Opus the Penguin (Opus T. Bloom County was an American Comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989 Penguin) is a character in the comic strips and children's books of Berkeley Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist Children's literature is an age category of literature written for published for or marketed to Children roughly through age 12 Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American Cartoonist, children's book Author / Illustrator, The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Bloom County was an American Comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989 Breathed has described him as an "existentialist penguin" and the favorite of his many characters. Existentialism is a philosophical doctrine which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives and that this essence follows from their existence He currently appears in the Sunday-only strip Opus. Opus was a Sunday strip drawn by Berkeley Breathed for a period of circa five years from 2003 to 2008

Contents 1 Introduction and Appearance 2 Notable Storylines 3 Post Bloom County 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

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. Michael Binkley was a major character in Berke Breathed 's cartoon strip Bloom County. The German Shepherd Dog ( GSD) (Deutscher Schäferhund is a breed of large-sized dog that originates from Germany. Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are a group of aquatic, flightless Birds living almost However, Opus' popularity quickly grew until he became the signature character of Breathed's comic strips.

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, a revelation which shocks Opus. Puffin describes any of four Auk species (or alcids) in the Bird genus Fratercula (Latin little brother — probably a reference (In the final panel of the same strip, Opus responds by telling Binkley that he looks like a carrot. ) Opus says he is attracted to "svelte buoyant waterfowl".

He is usually seen wearing a bow tie and collar, though he sometimes switches to a diagonally striped necktie when running for public office. The bow tie is a men's Necktie popularly worn with Formal attire, such as suits or Dinner jackets It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around The necktie (or tie) is a long piece of cloth worn around the neck resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat Beginning in Outland during the 1990s, he is also occasionally seen inexplicably wearing white briefs. Outland was a Sunday-only Comic strip written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed from 1989 until 1995. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 For other uses of Brief(s see Brief Briefs are a type of short tight Y-shaped Underwear and Swimwear, as opposed

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 is a fictional character in the American comic strips of Berke Breathed, most famously Bloom County in the 1980s Mediatubaogg -->The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched Brass instrument. Billy and the Boingers is a fictional heavy metal rock band from the comic strip Bloom County, originally known as Deathtöngue. Billy and the Boingers is a fictional heavy metal rock band from the comic strip Bloom County, originally known as Deathtöngue. Lola Granola, also known as Fatima Struggle, is a fictional character in the comic strips Bloom County and Opus by Berkeley Breathed A farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials A striptease or Exotic dance is a form of erotic entertainment usually a Dance, in which the performer known as a "stripper" gradually undresses __FORCETOC__ For the Vice President of the United States, their roles and other information see Vice President of the United States. The National Radical Meadow Party (sometimes known as the American Meadow Party or simply the Meadow Party') was a fictional Political party from Bill the Cat, or Bill D Cat, according to the final Outland strip is a fictional Cat appearing in the works of Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed

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. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Amnesia (from Greek) is a condition in which Memory is disturbed 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. Lily Diane Sawyer (born December 19, 1945) is a Television Reporter for ABC and co-anchor of its morning news show Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3 1961 is an Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe - Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Another story line 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. Mary Kay is a brand of skin care cosmetics and color Cosmetics sold by Mary Kay Inc Another memorable story line featured Opus being the subject of moral scorn as a perpetrator of "penguin lust. " He fled Bloom County, and was absent for a long time, eventually reappearing lost in the desert, before his mother came to him in a hallucination and told him to return to his home. In another story, Opus wrote an autobiography, A Penguin's Story, which nobody bought. Milo Bloom later rewrote the memoir, exaggerating and fabricating most of it, in his typical fashion. Milo Bloom was a central character in the American comic strip Bloom County. The new, scandalous memoir, 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. for other uses see Memoir (disambiguation As a literary Genre, a memoir (from the French: mémoire 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 that attached his rear end to his body.

Post Bloom County

Opus was the second Bloom County regular to appear in the Sunday-only Outland strip, after Outland's original protagonist, Ronald-Ann Smith. Outland was a Sunday-only Comic strip written and illustrated by Berkeley Breathed from 1989 until 1995. Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breathed 's comic strips Bloom County and Outland He also appeared in some of Breathed's children's books, including A Wish for Wings That Work and Goodnight Opus. A Wish for Wings That Work An Opus Christmas Story was a children's book by Berkeley Breathed that was published in 1991. Goodnight Opus (ISBN 9780316108539 is a 1993 Children's book by Berkeley Breathed featuring Opus the Penguin.

Eight years after Outland ended, Opus returned in a second Sunday-only strip simply titled Opus, in 2003. Opus was a Sunday strip drawn by Berkeley Breathed for a period of circa five years from 2003 to 2008 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 four — Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, and (on June 3, 2007), Michael Binkley and Oliver Wendell Jones. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Michael Binkley was a major character in Berke Breathed 's cartoon strip Bloom County.

According to the July 10, 2005 edition of the Opus comic strip, Opus currently lives at 996 Melba Lane, presumably in Bloom County. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Opus was a Sunday strip drawn by Berkeley Breathed for a period of circa five years from 2003 to 2008

Opus appears on the label of Honest Tea's Peach Oo-la-long tea. Honest Tea is a bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda Maryland.

Trivia

• According to Breathed, Opus was named after a song by the rock group Kansas. Honest Tea is a bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda Maryland. Kansas is an American Progressive rock band which became a popular Arena rock group in the 1970s with hit singles such as " Carry On Wayward The band's 1976 album Leftoverture includes the song "Opus Insert" and a suite called "Magnum Opus". Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leftoverture is the fourth Album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1976. ^[1]
• In the April 2007 issue of Texas Monthly, Breathed announced his plan to kill off Opus, thus ending the character's eponymous comic strip. April 2007 is the fourth month of that year It began on a Sunday and 30 days later ended on a Monday. Texas Monthly is a monthly American Magazine published in Austin, Texas. ^[2] Breathed's editor later explained that it was a publicity stunt on Breathed's part. ^[3] Berkeley said that the statement about killing Opus was a joke. ^[4]

References

External links

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

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic