Comic News: Bloom County Debuts at #1

First ever chronological collection tops The New York Times Best Seller List



Opus, Milo, Bill the Cat and the entire cast of Bloom County characters make their triumphant return as The Bloom County Library Volume One debuts at the top of The New York Times Best Seller List! The first of a five volume series, The Bloom County Library Volume One features every daily and Sunday strip from 1980-82 in chronological order, many reprinted for the first time, plus context pages and commentary from the creator, Berkeley Breathed.

“Honestly, I thought most of the old Bloom County fans were either wandering the streets talking to Pluto on their CIA brain implants or dead,” said Breathed. “Instead it seems that they’re still out there in large numbers, lucid and sober enough to read. NOW I find this out, years after I quit.”

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 wit and humor. Breathed was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1987 for his work on Bloom County and at its height the strip was published in an astonishing 1200 newspapers.

“While debuting as #1 on The New York Times list is incredible,” said editor Scott Dunbier, “I’m even happier to be able to say to Berkeley: ‘Told you so!’”

In addition to a complete chronological reprint of the first two years, The Bloom County Library Volume One contains a series of context pages sprinkled throughout the book, providing perspective for the reader and presenting a variety of real-life events and personalities that were contemporary at the time of original publication. Breathed also adds his own commentary, giving the reader insight on certain strips and his creative process.

The Bloom County Library Volume One is the most recent release from IDW and its imprint, the Library of American Comics, helmed by Eisner Award winner Dean Mullaney. The Bloom County Library Volume One is edited by Dunbier and designed by Mullaney.

The Bloom County Library Volume One ($39.99; ISBN 978-1600105319) is now on sale.