Opinions of 'Opus' Comic Still Mixed

By: Dave Astor When E&P last fall asked people about "Opus," some weren't thrilled with Berkeley Breathed's then-new strip.

After seeing that Dec. 15 article, Breathed said it would be better for people to judge his Sunday comic after at least a half year of syndication. So E&P last month talked to about a dozen people, and also asked Breathed for copies of recent reader e-mails. The results? Very diverse views about "Opus," which the Washington Post Writers Group (WPWG) launched Nov. 23 in 170 papers.

Breathed, creator of the Pulitzer Prize- winning "Bloom County," said most of his "Opus" e-mail has been "gracious." A California reader wrote: "I'm so glad that you returned. You have been missed."

An Indiana resident said "Opus" is "the best strip on the pages -- the one I read first and definitely the funniest." And an Oregon e-mailer wrote: "I normally don't buy the newspaper, but instead get my comics from a paid online comic subscription. I will make an exception for 'Opus'...."

Some syndicated cartoonists are also fans of Breathed's half-page comic. "The writing and art are fantastic," said Todd Clark, who does "Lola" for Tribune Media Services.

"I think 'Opus' is a great strip," agreed "Out of the Gene Pool" creator Matt Janz of WPWG. "Does it make me forget 'Bloom County' or 'Outland'? No ... and that's not necessarily a bad thing. What Berkeley Breathed has created with 'Opus' is an entirely new entity."

The comic, added Janz, deserves its half page a week. "You can tell Breathed is also a children's book author," he said. "The larger space enables him to be more of a storyteller. I love his use of dramatic pauses to enhance the gag."

Several other cartoonists have mixed or somewhat negative feelings about "Opus."

"Funky Winkerbean"/"Crankshaft" cartoonist Tom Batiuk said Breathed's considerable storytelling skills were more suited to the daily "Bloom County" than a Sunday-only strip. "Doing 'Opus' only once a week doesn't allow him to build a narrative from day to day," said the King Features Syndicate creator. "But you still see some flashes of what you liked about 'Bloom County.'"

Breathed told E&P he's "deeply gratified that many of the letters I get seem to understand that an occasional Opus is better than an ex-Opus. ... Daily stripping over decades leaves cartoonists looking like Keith Richards at 5 a.m., especially if there are small children to raise."

Hilary Price, who does "Rhymes With Orange" for King, said the "Opus" strip "hasn't grabbed me" because its penguin star "hasn't settled his cute fat butt anywhere. One thing that made him so delightful in 'Bloom County' was that he served as a foil to a small-town community."

"Non Sequitur" creator Wiley Miller of Universal Press Syndicate said "Opus" art hasn't lived up to pre-Nov. 23 claims that it would be unlike almost anything else on comics pages. "To say Berke has fallen short of the promised hype would be an understatement of monumental proportions," he commented.

Cartoonist/comics historian R.C. Harvey agreed. "I don't think Breathed ever delivered the stunning artwork he promised," Harvey said, adding that "Non Sequitur," "Mutts," "Zits," and "The Norm" are among strips that "do more with Sunday layout than Breathed is doing."

What do newspapers think? One measure is a rise in the "Opus" client list to about 185, according to Karisue Wyson, WPWG's sales manager/North America.

Chicago Tribune Associate Managing Editor/Features Geoffrey Brown said -- as he did last December -- that about one of four "Opus" strips are "laugh-out loud funny" and the other three are "standard" comics fare.

Salt Lake City Deseret Morning News Feature Editor Chris Hicks, whose paper runs the comic on the back page of its Sunday travel section, said reader reaction to "Opus" has been mostly positive. Hicks' own opinion about Breathed's work? "It was unique when it was 'Bloom County' and it's still unique," he replied. "But it's very hit or miss.... [And] it could run smaller and still have the same effect."

Mike Peterson, the educational services director who handles comics at The Post-Star in Glens Falls, N.Y., said "Opus" is "not a bad strip, but there are other people doing equally good work and some doing better work.... I think its main appeal is for people who wish 'Bloom County' had never ended."

Breathed suggested last fall that newspapers make room for "Opus" and other newer comics by dropping past-their-prime strips -- including those no longer done by their original creators. Did that suggestion have any effect? "Zero impact," replied Brown, and most interviewees agreed.