IDW Adds ‘Bloom County’ to Comic Strip Library
IDW Publishing announced yesterday the forthcoming release of The Bloom County Library. Beginning in October 2009, each of the five volumes will collect nearly two years worth of daily and Sunday strips, in chronological order. This will be the very first time that many of these comic strips have been collected, and the first time in a beautifully designed, hardcover format. The books will be part of IDW’s gorwing Library of American Comics imprint, and designed by Eisner Award-winner Dean Mullaney.
"Fans have pestered me for years,” said Berkeley Breathed, “for this ultimate Bloom County collection in that polite, respectful badgering way that only fans can manage. Thank God I can now tell them something better than just ‘please remove your tent from my lawn.’ I can say, ‘It’s coming!"
Berkeley Breathed’s Bloom County is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed newspaper strips of modern times. Premiering on December 8th, 1980 — a month after the election of Ronald Reagan as President — the strip brought to the comics pages a unique amalgam of contemporary politics and fantasy, all told with hilarious humor and wit.
The beloved and quirky denizens of Bloom County include Opus, Steve Dallas, Bill the Cat, Milo Bloom, Michael Binkley, and Cutter John. Breathed was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1987 for his work on Bloom County. The strip was published in an astounding 1200 newspapers.
The phenomenon that was Bloom County spawned a merchandizing bonanza, as well as two spin-off strips, Outland and Opus. The first paperback collection of the strip, Loose Tails, sold over one million copies. Bloom County paperbacks cumulatively sold over six million copies. At the height of the strip’s popularity, Breathed walked away on August 6th, 1989.
IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier conceived the series. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be editing the Bloom County Library,” said Dunbier. “This is a series that I can’t wait to hold in my hands.”
The Bloom County Library will also contain a series of “Context Pages” sprinkled throughout the volumes. These pages will provide perspective for the reader, presenting a variety of real-life events and personalities that were contemporary at the time of original publication.
I am skeptical, do you think IDW will finish the series or leave it hanging half done like GrimJack?
My guess is that will depend entirely upon economic forces like sales and profit.
Do we know if this is going to include The Academia Waltz? And is it going to include the original captions, not the redone ones that Breathed has been known to do to some of his reprints?
I don't know. 5 volumes is alot easier to finish and complete in comparison to the Complete Chester Gould Dick Tracy (which I believe vol. 6 is out), and I think there's a total of 50 vol planned for that series, unless I'm mistaken.
OFF-TOPICMr. Greenberger,Sorry for posting this here, but I cannot find a contact email or mailing address for you. (Also, someone needs to do a Wikipedia article for you ;) ).I was at NYComicCon last weekend and attended the GL (HJ) Turns 50 panel. (Which we enjoyed immensely. Seeing the men who made and make it great was a real treat!). Several of Denny O'Neil's students were in attendance. We have emailed him since the Con and have not heard back. Did you hear from him at all?Thank you,Chris