IDW Announces Panel & Signing Schedule for SDCC 2017
July 12, 2017 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, California, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Comic-Con International, Convention News, Movies, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Television, Video Games
Press Release:
The countdown to San Diego Comic Con International 2017 is on, and IDW and Top Shelf have revealed their massive slate of signings and panels for the week! Featuring influential and fan-favorite creators, alongside the cast and creative teams from some of the most buzzed about television shows, on top of can’t-miss programming, this year’s convention is primed to be the biggest yet!
Booth #2743 will be your essential destination for non-stop excitement throughout the convention including appearances by Ivan Reitman, Berkeley Breathed, Kevin Eastman, Bob Gale, Walter Simonson, the cast of Wynonna Earp and many, many more!
Wednesday July 19th Preview Night
6:00 – 8:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow (*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 8:00 Bloom County Launch Party! – Berkeley Breathed (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
8:00 – 9:00 Sword of Ages Sneak Preview – Gabriel Rodriguez (*Get a free preview of the upcoming release!)
8:00 – 9:00 Sh*t My President Says – Shannon Wheeler (*Book debut!)
Thursday July 20th
10:00 – 11:00 Love is Love – Marc Andreyko, Chris Ryall, Cat Staggs
10:00 – 11:00 Schick Hydrobot and The Transformers – John Barber
11:00 – 12:00 Bloom County – Berkeley Breathed (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
11:00 – 12:00 Thor: The Return of Beta Ray Bill Artist’s Edition – Walter Simonson (*Check out the show exclusive!)
12:00 – 1:00 Ghostbusters – Ivan Reitman, Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, Tom Waltz (*Ticketed signing, see employee for details)
12:00 – 1:00 Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez, Chris Ryall, David Petersen (*Check out the show exclusives!)
1:00 – 2:00 Top Shelf Soiree – Campbell Whyte, Kim Dwinell, Janet Lee, Jim McCann, Shannon Wheeler
1:00 – 2:00 Animal Noir – Izar Lunaček
1:00 – 2:00 Black Crown – Tess Fowler (*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
1:00 – 2:00 Helena Crash – Fabian Rangel Jr.
2:00 – 4:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles– Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Chris Mowry (*Check out the show exclusives!)
2:00 – 3:15 Usagi Yojimbo – Stan Sakai
2:00 – 3:00 Judge Dredd – Ulises Fariñas, Erick Freitas
3:00 – 4:00 Bloom County – Berkeley Breathed (*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
4:00 – 5:00 First Strike: A HASBRO Comic Book Event – Mairghread Scott, David Rodriguez, John Barber, Aubrey Sitterson, Brandon Easton, Jimmy Johnston, Fico Ossio, Andrew Griffith (*Get a free preview of the upcoming release!)
4:00 – 5:00 Darkness Visible, Dirk Gently – Arvind Ethan David, Livio Ramondelli (*Check out the show exclusive!)
5:00 – 6:00 Star Wars Adventures – Derek Charm, Landry Walker (*Get a free preview of the upcoming release!)
5:00 – 5:00 Korgi – Christian Slade
5:00 – 6:00 Surfside Girls – Kim Dwinell
(*Book debut!)
5:00 – 6:00 MARCH – Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
6:00 – 7:00 Jem and the Holograms – M. Victoria Robado
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 7:00 Dread Gods – Ron Marz
6:00 – 7:00 Tom Whalen
Friday July 21st
10:00 – 11:00 Archangel – Michael Benedetto
10:00 – 11:00 Home Time – Campbell Whyte
(*Book debut!)
10:00 – 12:00 MARCH – Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
11:00 – 12:00 Bloom County – Berkeley Breathed
(*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
11:00 – 12:00 Thor: The Return of Beta Ray Bill Artist’s Edition – Walter Simonson
(*Check out the show exclusive!)
11:00 – 12:00 Star Trek: The Mirror Broken – Scott Tipton, David Tipton,
J.K. Woodward
12:00 – 1:00 Back To The Future – Bob Gale, John Barber, Alan Robinson
12:00 – 1:00 Tom Whalen
12:00 – 1:00 Judge Dredd – Ulises Fariñas, Erick Freitas
12:00 – 1:00 HASBRO Comic Universe – Brandon Easton, Fico Ossio
1:00 – 2:00 Animal Noir – Izar Lunaček
1:00 – 2:00 Behaving Madly – Craig Yoe, Ger Apeldoorne
1:00 – 2:00 Gumballs – Erin Nations
1:00 – 2:00 Home Time – Campbell Whyte
1:00 – 2:00 Surfside Girls – Kim Dwinell
2:00 – 3:00 Black Crown – Tess Fowler
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
2:00 – 3:00 Helena Crash – Fabian Rangel Jr.
