There's more! Tune in next week: same penguin time, same penguin channel!

...but does anyone know why Breathed seems intent on finishing off the strip and killing his beloved main character? Does he have health concerns? I've loved "Bloom County" and Opus since 1983 and it's a bit distressing -- and a little cruel, actually - that Breathed has embarked on this rather morbid retrospective. I mean, Charles Schulz didn't pack Snoopy off to the pound when "Peanuts" was nearing its end. Or is this some sick joke that I'm too square to get?

The poor dog finally got to know the feeling of a warm bed! That even warmed the cold, barren cinder that masquerades as my heart.

I have heard Breathed is facing serious health concerns and is ending Opus. The world really is coming to an end.

I have heard he has some painful condition or other, I don't recall the name. But apparently it makes it difficult for him to work, and is only getting worse over time, so he's ending the strip while he still has the ability to do the final episodes. You could wade back through the archives here, I guess, it was talked about several months ago.

...is spastic torticollis (it's real, I swear-- look it up). Whether this is the reason for wanting to end the strip is something I haven't heard for certain.

This is heading somewhere but I don't see where. If it's the election, there aren't many weeks left.

Perhaps Sarah Palin is BB's target. She is not well informed but she is clever. Sen McCain is a gambler and takes too many risks.

Sen Obama is more careful, his VP choice of Sen Biden is not very risky.

Gamblers may win but gambling with our nation's future is not wise.

The bottom line: "It's the economy, stupid."

"Always wondered what a warm one feels like."

Aw, man. You really know how to break a heart.

These strips are making me profoundly sad while they make me laugh. I live in the irrational hope that things like "The Far Side" or "Calvin & Hobbs" might return some day but this parting seems imminent and so final. When Opus and friends went away the first time it was just as wrenching as loosing any of the fun comics of my youth were. To have had a return engagement with Opus was such unexpected joy I felt young again, which is harder and harder after 40.

Thanks Berk. I thank you immensely for this waltz, it's been too brief a return engagement. Calm seas, clear skies and smooth sailing to you, It's been sweet and hilarious.

When it really gets cold (~5 or so?), next door at my parents', the cat sleeps on the dog. They know how it works.

I was wondering as to where berkley was taking us with his ' end days' cartoons lately! at first, I thought it has to be the election to create the end of the " end days of bush & co."; barreing a big mistake made by stupid americans whom really think jerky mac jerko is the " maverick reformer" but then, in opus' women of the past fantasy, there she was! " mrs. moose-snatch" herself! yeah I mean sarah the slave palin! gods! how I hate her, like so many women are finally coming to do themselves!

Opus and his new friend might not know what their purpose in life is, but that last panel shows that Breathed has a pretty good idea.

In the final panel, a former occupant has graffiti-ed the cell wall with a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. The same motif has appeared in at least one other Opus cartoon. Does anyone know the meaning behind this?

Berke's subtle humor, his beautifully-rendered drawings, and his outrageous wit never fail to amaze me. But it's his sweet and gentle nature, as manifested through the innocence of Opus, that can bring me to tears. The little dog curled up atop a sleeping Opus breaks my heart.

You are truly "over the moon," Berkeley, you are "over the moon...."

As the ship crashes to earth, he stands with the cold and impersonal female scientist, watching the ground come up. She expresses regret that they never had time to know each other as people, that they never had time or opportunity to love each other. He says "I can imagine a thousand wonderful hours..." just before they become biomass splattered all over Nova Scotia.

That is what Opus, and by extension Breathed, is doing. Imagining that the miserable failure loser character he has been for years has actually had moments of happiness, something to buoy his spirits just before he gets deposited in Cartoon Hell. Or maybe, if the fates are merciful, mere oblivion.

If that sounds bitter and angry to you, well, you readers are part of it. You would rather see a character stuck in misery than to see him achieve a moment of happiness. You'd rather see Lucy jerk the football away from Charlie Brown every time, instead of letting him actually kick it, or better yet, kicking that little dominatrix until she's bloody and can't move any more. You are the ones who insured Opus's pointless existence, and Breathed just delivered.

The Cow Jumping over the Moon may come from the

classic children's book "Good Night, Moon"...

It has appeared in Opus before I believe. It

would add a bit of poignant, ironic comfort...

Just a thought,

Emyth

Whoever you are, Mister BB

I'd really love to see ya

Sunday mornings with Bill The Cat

There was never anything like that

Thank you for the lovely ride

Hitch your wagon to the cosmic tide

A big hug from Chicago

We'll never let you go

Never let you go

One more thing - can anyone make out what it says on the backstrip of the book leaning against the suitcase that Opus and the dog are sleeping on? For my bad eyes, it looks like Mockingbird (To Kill A Mockingbird?). Does anyone else see that? And could this also be some kind of clue?

I am equally sad over all of this. But at least Breathed is wrapping up loose ends to what may be a very memorable final chapter and for us fans, maybe that is the most we could ever hope for.