Politically, Fashionably, and Aerodynamically Incorrect: The First Outland Collection

by Berkeley Breathed

A collection of the best strips from "Outland," the Sunday spinoff of "Bloom County," introduces Rosebud the Basselope and Milquetoast the cross-dressing cockroach

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fiction, Comic Strips, Cartoon, Comedy, Graphic Novels

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

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 which dealt with socio-political issues as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters (e.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.

Reviews

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to read these strips without comparing them to Bloom County, a comic that I loved. When I do that, I spend most of my time missing most of that cast. However, when I try to shut off that part of my brain and read these strips without prior knowledge, they are just as fun and enjoyable as Bloom County was. The strips get stronger as the book continues.

[Richard Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dismissing this as a mere comic book would be a mistake. Full of heart, thoughtfulness and a good perspective on the world, Berkeley Breathed delivers it all with hilarity through a non-sequitur delivery.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as transcendentally funny as "Billy And The Boingers Bootleg," but there's still awesomeness on every page.

[Jeremy Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quasi-reread for me. When Bloom County ended as a daily strip and went to a weekly strip in Outland, I was disappointed. Sure, Breathed brought Bill and Opus along for the ride with new characters, but it just wasn't the same. Reading this collection put Outland in perspective. By switching to a weekly strip, Breathed was able to experiment more with his art. The first half of this collection felt like Breathed didn't know what Outland was going to be, but halfway through the collection, he seemed to have an idea how to continue Bill and Opus without retreading Bloom County.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a few minutes before my book club. As I am wont to do, I headed over to the graphic novel section to browse. Frankly, the section is looking shabby these days. It appears that the offerings are severely depleted from a couple years ago. Anyhow, I browsed. Somehow I saw this and thought, "Why not?"

I recall when Bloom County was all the rage. I then recall when Outland came out. I tried to read that back then, but I think it didn't make an impression on me then.

The very first strip took a swipe at President Bush (41). Yeah, I knew what I was reading at that point. Perhaps since it was just last week President Bush was buried, but I didn't like the swipes. There were Trump cuts too. To be fair, there was a dig at Democrats and Congress in general. Frankly, I thought most of the political jabs were weak.

But there were some laughs. I think the humor that was more "everyday man" was better. And it certainly held up better than the dated references.

Breathed certainly is talented. Opus is a riot. He's this strip's Linus, imo. Bill the Cat was always good for a laugh.

I would give another volume a chance, if there were one.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

Breathed's Bloom County was masterful. Much of it still holds up after all these years. But he really lost his way with Outland. The characters weren't as memorable or funny. The whole series seemed to have the life sucked out of it. It was still funny in some ways but paled in comparison to Bloom County.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to read this book all the time when I was a kid. I just love the humor and the characters. I came across this book while I was cleaning my computer room, so of course I had to sit down and read it through. Still makes me laugh.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Damien Vasseur · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's no bloom county...but it'll do.

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus · Rating 5 out of 5]

another for the collector

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not enjoy these as much as the bloom county series but still funny. Recommended

[Laura]

1/20/2014

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Politically, Fashionably, and Aerodynamically Incorrect: The First Outland Collection by Berkeley Breathed (Little, Brown and Company 1992) (741.5973)(3629).

Before he began producing the comic strip “Outland,” author Berkeley Breathed was already a cartooning legend for his strip “Bloom County.” Breathed drew Bloom County for about eight years before retiring the strip in 1989. He almost immediately thereafter started penning a Sunday only comic strip called “Outland” in late 1989. However, Breathed soon brought the Bloom County characters into Outland; Breathed abandoned Outland in 1995.

He then produced a new strip named “Opus” which starred one of Bloom County’s and Outland’s long-time principal characters. “Opus” ran from the early 2000’s until Breathed ceased producing it in 2008. The author finally came full circle when in 2015 he introduced “Bloom County 2015” before finally giving up and simply calling it “Bloom County,” which was of course the name of the original strip.

But I digress, for this review is about the strip “Outland.”

Outland features characters from Bloom County, but (sigh) it’s just not the same. Maybe I’ve aged out of Breathed’s audience, but I think it’s more than that. Perhaps the author and I each needed a break during his Outland period.

I purchased a used paperback copy of this volume in like-new condition for $0.10 (that’s right; a dime) from McKay’s Books on November 15, 2021.

My rating: 7/10, finished 3/14/22 (3629).

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[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I dig Bloom County a bit more than Outland. I feel like there was more content in BC that wasn’t dependent on references to 80s stuff and it’s just not the case with Outland. I also read a bunch of these in a few different collections I think when I was a kid and I’m bewildered I got past the references I was just talking about. I must’ve had a good eye for just ignoring some things or sussing a joke out using context clues. Weird to think about but yeah stuff I was clearly more curious about as a ten year old in a library.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Bloom County – Outland, not so much. Coming out only as a Sunday strip made story lines that lasted over the course of multiple weeks a problem, apparently – anyway, it didn’t occur much over the run covered here, around the first two years worth.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as funny as Bloom County, but there's some good stuff here. I particularly liked the strip where Opus is attempting to buy some fireworks. He can't because they're illegal. "The government wants to protect us from burning our fingies," says our favorite penguin. In the last panel, he's seen holding the semi-automatic weapon that was perfectly legal for him to purchase.

Huh?