Letters to the Editor
-
Stupid, sexist, ham-fisted, blunt, and already done, several times.
In the comments under the Joan Walsh column that introduced Breathed's stint at Salon, an anonymous commentator (not me) summed up my thoughts exactly. I hope s/he doesn't mind me reposting his/her comment here:
"Between the introduction of Opus and a 'new' column by Camille Paglia, Salon continues to bring its readers roaring into the 1990s!!!
Opus sucks. Breathed came back like some kind of prima donna, demanded the strip be run no smaller than 1/2 page in any paper that carried it (meaning other deserving artists got the chop unnecessarily), and then proceeded to give us a weak, watered-dowon and uninspired recycling of Bloom County gags. (Comics fans have noted a couple of strips that appear to be straight recycling of BC strips.)
America has never been more at need of piercing political satire. And Salon runs some of the best around - Tom the Dancing Bug, This Modern World - but adding Opus solely on name recognition value is another editorial step backwards. I haven't been this disappointed in a decision (other than the Paglia column) since the hated Pink Ghetto was created."
What s/he said. He also, in a Salon interview, bitched about 'celebrity children's book authors', apparently suffering from the delusion that he himself is not one. As if anyone would have published his childrens' books if he'd never had a monster hit with Bloom County and become a celebrity.