The first part of this collection contains the final - more or less - Outland strips. These strips were written back when fat and cholesterol were the bad foods instead of carbs. Various plotlines include jabs at Hollywood with a sequel to the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird": "Kill Mo' Mockingbird". Steve Dallas defends Bill the Cat of his murderous fake chainsaw rampage a'la the OJ trial, then Steve hi-jacks Oliver Wendell Jones' time machine to go chase ambulances through history, running into Calamity Janes, Lady Godiva, Adolf Hitler and a caveman, circa 10,000 B.C.

Opus winds his way through the final Outland strips much as he did at the end of Bloom County, ending with a poignant reunion with a loved family member thought long gone.

In the final part of the book Mr. Breathed lets us in on some of his favorite strips and private thoughts in a way I haven't seen in other places. He tells us the anecdotes of communications he has received from Leonard Nimoy, Caspar Weinburger, President Reagan, "Mockingbird" Author Harper Lee, and he describes the evolution of characters originally intended to appear for only a moment who then became cornerstones of the Breathed 'toon empire: Opus and Bill the Cat. Good stuff for the Breathed collector.


If you only read one book in your lifetime...   April 20, 2003
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Reading past Bloom County and Outland strips is like taking a stroll through the political and pop culture landscape of the eighties and early nineties with non-stop laughs and fond memories of the times and of the what is quite possibly the funniest comic strip series ever.


Why did he do it?   June 4, 1999
 14 out of 22 found this review helpful

Why do all the great ones do it? Berke Breathed, Bill watterson, Gary Larson. Al the great cartoonists quit when there's lots of stuff left to cover! All the boring strips (Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Family Circus) must remain. Dilbert is Pretty good, but Scott Adams can never live up to the artistic and comedic talent of Berke Breathed. I wish Mr. Breathed would AT LEAST do another collection full of fresh stuff...


What a wonderful book!   January 7, 1999
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

It was a sad day when Bloom County and then Outland ended. These are perhaps the best view of the Eighties and early Ninties that can be done with humor. I really enjoyed the last part of the book in which Breathed tells a short story about cartoons that recived special responces from diferant public figures (i.e. President Reagan, Casper Weinburger, Gregory Peck and Spock, yes, as in Mr. Spock!!). I will miss Bill and Opus.


And a Bittersweet Goodbye   February 4, 1998
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

I was very upset when Breathed stopped drawing comic strips. I didn't really discover Bloom County until just before it was canceled and Outland took its place. It's a shame that all of the good cartoonists stop writing while the rest keep running the same gags forever (don't believe me? see how many different jokes you can find in Dennis the Menace.) Alas. This is the final collection of Breathed's strips, with some older ones and the stories about them. Most of the time that sort of thing tends to be pretty boring but in this case they are actually the highlight of the book (be sure not to miss the one about the time President Reagan called while he (Breathed) was in the shower.) The Outland strips themselves are not, in my opinion, as funny as Bloom County was, but that isn't a very harsh criticism.