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Opus (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
Opus was a Sunday strip
drawn by Berkeley Breathed
for a period of five years, 2003 to 2008. It was Breathed's fourth comic strip
, following The Academia Waltz
, Bloom County
and Outland.
Set in Bloom County, the strip documented the adventures of Breathed's popular character Opus the Penguin
, parodying both pop culture and politics along the way. It was launched with much fanfare on November 23, 2003, and was syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group. In early October 2008 the author declared he was terminating the strip because of his expectation that the United States
is going to face tough times and his desire to depart from his most famous character "on a lighter note".
is the title character and protagonist of the strip. Though he returned to Antarctica at the end of Outland, Opus traveled back home to Bloom County, only to find that time has changed everything and everyone he once held dear. His employment usually depended on the week's joke - since Opus began, he has so far been a political operative, a garbageman, and a newspaper ombudsman
- but he was most often depicted as a syndicated cartoonist.
While his mother was no longer "long-lost," she was not all he had imagined her to be after a decades-long search, and he was frequently seeking the comfort of an ideal mother-figure.
In a 2003 interview with The A.V. Club
, Breathed revealed that "Opus was named after a Kansas
song." (The band's 1976 album Leftoverture
includes the song "Opus Insert" and a suite called "Magnum Opus".) He also added, "If you're too young to know who Kansas was, to hell with you."
an eunuch
after a disastrous first kiss (this kiss was described to Binkley by his older self from his anxiety closet in Bloom County
). He was not heard from again until June 3, 2007, when he appeared in his child form without explanation.
At one point, Opus ponders the whereabouts of his other buddies from the past. Among those that Opus remembers are Milo Bloom
, although Milo's whereabouts have not yet been discussed. Additionally, Ronald-Ann Smith
, the original protagonist of Outland, has not been referenced at all in the strip.
At an autograph party for an Opus anthology book, Breathed revealed that the reason many of the original child characters had not returned is because in the years since the end of Outland, the child characters would have aged into teenagers, and Breathed had no interest in reviving the characters in that form.
" (Berkeley Breathed
) spoke to Opus and hinted that the strip will end soon. The next week, Opus was visited by the ghost of Elvis who told Opus to find a place where he wants to be forever, because he will stay in that one spot after he "dies." e.g., Elvis is condemned to sit on the toilet forever because that's where he happened to be when he died.
, for lacking expressive artwork or original humor.
In an interview appearing in the April 2007 issue of Texas Monthly
, Breathed announced that he planned to end the strip by killing off the main character. On April 2, 2007 the journal Editor & Publisher
reported on this interview in a story titled "Will Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed Kill Off Opus the Penguin?" However, Breathed's editor has reportedly quoted him as stating, “I mentioned Opus’ literal death just for talking points on my [book] tour coming up. Not gonna kill him, but it’s good for copy.” Breathed confirmed that he was joking in an interview with Salon
: "I was kidding about killing Opus, by the way. I'd like to walk the streets free from fears of spontaneous garroting."
In August 2008, the strip began a sequence playing off the 2007 interview, as "the Creator" of the strip informed Opus that "the end is near." The strip ended on Sunday, November 2, 2008, with Opus snugly in bed at the conclusion of Goodnight Moon
.
, this was to provide "space for Breathed to offer richness and depth, similar to the breathtaking imagery in his popular children's books." While this style can appear hand-painted or airbrushed, it is actually rendered by Breathed on a computer using Adobe Photoshop
. The half-page requirement has since been lifted, and the strip is now scaled down by most newspapers. Its original illustration style has also been largely abandoned in favor of a more hand-drawn look, much like that of Breathed's previous strip, Outland.
Initially, in an effort to help boost physical newspaper sales, the strip was barred from appearing online
; however, in 2005, that too changed and Opus became officially available on the web
.
