There’s a special place in Austin’s heart for Berkeley Breathed. The comic that became Bloom County originated here as Academia Waltz in UT’s newspaper in the late Seventies. Old strips he did for The Daily Texan are reprinted from time to time and you can see the early incarnations of Steve Dallas and Cutter John in them.
My first look at his work was through a Houston newspaper at the Springfield public library. I never thought it looked anything like Doonesbury yet many papers published it in their editorial pages; same as Boondocks today while the unfunny, alcoholic rants of Mallard Fillmore are in the primo real estate of the funnies page. Anyway, I thought his strip was pretty funny and little did I know my family would be moving to Houston where it was a regular fixture. Bloom County went on to be a staple of popular culture amongst most high school and college students I knew during the Eighties. I was saddened when it came to an end in 1989 only to be brought back as the less interesting weekly Outland. I think his material works better on a daily basis as others do when they do a theme for six days. His return with Opus has been better and I guess that it’s due to the current occupants in the White House giving him back his edge.
Currently he’s more well known for his children’s books, this year he released Mars Needs Moms and I heard one of his rare telephone interviews on NPR. Breathed has been a huge Macintosh fan too so I’m sure his dig on the upcoming iPhone will be as amusing as it may be accurate.