Letters to the Editor
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"daunting P.C. Police?"
I agree with Breathed's complaints about the Publisher's Weekly review - it does seem to be short-sighted. But one review does not P.C. Police make. Let's not create and label a ghost out of one review. There may indeed have been more to it, but that isn't supported here.
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Now All We Need Is...
Stamaty, Doug Allen, and Tony Millionaire.
Ack!
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Damn celebrities
I agree it's a bit disingenuous for Breathed to count himself among the ranks of "serious" children's authors being invaded by celebrities. That said, he hit on one of my pet peeves.
Celebrities are invading all sorts of entertainment where they don't belong in this anything-for-a-buck media world. See the cast list for any animated film in major release in the last 5 years. Check out the bylines in "Interview" magazine ("Britney Spears interviews Sam Donaldson!")
As for White House dog Barney having a bestseller, don't assume that means anything about the reading public. Bestseller lists are based on how many copies are bought by bookstores, not on how many they sell.
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Kudos
"Bush has come full circle: His ridiculousness is approaching the sort of existential absurdity that is untouchable. Watch him try to string a sensible sentence together now. Anywhere. He's become one of those guys with the Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera who tumble through the door in the stateroom scene."
Spot on. Just had to see that again.
Also, kudos to Breathed for the delightful panels in Secondhand Lions - his charming style fit perfectly with the spirit of that film.
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How Can One Forget?
Berkeley writes:
To be honest, beyond the charms of Seuss' cartoons, children's books in the '60s weren't a depository of inspirational artwork. They had their charms ... but they rarely offered rich, graphic worlds that transported imaginations.
I must beg to differ. There was one definite children's book in the 1960's that was inspirational: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I also recall being very amused as a child by Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Or: There Must be More to Life. While I enjoyed Suess as a child, these were much richer stories.
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"Are the slippers in his butt crack?"
I think Mr. Breathed has done the unthinkable. I think he composed his son 20+ years before his actual birth. Did son Milo really say that? It really does sound like something Cartoon Milo would have said to his grandfather, the Major 25 odd years ago. I hope Mr. Breathed realizes that he has finally gotten the last laugh. Back in the day, some cartoonists criticized the kids in Bloom County as "wise-cracking adults." Methinks that the great cartoonist was simply way ahead of his time.
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Woo Hoo!
This is the best combination since chocolate and peanut butter.
Thank you, Mr. Breathed for helping shape my childhood.
Thank you, Salon for helping shape my adulthood.
Opus is my hero.
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Thank you, thank you!
I've missed Breathed every Sunday since he's been gone. Welcome to Salon Mr. Breathed! Good to see you again.
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Just a line about the opening caption
Er, I thought Salone *was* the pc police. Huh.
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Celebrity childrens' authors
Some find my tirade against celebrity childrens' authors hypocritical. True, I have a foot in both camps. But my sole profession is storytelling through pictures. My martyrish disdain is for TV celebrities, rock stars, film stars and State Dogs whose names publishers place on arguably unaccomplished but immensely well sold books. These names are hired often as ghosts for the work of others. Yes, indeed, this threatens new talent more than it does myself. And that's the annoying part.
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The author talks back
I love the way you're taking part in this conversation, Berkley. And I agree that you committed criminal negligence by leaving out Maurice Sendak ... and also Ezra Jack Keats. But on the celebrities masquerading as children's book authors, preach it. And also the godawful mass-produced moral and self-help books for kids: Berenstain Bears, Clifford, all the TV characters -- even Arthur and Franklin. They use up shelf space and encourage parents and kids just to buy for the brand name, not the story or the art. One more step towards turning books into mere ads for TV shows.
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YESSSSSSSSSS!
welcome home opus and berkely!
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Berk, i.e., Berkeley Hunt
Really, Mr. Breathed should not gripe about being called "Berk" by his mom. It's pronounced "bark" in the East End, innit? Probably his mom pronounces "Berk" to rhyme with "Turk".
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So glad you're here!
"Bloom County" was a must-read for me in high school (now that I'm, well, older, it's even funnier). I think my 4 year-old has inherited Binkley's anxiety closet: did Binkley sell it on ebay?
Looking forward to seeing you and Opus here regularly!
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"Berk"
Berkeley, you are absolutely right about the origins of the slang term synonymous with the diminutive of your name. However, its etymology rarely crosses anyone's mind when they use it. Similarly, in the UK, "cunt" -- and to an even greater extent "twat" -- has lost most if not all (in the latter's case) of its venom. In the right circumstances, they can even be funny, affectionate terms, which is wonderful given their literal meanings, and a situation that's more a return to their historical, medieval usage than it is a sign of permissiveness. Slightly off-topic, but did you know that there were numerous English towns that featured streets called Gropecunt Lane before those prudish Victorians and others came along and renamed them? Strangely, it is generally North Americans who insist on the more misogynistic usage of these vagina-derived terms. As someone who likes vaginas and vulvas, I've never really understood the negative connotations.
Anyway, welcome to Salon.
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Nope
ozwellcom, no it's pronounced to rhyme with "turk", even though "Berkshire" is pronounced "bark-sher". Cockneys. Go figure.
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If you need a cup of dandelions...
Welcome, Mr. Breathed, to my back yard. And thanks for taking steps to allow me back into yours. (Well, metaphorically, anyhow.) I've missed a consistent supply of gentle and not-so-gentle satire.
I have to admit I'm amused by the critiques of Mars Needs Moms. People who post seem to either love it or hate it, which I hope is more a comment on the polemic nature of letter writers than actual feeling.
As for me, I certainly don't hate it, but didn't find it the best Breathed work. It lacked the magical, and lyrical, nature of Goodnight Opus, or the satire of Last Basselope or deprecating humor of Edwurd Fudwupper or Red Ranger.
Perhaps, I think, it *is* the message I find fault with. I'm a stay-at-home dad (read: broccoli Nazi), and I'd gladly walk in front of a bus if it would make my son's life better. (And given that I live 40 miles from the nearest community with public transit, that's saying something.) I don't need to be reminded of how much I love my son, although I do sometimes need to be reminded on the nature of giving, or the importance of honesty and love, or the need to depart from the text.
And I'm not sure if I care if my son ever knows or understands that's how much I love him. I'd hate to give him a guilt complex simply by reading to him. (But he's only 2 1/2; ask me again when he's a teen-ager.)
Still, Mr. Breathed, I welcome your work (and you, too, I guess) into my home in any way you see fit to grace it.