On August 26, 2007, the strip featured Lola Granola wearing a headscarf, explaining that she was now a "radical Islamist." The cartoon was not printed by the Washington Post and many other papers. The following week's strip was also censored. Both strips were replaced by more innocuous strips in the printed versions, but the 'objectionable' strips relating to Lola's religious beliefs were offered in a variety of Internet comics sites, including Breathed's homepage and the "My Comics Page" site (this site now requires a paid "pro" registration for access to the censored strips, but free access to the censored strips is still available via http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/08/26/opus/index.html and http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/09/02/opus/index.html).
revealed in a press release for an animated version of The Nutty Professor
that it had a "CG-animated project
" called "Opus" "in the works". Numerous online movie databases, including The New York Times
, have entries for the movie, titled Opus: The Last Christmas, and give a release date of December 19, 2008. Some of these sites name Berkeley Breathed as the director, while others list Tim Bjorklund and Paul Taylor. Initially, Miramax Films
was reported to have obtained the movie rights to the series, but the project migrated to The Weinstein Company
with the departure of the Weinstein brothers from Disney and Miramax.
However, on May 8, 2007, during an interview by NPR
radio host Diane Rehm
, Mr. Breathed responded to an e-mail question regarding the existence of Opus: The Last Christmas by saying, In a June 2007 interview with Salon.com
, Breathed confirmed that the Miramax feature was "dead", but left the door open for an independently produced
Opus film:
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
drawn by Berkeley Breathed
Berkeley Breathed
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 that dealt with sociopolitical issues as understood by fanciful characters and through humorous analogies...
for a period of five years, 2003 to 2008. It was Breathed's fourth comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, following The Academia Waltz
The Academia Waltz
The Academia Waltz was Berkeley Breathed's first cartoon, published daily from 1978 to 1979 in The Daily Texan at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was a student...
, Bloom County
Bloom County
Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, where children often have adult personalities and vocabularies and where...
and Outland.
Set in Bloom County, the strip documented the adventures of Breathed's popular character Opus the Penguin
Opus the Penguin
Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and children's books of Berkeley Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. Breathed has described him as an "existentialist penguin" and the favorite of his many characters...
, parodying both pop culture and politics along the way. It was launched with much fanfare on November 23, 2003, and was syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group. In early October 2008 the author declared he was terminating the strip because of his expectation that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is going to face tough times and his desire to depart from his most famous character "on a lighter note".
Opus
OpusOpus the Penguin
Opus the Penguin is a character in the comic strips and children's books of Berkeley Breathed, most notably the popular 1980s strip Bloom County. Breathed has described him as an "existentialist penguin" and the favorite of his many characters...
is the title character and protagonist of the strip. Though he returned to Antarctica at the end of Outland, Opus traveled back home to Bloom County, only to find that time has changed everything and everyone he once held dear. His employment usually depended on the week's joke - since Opus began, he has so far been a political operative, a garbageman, and a newspaper ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
- but he was most often depicted as a syndicated cartoonist.
While his mother was no longer "long-lost," she was not all he had imagined her to be after a decades-long search, and he was frequently seeking the comfort of an ideal mother-figure.
In a 2003 interview with The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, Breathed revealed that "Opus was named after a Kansas
Kansas (band)
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
song." (The band's 1976 album Leftoverture
Leftoverture
Leftoverture is the fourth album by American rock band Kansas, released in 1976. The album was reissued in remastered format on CD in 2001.-Overview:...
includes the song "Opus Insert" and a suite called "Magnum Opus".) He also added, "If you're too young to know who Kansas was, to hell with you."
Regular characters
- Bill the CatBill the CatBill the Cat, or Bill D. Cat, according to the final Outland strip, is a fictional cat appearing in the works of cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, beginning with the comic strip Bloom County in the 1980s and continuing in Outland and Opus in the following decades...
- the first of Opus' old friends to re-emerge (just months into the strip), Bill seemed to be the only one completely unchanged by time. Still in a state of catatoniaCatatoniaCatatonia is a state of neurogenic motor immobility, and behavioral abnormality manifested by stupor. It was first described in 1874: Die Katatonie oder das Spannungsirresein ....
, he was occasionally tapped to run for political office but most often seen relaxing by Opus' side. He did not appear in many strips through the summer and fall of 2008, though.
- Steve DallasSteve DallasSteve Dallas is a fictional character in the American comic strips of Berke Breathed, most famously Bloom County in the 1980s.He was first introduced as an obnoxious frat boy in the college strip The Academia Waltz, which ran in the University of Texas's Daily Texan during 1978 and 1979...
