I first discovered Berkeley Breathed's comic strip BLOOM COUNTY as a freshman at RISD. I quickly became addicted to it and for awhile, all my cartooning was heavily influenced by Breathed. Not just his drawing style, but also his humor, layout and pacing. I think you can still see some of it in my stuff now and again. To my happy surprise that year, he was a guest speaker at nearby Brown University one night. It was a very inspiring evening.
I found this series of videos of a recent talk he gave at the Long Beach Comic -Con. Like that night back in the 80's, he has many funny anecdotes, opinions, insights and work lessons to share.
I unpacked my Christmas Opus the other day. Love that strip!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adored Bloom County. I had my senior pictures made wearing a "Bill the Cat for Pres" t-shirt and Opus stuffed animal.
ReplyDeleteI was heartbroken when he retired the strip, but understood. Thank heavens he didn't let it become the travesty of "Garfield" or the like.
I never made the connection between your comics and Breathed, but now that you mention it, it's definitely got a nice little nod at his style.
No wonder I like your stuff. ;)
I adored that comic too. Wait, now I need to make a Christmas Opus for the yard! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your insights, it is always inspiring to hear from creative people like yourself.
Cheers!