• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

2

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

3

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy

1

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling

2

Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent

3

Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Arts & Entertainmentcomics

Hit 1980s comic strip Bloom County is back – thanks to Donald Trump

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 13, 2015, 11:42 AM ET
"Mars Needs Moms" - Los Angeles Premiere - Red Carpet
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 06: Berkeley Breathed attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Mars Needs Moms" at the El Capitan Theatre on March 6, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)Photograph by Jeff Kravitz — FilmMagic/Getty Images

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is proving to be a powerful magnet for retired comics. Over the weekend, David Letterman emerged from his self-imposed exile to mock the candidate with a new Top 10 list. Now Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed has brought back the much beloved comic Bloom County.

Breathed teased the return Sunday, with a Facebook post showing him at work on the strip – dubbed Bloom County 2015. The first strip appeared on the page Monday morning.

“A return after 25 years,” he captioned Sunday’s picture. “Feels like going home.”

Breathed first hinted at the return of Bloom County last Wednesday, replying to one of the many fan pleas to revive the strip. “Watch this space,” he wrote.

What’s less clear is whether Breathed’s decision to revive Bloom County will be ongoing – and, if so, if he intends to only make it available online or if he will once again syndicate it to newspapers.

Apparently, though, Trump’s latest presidential campaign was just too juicy a subject for him to resist.

“With Donald Trump returning to the Political Spectum [sic], I believe it is only fitting [that the strip should return],” read one of the hundreds of comments made by fans after Breathed’s Sunday tease.

“This creator can’t precisely deny that the chap you mention had nothing to do with it,” Breathed replied.

Posted by Berkeley Breathed on Monday, July 13, 2015

 

Judging by the number of shares — 15,000 and counting within four hours — and the comments on his Facebook page, his audience is thrilled.

Given how Bloom County ended its nine-year run in 1989, a decision of Breathed’s own choosing, Trump would certainly be a good jumping off point. As Bloom County‘s days came to a close, the narrative focused on Trump (whose brain had been transferred into Bill the Cat’s body several months prior after the millionaire was fatally injured by the anchor of his own yacht) ‘buying’ the strip and firing all of the regular characters.

Irreverent and not afraid to go after politicians – or any public figure – Bloom County is one of the classic American comics. It spawned two spinoffs as well as books and television specials.

Despite deciding to end Bloom County, Breathed could never quite walk away from the characters that breathed life into the strip. Outland, a Sunday only comic that ran from 1989-1995 eventually saw the return of Opus, Bill the Cat and other familiar faces. And Opus, which ran from 2003-2008, was entirely centered around Bloom County’s most popular character.

Ironically, part of the reason Breathed ended Opus was because of the 2008 presidential campaign.

“Thirty years of cartooning to end,” he told the Los Angeles Times at the time. “I’m destroying the village to save it. Opus would inevitably become a ranting mouthpiece in the coming wicked days, and I respect the other parts of him too much to see that happen. The Michael Moore part of me would kill the part of him that was important to his fans.”

Since then, Breathed has stayed active, writing and illustrating a number of children’s books – including Mars Needs Moms!, which, in 2011, was made into a motion picture.

About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Artist who painted life-sized swimming whale mural in Dallas sues FIFA for allegedly illegally painting over his work
LawFifa
Artist who painted life-sized swimming whale mural in Dallas sues FIFA for allegedly illegally painting over his work
By Russ Bynum and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
8 hours ago
Soldier Field in Chicago during 1994 FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies
EconomyWorld Cup
Some of the biggest U.S. sporting towns decided not to host any World Cup games, fearing a ‘major financial burden to our cities’
By Tristan BoveJune 3, 2026
10 hours ago
bangladesh
AsiaBangladesh
He’s got golden hair, weighs 1,500 pounds, and he’s a rare albino buffalo. Bangladesh is calling him ‘Donald Trump’
By Al Emrun Garjon, Julhas Alam and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
10 hours ago
fifa
LawWorld Cup
An artist painted a mural of life-sized whales in Dallas — then FIFA painted over it for the World Cup
By Russ Bynum and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
11 hours ago
Mike Bloomberg matches $25 million fundraising effort to educate youths about 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary
North AmericaNew York
Mike Bloomberg matches $25 million fundraising effort to educate youths about 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary
By James Pollard and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
11 hours ago
pell
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Scott Pelley said Bari Weiss was ‘murdering’ 60 Minutes. He got fired a day later
By Hannah Schoenbaum and The Associated PressJune 3, 2026
13 hours ago

Most Popular

Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
North America
Social Security unraveling: 7,100 workers sacked, performance metrics retired, disability claims falling
By Katie Savin, Callie Freitag, Matthew Borus and The ConversationJune 2, 2026
2 days ago
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
Environment
Erin Brockovich, the activist who defeated a utility giant and inspired a Julia Roberts film, is pushing data centers to be more transparent
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 1, 2026
2 days ago
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
Cybersecurity
Ohio city workers are covering automated license plate readers with trash bags as officials sound the alarm on 'egregious violations' of privacy
By Sasha RogelbergJune 3, 2026
13 hours ago
Southwest exec says the free bag and assigned seating overhaul is already paying off
Travel & Leisure
Southwest exec says the free bag and assigned seating overhaul is already paying off
By Preston ForeJune 2, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 2, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 2, 2026
2 days ago
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
Banking
'Where we are today is frightening': a Pulitzer-winning historian sees a doomsday scenario involving China and the national debt
By Nick LichtenbergJune 2, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.