- Steve was reintroduced little more than a year in, making him the only character to have appeared in a major role in all four of Breathed's comic strips. Steve, who had come out as gay at the end of Outland, was back to his former chauvinisticChauvinismChauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
ways, apparently as a result of so-called "reparative therapy" (i.e., conversion therapy). Steve's lack of ability to charm women, however, remained. He had aged quite noticeably and appeared to be in his mid 50s, with graying temples and a receding hairline, but still retained his trademark sunglasses.
- Pickles - A little girl with a little bit of "snarky energy" (she first appeared as a self-proclaimed VikingVikingThe term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
princess), Pickles immediately began tagging along with Opus and Bill. She appeared much less frequently towards the end of the strip's run.
- Auggie Dallas - Steve's long lost son, reunited with his father after many years. He had nothing but admiration for Steve, even though Steve was sometimes reluctant to act like a father figure. His name may be a reference to Augie Doggie.
- Michael BinkleyMichael BinkleyMichael Binkley is a fictional character in Berke Breathed's cartoon strip Bloom County.Michael, known to all simply as 'Binkley,' is a 10-year-old boy who lives at the Bloom County Boarding House with his father Tom . Binkley is in the same class as Milo Bloom, his best friend...
- A longtime friend of Opus who began appearing in the strip after a somewhat unexplained twelve year absence (see below). He appeared as he did in Bloom County, inexplicably not aging as Steve Dallas had.
Other characters
- Senator Bedfellow - Though previously convicted on corruption charges, Bedfellow returned later on, still usually drunk and plagued by reporters.
- Editor of the Bloom Picayune - Usually Opus' boss, the Picayunes editor was depicted as hyper-stressed and suicidal, though somewhat older than he was in Bloom County.
- Oliver Wendell JonesOliver Wendell JonesOliver Wendell Jones is a fictional character in Bloom County, Outland and Opus, three comic strips by American cartoonist Berkeley Breathed.-Fictional character biography:...
- For some reason, Oliver was shown, like Binkley, to be the same age as he had been in Bloom County and Outland. He reappeared on August 5, 2007.
- Lola GranolaLola GranolaLola Granola, also known as Fatima Struggle, is a fictional character in the comic strips Bloom County and Opus by Berkeley Breathed.Lola, a free spirited hippie and abstract artist, is the unlikely fiancée of Opus the Penguin...
- Opus' one-time fiancée (back in the days of Bloom County), Lola reappeared on August 12, 2007 as Steve's girlfriend.
- Berkeley BreathedBerkeley BreathedGuy 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 that dealt with sociopolitical issues as understood by fanciful characters and through humorous analogies...
- On November 25, 2007, the cartoonist appeared as himself (using a likeness of Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
instead of drawing his own face) and "announced" that Jim Davis'sJim Davis (cartoonist)James Robert Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield, which he signs as Jim Davis. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres and a strip about Mr...
character GarfieldGarfieldGarfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
is gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
in a parody of author J. K. Rowling'sJ. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
ex post facto outingOutingOuting is the act of disclosing a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person's true sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. Outing gives rise to issues of privacy, choice, hypocrisy, and harm in addition to sparking debate on what constitutes common good in efforts...
of the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
character Albus DumbledoreAlbus DumbledoreProfessor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a major character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts...
. The strip ended with Breathed calling Rowling a "lily-livered literary chicken".
Absent characters
Early on in the strip, it was revealed that Michael Binkley had fled Bloom County to become a teenage TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
after a disastrous first kiss (this kiss was described to Binkley by his older self from his anxiety closet in Bloom County
Bloom County
Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, where children often have adult personalities and vocabularies and where...
). He was not heard from again until June 3, 2007, when he appeared in his child form without explanation.
At one point, Opus ponders the whereabouts of his other buddies from the past. Among those that Opus remembers are Milo Bloom
Milo Bloom
Milo Bloom is a fictional character in the American comic strip Bloom County. He was originally the main character, but was soon overshadowed by his best friend Michael Binkley and later on by Opus the penguin.-In Bloom County:...