2:00 – 3:00 Sh*t My President Says – Shannon Wheeler
2:00 – 3:00 Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken – Ray Friesen
3:00 – 4:00 Bloom County – Berkeley Breathed
(*Check out the show exclusive hardcover!)
3:00 – 4:00 Wynonna Earp – Melanie Scrofano, Tim Rozon, Shamier Anderson,
Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, Varuna Saranga, Tamara Duarte, Emily Andras, Beau Smith
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
(*Ticketed signing, see employee for details)
4:00 – 5:00 Sword of Ages, Little Nemo – Gabriel Rodriguez, Eric Shanower
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
4:00 – 5:00 My Little Pony – Agnes Garbowska, Tony Fleecs, Sara Richard,
Thom Zahler
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
5:00 – 6:00 Love is Love – Marc Andreyko, Tyler Boss, Sina Grace,
Marc Guggenheim, Amancay Nahuelpan, Matthew Rosenberg
5:00 – 6:00 Saucer State – Paul Cornell
5:00 – 6:00 Ghostbusters –Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, Tom Waltz
6:00 – 7:00 Star Trek – Mike Johnson, Ryan Parrott
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 7:00 Dread Gods – Ron Marz
6:00 – 7:00 The X-Files – Mister Sam Shearon
Saturday July 22nd
10:00 – 11:00 Star Wars Adventures – Derek Charm, Landry Walker
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
10:00 – 11:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated – Caleb Goellner
10:30 – 11:30 DuckTales – Francisco Angones, Sean Jimenez, Matt Youngberg
(*Meet the Executive Producer, story editor, and art director of the new television show!)
11:00 – 12:00 Thor: The Return of Beta Ray Bill Artist’s Edition – Walter Simonson
(*Check out the show exclusive!)
11:30 – 1:30 March– Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell
1:00 – 2:00 Tom Whalen
1:00 – 2:00 Cosmic Scoundrels – Andy Suriano
2:00 – 3:30 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Freddie E. Williams,
Bobby Curnow
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
(*Ticketed signing, see employee for details)
2:00 – 3:00 Top Shelf Soiree – Campbell Whyte, Kim Dwinell, Janet Lee, Jim McCann,
Shannon Wheeler
3:00 – 4:00 V-Wars – Jonathan Maberry, Ryan Brown, Alan Robinson,
Mister Sam Shearon
4:00 – 5:00 Black Crown – TOP SECRET GUESTS
4:00 – 5:00 Wynonna Earp – Melanie Scrofano, Shamier Anderson, Tim Rozon,
Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, Varun Saranga, Tamara Duarte,
Emily Andras, Beau Smith
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
(*Ticketed signing, see employee for details)
5:00 – 6:00 Love is Love – Marc Andreyko, Cecil Castellucci, Matthew Rosenberg,
Gail Simone
5:00 – 6:00 DuckTales – Jeff Smith
(*Check out the show exclusives!)
6:00 – 7:00 First Strike: A HASBRO Comic Book Event – Mairghread Scott,
David Rodriguez, John Barber, Aubrey Sitterson, Fico Ossio, Andrew Griffith
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
6:00 – 7:00 Sword of Ages, Locke & Key – Gabriel Rodriguez
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
Sunday July 23rd
10:00 – 11:00 Mickey Mouse Shorts – Scott Tipton, Andy Suriano
10:00 – 11:00 Sword of Ages, Little Nemo – Gabriel Rodriguez, Eric Shanower
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
11:00 – 12:00 Top Shelf Soiree – Campbell Whyte, Shannon Wheeler, Erin Nations
11:00 – 12:00 Thor: The Return of Beta Ray Bill Artist’s Edition – Walter Simonson
(*Check out the show exclusive!)
12:00 – 1:00 Powerpuff Girls – Haley Mancini, Jake Goldman
12:00 – 1:00 Hana Zuki – David Mariotte
12:00 – 1:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated – Caleb Goellner
12:00 – 1:00 Yo-Kai Watch Eric Esquivel
12:00 – 1:00 First Strike: A HASBRO Comic Book Event – Mairghread Scott,
David Rodriguez, John Barber,
1:00 – 2:00 Star Wars Adventures – Derek Charm, Landry Walker
(*Get a free preview of the upcoming releases!)
1:00 – 2:00 Home Time – Campbell Whyte
1:00 – 2:00 Korgi – Christian Slade
2:00 – 3:00 Animal Noir – Izar Lunaček
2:00 – 3:00 My Little Pony – Tony Fleecs, Sara Richard
(*Check out the show exclusive!)
3:00 – 4:00 Archangel –Michael Benedetto
3:00 – 4:00 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe – Chris Mowry, Tom Waltz, Freddie E. Williams
The Top Shelf section of the booth will be filled all weekend with more great creators, too!
IDW will be hosting panels all weekend long with show-stopping announcements, surprise guests, and giveaways that you won’t want to miss.
