose, Lucifer! Banana! Banana!
As God is my witness, I...more
So he folded up his tongue, and he moved to Malibu
I suspect you're carbonating my hormones
Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts
Man, those Samoans are a surly bunch
What does it mean, to 'wind a watch'?
I'm sorry, sir, but today's topic is Nun Beating
Devil bunnies! I snort the nose, Lucifer! Banana! Banana!
As God is my witness, I...more
Aug 23, 2012
Andrew
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
black_comedy,
comedy,
comics,
communism,
fascism,
hippy_literature,
political_fiction,
satire
Bloom County has always been a weird comic for me. In my youth, I thought it was mostly incomprehensible, but the artwork, silly gross-out humor, and occasional violent brutality made me smile. Now, going back, I can actually make out some of the dated political references he's making, and while it does get a bit overbearing at times, the comic still just WORKS. Take Doonesbury and sweeten it up with just enough childlike whimsy from Calvin & Hobbes to mellow out that furious liberal edge an...more
I really enjoyed Bloom County the first several years it was being published, but then it started to get repetitive and seemed to be trying to hard. The early years had wonderful cynicism and irony and were just plan funny. If you have seen the comic Outland, you will recognize Opus the Penguin, but please don't take that strip as an indication of what Bloom County was like in its heyday. Outland is just not funny.
Conclusion: Early Bloom County rocks.
How to describe Bloom County? Imagine if Doonesbury were written by the people who created Family Guy and you're getting close... it's frequently irreverent, sometimes silly, often political and occasionally downright profound!
This collection includes many of the earliest Bloom County comic strips as well as a generous selection from the first 5-years (unfortunately it's not a complete collection).
It has the very first appearance of future Bloom County star Opus the Penguin "A penguin and his b...more
This collection includes many of the earliest Bloom County comic strips as well as a generous selection from the first 5-years (unfortunately it's not a complete collection).
It has the very first appearance of future Bloom County star Opus the Penguin "A penguin and his b...more
An awesome collection of Bloom County strips! I had great fun reading it - I hadn't seem some of these strips since the first time I read them, lo these many years ago.
It was especially comforting to read it, because my boyfriend brought it over for me to read while I was sick :)
(Next to) last line: "All in all, statistically speaking, I'd say there was about a one in 33 zillion chance that you'd be unbelievably lucky enough to just be alive and standing here with pistachio nut ice cream on your feet!!"
After Andrew Vachss' gloomy Another Life, I'm in need of something light.
A cartoon character for adults, Opus is sure to lift you out of the pits. I was really sorry to see him disappear from the Sunday comic strip.
A cartoon character for adults, Opus is sure to lift you out of the pits. I was really sorry to see him disappear from the Sunday comic strip.
Berk Breathead should be read backwards. It started out funny and innocent and morphed from being about Opus to more of a Bill the Cat kind of thing.
I was too young to understand the social commentary on the '80s when I read this, especially the political stuff. But this knocks Doonesbury off the shelves.
One of my all-time favorite books. I've read it so many times that I cannot count, and I've probably memorized the thing.
Interesting encounter with the past that I picked up from the Take It/Leave It shelf at work. Brought back memories.
More stories from Bloom County, featuring Berke Breathed's answer to Woody Allen's onscreen personna, Opus the penguin.
I like the Bloom County books better than the later Opus ones, but Opus is still my favorite character.
Aug 06, 2011
Alan
added it
Absolute classic. The world is a sadder place for Breathed having given up the strip.
Jul 30, 2011
William West
added it
Opus is my hero, and, indeed, I resemble him more by the day.
i think this was my favorite one of the group.
Best collection ever of comic strips. Classic.
Besides being disturbed by the few Outland comics in our local newspaper as a youngster(before they were pulled I think), this was my introduction into one of the greater American comic artists of our era. It's very interesting to watch the evolution of Opus, from pre-opus to the Woody Allen of penguins we know today. These comics are just so absurdly funny, intimate, and probably quite racy for the time. When things are down, I can crack this open and imagine myself at the boarding house(or dai...more
Jan 11, 2013
Glen Cathey
added it
Great wholesome family fun
Bloom County never gets old. :D
Not a comic I got really into.
Just the best comic ever!
Bloom County......ack!
Jan 15, 2013
Cainmark
added it
and
Brilliant.
Read it a 1,000 times and I'll read it a 1,000 more.
Excellent.
Excellent.
Bloom County is still hilarious. Most of the political references are obsolete, but with another George Bush in the whitehouse, it's hardly noticeable. It seems odd to read about the Russians being the bad guys in the world, since the Cold War has been over for a long time. Breathed remains a giant among cartoonists.
I'm pretty sure this is a best-of collection, and basically skims over 5 years of the strip. Definitely worth the read if you haven't read the strip before, or don't remember how awesome it was or don't remember what happened in the 80s. Totally transcends the genre.
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Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed is an American cartoonist, children's 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.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.
More about Berkeley Breathed...
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