, although Milo's whereabouts have not yet been discussed. Additionally, Ronald-Ann Smith
Ronald-Ann Smith
Ronald-Ann Smith was a character in Berkeley Breathed's comic strips Bloom County and Outland.Named after Ronald Reagan, Ronald-Ann was a young African American girl "from the wrong side of the trax" in Bloom County. Appearing late in the strip's run, Ronald-Ann was presented as a polar opposite of...
, the original protagonist of Outland, has not been referenced at all in the strip.
At an autograph party for an Opus anthology book, Breathed revealed that the reason many of the original child characters had not returned is because in the years since the end of Outland, the child characters would have aged into teenagers, and Breathed had no interest in reviving the characters in that form.
"Death"
On August 31, 2008, "the CreatorGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
" (Berkeley Breathed
Berkeley Breathed
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 that dealt with sociopolitical issues as understood by fanciful characters and through humorous analogies...
) spoke to Opus and hinted that the strip will end soon. The next week, Opus was visited by the ghost of Elvis who told Opus to find a place where he wants to be forever, because he will stay in that one spot after he "dies." e.g., Elvis is condemned to sit on the toilet forever because that's where he happened to be when he died.
Opus tried to fly to a tropical island on September 14, but when he was asked for his passport, he told the ticket clerk that he smuggled himself into the U.S. 30 years ago. He was promptly arrested by airport security whilst screaming, "God Bless George Bush!God Save the Queen"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...
" Opus was taken to the Department of Homeland Security and waterboardedWaterboardingWaterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over the face of an immobilized captive, thus causing the individual to experience the sensation of drowning...
. The guards told him to, "start talking, AkbarHasan Akbar caseThe Hasan Akbar case refers to an event in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when Hasan Karim Akbar was convicted of the double-murder of two officers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.The victims were Army...
!" Opus complained to "the Creator," saying he couldn't just let the strip end like this. "The Creator" then placed Opus in an animal shelterAnimal shelterAn animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...
, and mockingly said, "Happy?" to which Opus replied "NO!!"
The next week, September 26th, 2008, saw Opus bemoaning having to spend his eternity in a county animal shelter. At the behest of a fellow inmate, a scruffy dog, Opus soon began sharing his memories of his past and recounts his life through the run of Breathed's strips. Many shots of him in well-known stories from Bloom County are then shown, including Opus saying "bozo" to a politician on the TV in 1981, misunderstanding a money-grubbing cultist in 1982, sharing a mass dandelion break with other characters in 1983, his role in the rock band Deathtöngue in 1984, dreaming romantically of Diane Sawyer in 1985, and a current joke about Sarah Palin set in 1986. The strip included a tag at the bottom indicating it would be continued the next week.
At this point, a trio of island-native girls arrive at the shelter; they only have room for one companion to live with them in their paradise.
On October 6, 2008, Breathed announced that the strip would end after November 2 that year, and even decided to do a contest for people to guess what Opus's fate is on BerkeleyBreathed.com. The winner will have $10,000 donated to the animal shelter of their choosing.
On October 19, 2008, Steve Dallas was shown barging into the Bloom County Animal Shelter's lobby demanding to see Opus, claiming Opus owed him $20. The clerk stationed there informed Steve that Opus had chosen his final eternity and that Steve should do so likewise, and very quickly. The conversation ended with Steve finally realizing he was in a cartoon strip by breaking the fourth wall and asking the clerk who "all those scruffy-looking people [are]" as he looked at the readers, to which the clerk replied, "Probably DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
at this point," since he did this after dropping his towel, standing naked (but with a black censoring block over his groin).
The next week, Steve found the tropical island girls and told them to give back Opus. It was then revealed that Opus had let his doggy companion in the shelter go with the girls, said "goodnight", and returned to the kennel. After seeing a vision of former Bloom County residents (Milo, Binkley, Oliver, Cutter John, Portnoy, and Bill the Cat) waving goodbye as they rode off into the distance atop Cutter John's wheelchair, Steve walked back to the animal shelter to find nothing but Opus' bow tie and an empty kennel. The final strip showed a glowing light coming from a box inside the kennel. Steve reaches into the box, and smiles at what he sees. The panel showed the address of a link to the Humane Society, which displayed the last panel as part of the $10,000 contest; however, the address given no longer works. The final drawing showed Steve opening a copy of Goodnight MoonGoodnight MoonGoodnight Moon is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was first published in 1947, and is a highly acclaimed example of a bedtime story. It is about a child saying goodnight to everything around: "Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight...
and seeing Opus tucked in bed, sleeping peacefully with a mother rabbit watching over him.