JAWS WILL DROP, SIDES WILL ACHE… SUPER WEIRD HEROES!
Thursday , 7/20/17, 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m., Room: 28DE
A way-fun LOL multimedia show of the kookiest, kraziest, most bizarro leotard-clad bad-guy bashers of the Golden Age of comic books! SEE The Hand: a giant hand!. SEE Madam Fatale: the first cross dressing superhero! SEE Kangaroo Man (Batman was taken!) SEE tons more nutty-cool heroes held up to reverence and ridicule! Based on the best selling book, “Super Weird Heroes” (and its upcoming sequel) the stand-up comedy presentation is by the former Creative Director of the Muppets and now the Eisner-winning editor of IDW/Yoe Books, Craig Yoe. 20 laugh-riot cosplay changes in all! DON’T MISS THIS!
Ghostbusters 101 — A Ghostbusters Panel of Biblical Proportions!
Thursday , 7/20/17, 10:15a.m. – 11:15a.m., Room: 6DE
Join Ghostbusters co-creator Ivan Reitman and the IDW Ghostbusters brain trust of Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and Tom Waltz, as they discuss the long-running, critically acclaimed, and fan-adored Ghostbusters franchise, including everything from the classic original movies to the long-running comic book history at IDW Publishing… as well as future plans for major events from Ghost Corps that will add to the beloved brand’s canon, bringing the different Ghostbusters worlds together like never before! Be there… or be slimed!
IDW Publishing: Focus on Graphic Novels
Thursday, 7/20/17, 11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m., Room: 28DE
IDW Senior Editor Justin Eisinger and Top Shelf Productions’ Leigh Walton host a discussion of the stunning graphic albums, art books, and translated editions coming from IDW this year. Joined by creators such as Izar Lunaček (Animal Noir), Jim McCann & Janet Lee (Return of the Dapper Men), and Campbell Whyte (Home Time), we’ll dive into details on their work and beyond, including R. Crumb: From Underground to GENESIS, Pearl Jam Art of Do The Evolution, Sh*t My President Says, I Am a Number, and much more.
Spotlight on Walter Simonson
Thursday, 7/20/17, 12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m., Room: 9
Living legend Walter Simonson is joined by the person most qualified to interview him on a spotlight panel—his wife, the noted comics writer and editor, Louise Simonson. If you’ve never heard Simonson on a panel before this will be a true treat because Walter is not only a master of sequential stories, he is also a brilliant raconteur who will enthrall you with stories spanning his nearly 50 year career!
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe! IDW and Hasbro Present First Strike
Thursday, 7/20/17, 2:00p.m. – 3:00p.m., Room: 9
The Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, Rom, and the Micronauts—some of your favorite childhood toys—now all inhabit one shared universe! Learn how the creators behind the books work together to create a new world filled with giant robots, magical menaces, and lots and lots of laser guns! This panel will also feature a special sneak preview of the Hasbro comic book event—FIRST STRIKE! Join panel guests Mairghread Scott (Transformers: Till All Are One), John Barber (Optimus Prime), Aubrey Sitterson (G.I. JOE), Chris Ryall (Rom), David A. Rodriguez (First Strike), and Brandon Easton (M.A.S.K.) for an in-depth look at the Hasbro line of comic books!
The Bernie Wrightson Memorial Panel—Celebrating the life of a legend
Thursday, 7/20/17, 3:30p.m. – 4:30p.m., Room: 4
Bernie Wrightson was one of the most influential artists in comic book history. His work on Swamp Thing, his Frankenstein illustrations, and myriads of classic covers, stories and illustrations were lovingly rendered by an artist who truly made each project a labor of love. Join IDW’s Chief Creative Officer Chris Ryall and Director of Special Projects Scott Dunbier as they welcome a host of guests to pay tribute and celebrate the life and art of the Great Bernie Wrightson!
The Trump Presidential Library Panel
Thursday, 7/20/17, 6:30:00p.m. – 7:30:00p.m., Room: 26AB
Celebrants and detractors alike are chewing on the fact that Donald Trump was elected president. Shannon Wheeler and Robert Sikoryak will help you swallow. In their books Sh*t My President Saysand The Unquotable Trump (respectively), these two cartoonists illustrate Trump’s words for comedic effect and insight. There will be slides, a brief history of political satire, and laughter through the tears as they wrestle with an understanding of our current dystopia. Can satire keep up with reality? Shannon Wheeler is the two-time Eisner winning creator of Too Much Coffee Man and a New Yorker cartoonist. Robert Sikoryak started at Raw magazine, is a New Yorker contributor, and a Comic-Con special guest.
