Goodnight Opus

I'm ridiculously sad this morning, close to tears in fact, because of a cartoon character.

Opus is the lead character is a series of cartoon strips by Berkeley Breathed over the last twenty eight years. The syndicated strips were called "Bloom County" and featured a bow tie wearing penguin called Opus as just one of a set of characters, mainly children, who lived in Bloom County somewhere in the US. It's probably my favourite comic strip of all time.

Over time Opus became the most important character in the strip and when "Bloom County" finished in 1985 he survived into a subsequent Sunday strip "Outland" which lasted another four years. Then he stopped for a while before returning with another Sunday strip now called "Opus".

Over the last few weeks Berkeley had been moving Opus towards retirement. First he put him into the dog pound, which lead to this strip which had me close to tears with its poignant last frame.

But now we've reached the last frame and Opus decided to let the little dog go off to a Hawaiian paradise while he snuggled down forever in the pages of "Goodnight Moon".

Berkeley writes:

Opus is napping. He sleeps in peace, dreaming of world just ahead brimming with kindness and grace and ubiquitous bow ties.

Please don't mourn him. He lives in all my childrens' stories, if you look. I hope to meet you again there.

Thank you, truly, for coming along with us on Opus' twenty eight year journey.

  -- Berkeley Breathed

Yup, that's done me completely now. I do mourn.

Goodnight Opus.