Production history
In numerous interviews before launching Opus, Berke Breathed stated his hopes that the strip would help reinvigorate the medium of newspaper comics. He criticized many modern strips, especially GarfieldGarfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
, for lacking expressive artwork or original humor.
In an interview appearing in the April 2007 issue of Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
, Breathed announced that he planned to end the strip by killing off the main character. On April 2, 2007 the journal Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
reported on this interview in a story titled "Will Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed Kill Off Opus the Penguin?" However, Breathed's editor has reportedly quoted him as stating, “I mentioned Opus’ literal death just for talking points on my [book] tour coming up. Not gonna kill him, but it’s good for copy.” Breathed confirmed that he was joking in an interview with Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
: "I was kidding about killing Opus, by the way. I'd like to walk the streets free from fears of spontaneous garroting."
In August 2008, the strip began a sequence playing off the 2007 interview, as "the Creator" of the strip informed Opus that "the end is near." The strip ended on Sunday, November 2, 2008, with Opus snugly in bed at the conclusion of Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon is an American children's book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. It was first published in 1947, and is a highly acclaimed example of a bedtime story. It is about a child saying goodnight to everything around: "Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight...
.
Artwork and availability
The original syndication contract for Opus stipulated that the strip occupy an entire half of a newspaper page. According to The Washington Post Writers GroupWashington Post Company
The Washington Post Company is an American education and media company, best known for owning the newspaper for which it is named, The Washington Post. The Company also owns Kaplan, Inc., a leading international provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses...
, this was to provide "space for Breathed to offer richness and depth, similar to the breathtaking imagery in his popular children's books." While this style can appear hand-painted or airbrushed, it is actually rendered by Breathed on a computer using Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
. The half-page requirement has since been lifted, and the strip is now scaled down by most newspapers. Its original illustration style has also been largely abandoned in favor of a more hand-drawn look, much like that of Breathed's previous strip, Outland.
Initially, in an effort to help boost physical newspaper sales, the strip was barred from appearing online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
; however, in 2005, that too changed and Opus became officially available on the web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
.
On August 26, 2007, the strip featured Lola Granola wearing a headscarf, explaining that she was now a "radical Islamist." The cartoon was not printed by the Washington Post and many other papers. The following week's strip was also censored. Both strips were replaced by more innocuous strips in the printed versions, but the 'objectionable' strips relating to Lola's religious beliefs were offered in a variety of Internet comics sites, including Breathed's homepage and the "My Comics Page" site (this site now requires a paid "pro" registration for access to the censored strips, but free access to the censored strips is still available via http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/08/26/opus/index.html and http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2007/09/02/opus/index.html).
The movie
In August 2006 The Weinstein CompanyThe Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
revealed in a press release for an animated version of The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
that it had a "CG-animated project
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
" called "Opus" "in the works". Numerous online movie databases, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, have entries for the movie, titled Opus: The Last Christmas, and give a release date of December 19, 2008. Some of these sites name Berkeley Breathed as the director, while others list Tim Bjorklund and Paul Taylor. Initially, Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
was reported to have obtained the movie rights to the series, but the project migrated to The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
with the departure of the Weinstein brothers from Disney and Miramax.
However, on May 8, 2007, during an interview by NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
radio host Diane Rehm
Diane Rehm
Diane Rehm is an American public radio talk show host. Her program, The Diane Rehm Show, is distributed nationally and internationally by National Public Radio. It is produced at WAMU, which is licensed to American University in Washington, D.C....
, Mr. Breathed responded to an e-mail question regarding the existence of Opus: The Last Christmas by saying, In a June 2007 interview with Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, Breathed confirmed that the Miramax feature was "dead", but left the door open for an independently produced
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Opus film:
External links
- Berkeley Breathed official site
- Opus archive at washingtonpost.com
- Eric: Ack-phhlpt. - Websnark