Saturday, April 16, 2022

Brand Spanking New Day


Brand Spanking New Day
(2017) by Berkeley Breathed

Bloom County was one of my favorite places to visit back in the 1980s. Berkeley Breathed's world had fantastic humor, memorable characters, and a way of skewering the politics, trends, and celebrities of the day that was fresh and on-point. When he decided to bring back Opus and company with new comics on his Facebook page in order to take on the madness that was the world in the campaign and election of 2016, I was delighted. He mixed the usual Bloomian commentary on all the weirdness with a touching story about Sam the Lion--and he gave Steve Dallas a heart in the process.

Brand Spanking New Day is the second printed collection to come out of Breathed's return to Bloom County and it was a delight to read. The return of Bloom County was one of the few bright spots in the long, dark night that was the era of the Orange Menace.  ★★★★

First line (panel): Steve alert! Vodka-fueled existential crisis heading our way!

Last line (panel): Best nannies EVER.