# Bloom County--er, Opus: March 7, 2004 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043 "2004-03-08T00:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/1 "2004-03-08T00:33:57Z")
Ok, so I (like many others) was kinda excited about the return of Opus recently to the comics page, in Berkeley Breathed’s new strip **Opus**. After the first few strips, I (like many others) was feeling kinda “meh.” On the up side, the character Opus was returning (geographically, at least) to Bloom County. But this new strip hasn’t really seemed like a return (spiritually?) to its roots in the original **Bloom County** strip. Which brings me to today’s strip. [spoiler]Opus is about to enter Bloom County. He sees ahead of him some ghost-like images of his ‘old-school’ friends (Oliver, Milo, Steve, Binkley, and Bill). Binkley and Bill have captions explaining their present circumstances. The others have “?” by them. Opus launches into a rant about there being “no permanency” in the world. By the end of the strip, he is regaining hope about returning to his old home and says “It’s morning… Ya know what they call morning… Life’s little reboot button.” And he goes running off toward Bloom County. And something I noticed which I don’t know if it means anything or not: there was no title panel or even a title at all for today’s strip. Nothing at all that claimed this strip to be “Opus.” Last week’s Sunday strip had a small “Opus” title illustration (but not a full panel illustration) I may be reading too much into this, but it makes me wonder.[/spoiler] Now, I hate to get excited about this strip after being let down so many times in the past, but does this mean a return of at least some of the ‘old gang’ and maybe more of a **Bloom County** feel than an **Outland** vibe? Anybody else read today’s strip and think the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/2 "2004-03-08T02:06:12Z")
link? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/3 "2004-03-08T02:24:00Z")
> [@SimonX](#): > > link? Here’s one, but it’s no fun-- [www.berkleybreathed.com](http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/local_paper.html) > [@](#): > > We’ve heard loud and clear from many fans unhappy that they can’t read Opus on the web. > > We’re confident that he’ll be there one day but he’s not yet because a new comic strip needs all the help it can get convincing newspaper editors to do the one thing they find slightly less painful than swallowing razorblades with a shot of rubbing alcohol: cutting an old strip to make room for a new one. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/4 "2004-03-08T02:33:12Z")
Well… Considering that Cutter had the _Enterpoop_, with all the supporting characters (including Opus), maybe Bergama has talked Breathed into a reset button. It’s their way. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/5 "2004-03-08T03:04:31Z")
…well, what did it say had happened to Binkley and Bill? And you said an image of Milo WAS among the ghosts? ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/6 "2004-03-08T03:43:18Z")
**Ranchoth** Binkley is “teen eunuch in Tibet” and Bill’s “rendered carcass could be source of mad cow epidemic” ---
**Author:** ![Lily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/97f17d/32.png) [@Lily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lily)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/7 "2004-03-08T03:49:10Z")
There is one place online you can see the new strips. Try: [http://waxy.org/random/images/opus/](http://waxy.org/random/images/opus/) They haven’t put up this week’s strip yet, and I don’t know if they plan to post them indefinitely, but I’ll take what I can get. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/8 "2004-03-08T04:09:10Z")
“My Lord,” to quote a certain one-time penguin. Those are awful almost beyond belief. And yet, when memories of Outland return to haunt one, perhaps not so beyond belief. ---
**Author:** ![richardb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/96bed5/32.png) [@richardb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/richardb)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/9 "2004-03-08T05:23:17Z")
Actually, I found several to be quite amusing. Maybe it just takes less to entertain me. I won’t necessarily say they are anywhere near close to being as good as Bloom County, but I laughed once or twice nonetheless. These seem not to be random at all, despite the page’s title, but rather weekly Sunday strips (in order). Are there also weekday strips that run six days a week in addition to these Sunday strips? ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/10 "2004-03-08T06:18:24Z")
Enjoy your waffle and the Chilly butt planet or whatever killed me. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/11 "2004-03-08T06:25:16Z")
Hey, I _like_ what I’ve seen of “Opus” so far.\* The art style takes a little getting used to, but it’s pretty solid. And a HELL of a lot better than “Outland”…or the later Bloom County strips, when Berke started getting weird. (Weirder than normal. Outside acceptible weirdness parameters.) \*Bought legally from a newspaper stand from a licenced merchant. Yeah…that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/12 "2004-03-08T07:44:37Z")
I originally took this strip to mean that we were simply going to see more about what happened to the other characters, a la the strip about Binkley. But, looking at it again, you may be on to something with the idea that Breathed is moving the strip to be more Bloom County-esque. > [@richardb](#): > > Are there also weekday strips that run six days a week in addition to these Sunday strips? Nope, Sunday only, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/13 "2004-04-10T19:14:09Z")
> [@Lily](#): > > There is one place online you can see the new strips. > Try: > > [Index of /images/opus](http://waxy.org/random/images/opus/) > > They haven’t put up this week’s strip yet, and I don’t know if they > plan to post them indefinitely, but I’ll take what I can get. Seems like the strip’s syndicator [got wind of](http://waxy.org/random/images/opus/cease_and_desist.pdf) this site. NOTE: this is a .pdf file! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/14 "2004-04-10T20:30:46Z")
The wheels of justice grind slowly but exceedingly fine. So what happened after March 8 to the strip, those with the necessary papers and strong stomachs to view it? ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/15 "2004-04-11T05:58:08Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Seems like the strip’s syndicator [got wind of](http://waxy.org/random/images/opus/cease_and_desist.pdf) this site. > > NOTE: this is a .pdf file! Yeah, I like the “NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR OTHER USE” at the top of the notice. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/16 "2004-04-11T06:49:31Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Yeah, I like the “NOT FOR PUBLICATION OR OTHER USE” at the top of the notice. How remiscent of the Cease and Desist letters people were getting from United Feature Syndicate about the Charlie Brown ‘Hey-ya’ video. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/17 "2004-04-11T16:34:32Z")
In today’s strip, our hero has a hilarious misunderstanding with a cell phone. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloom-county-er-opus-march-7-2004/233043/18 "2004-04-12T18:59:45Z")
Incidentally, from the OP: > [@](#): > > And something I noticed which I don’t know if it means anything or not: there was no title panel or even a title at all for today’s strip. Nothing at all that claimed this strip to be “Opus.” Last week’s Sunday strip had a small “Opus” title illustration (but not a full panel illustration) I may be reading too much into this, but it makes me wonder. Not true. It was printed on the side of his suitcase. Similarly, in the one where he visits Binkley’s mom, it was on the cover of the tabloid she was reading. He seems to be squeezing the title into context in a lot of them; it’s only when he can’t fit it in somewhere that he goes with an explicit title block.