BLACK CROWN: At The Cross Street Of Comics & Chaos
Friday, 7/21/17, 12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m., Room: 32AB
Attention readers who need to be transfixed or transformed: IDW’s BLACK CROWN is a fully-functioning curation operation. Get in on the ground floor of the new imprint that’s at the cross street of comics and chaos. Join editor Shelly Bond, IDW CCO Chris Ryall, Tess Fowler (Rat Queens), co-creator/artist of debut title KID LOBOTOMY, Tini Howard (The Skeptics, Magdalena) and Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets, The Twilight Children) who can’t wait to share the details of their new BLACK CROWN series with you. Warning: Not for the faint-hearted. A fever pitch of enthusiasm will ensue.
Drawing the Sword: A Spotlight on Gabriel Rodriguez
Friday, 7/21/17, 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m., Room: 23ABC
Locke & Key artist/co-creator Gabriel Rodriguez is launching his first-ever fully creator-owned, written and drawn series, Sword of Ages, this fall. Come hear all about the new series, future Locke & Key plans in print and TV, discussion about Gabriel’s decade-pus at IDW and a special announcement or two. All that and a free Sword of Ages preview comic for all in attendance! Moderated by IDW CCO Chris Ryall.
Pop Culture Shark Tank
Friday, 7/21/17, 3:00p.m. – 4:00p.m., Room 32AB
Who will be the next breakout pop culture entrepreneur? Come hear startups make their best 90-second pitches to our panel of industry experts Ted Adams (IDW Entertainment), Suzy Ryoo (Atom Factory), and David Steinberger (Amazon comiXology) for valuable feedback, exposure, and maybe their big break. Pitch your own business idea if you dare! Moderated by Rob Salkowitz (Forbes).
IDW Publishing: The Rise of Fall
Friday, 7/21/17, 4:00p.m. – 5:00p.m., Room: 4
IDW goes galactic this fall with the launch of Star Wars, an entirely new Star Trek, and much more! Come hear their massive plans and many special announcements, courtesy of IDW CCO Chris Ryall, IDW Group Editor Sarah Gaydos and a cast of thousands! Well, dozens. Or at least a good handful of smart and interesting creators, anyway…
Spotlight on March creators Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell
Saturday, 7/22/17, 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m., Room 23ABC
The record-breaking success of the March trilogy, by civil rights icon John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell, has pushed the comics medium to incredible new heights. March is the first graphic novel to win the National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Book Award, or Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, the first graphic novel since Maus to reach the New York Times’ Nonfiction Best Seller list, and the first book in history to receive four simultaneous awards from the American Library Association. Now, join the authors for an emotional look back at their stunning accomplishment — and the way it’s inspiring new generations to speak up, speak out, and move our feet.
TMNT: Summer of the Turtles IDW panel
Saturday, 7/22/17, 11:30a.m. – 12:30p.m., Room: 24ABC
Join TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, writers Tom Waltz, Erik Burnham, Aubrey Sitterson, Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas, and special guest Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai as they discuss the events of IDW’s biggest summer of TMNT publishing ever! Moderated by Editor Bobby Curnow.
Jack Kirby’s 100th Birthday Celebration with IDW!
Saturday, 7/22/17, 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m., Room: 25ABC
Featuring an impressive library of more than 1,300 pages of Kirby original DC and Marvel artwork — the largest showing ever! IDW President Greg Goldstein hosts this stellar birthday tribute with a groundbreaking slide show, featuring art from eight different Artist’s Editions plus some surprises. The panel features superstar creators Walter Simonson and Kevin Eastman, who will share their Kirby remembrances and influences, along with Senior Editor Scott Dunbier and Creative Director, IDW PDX, Dirk Wood. Everyone who attends will receive a “birthday” gift! One lucky fan will go home with an Artist’s Edition!
IDW Entertainment & SyFy Present: Wynonna Earp
Saturday, 7/22/17, 2:30p.m. – 3:30p.m., Room: 5AB
Join the cast and creators of the breakout SyFy series Wynonna Earp! Join Melanie Scrofano, Tim Rozon, Shamier Anderson, Domonique Provost-Chalkley, Katherine Barrell, Varun Saranga, and Tamara Duarte along with show runner Emily Andras, and comic creator Beau Smith as they reveal behind-the-scenes antics, show off exclusive footage, and answer your biggest questions about season 2!
Comics Entrepreneur Secrets Panel
Saturday, 7/22/17, 5:00p.m. – 6:00p.m., Room 28DE
You love comic books, right? Do you love them enough to start your own publishing company? Hear what it takes to make it in comics from publishers who have paved their own paths. Author and business expert Rob Salkowitz (Forbes) talks to trail-blazing comics professionals including comiXology CEO and co-founder David Steinberger, CEO of IDW media holdings Ted Adams, Valiant Entertainment CEO and chief creative officer Dinesh Shamdasani, and founder and CEO of Emet Comics Maytal Gilboa about their wins, their setbacks, and everything you need to know on how break in and stay in the comics biz.
IDW’S ULTIMATE KID’S COMICS PANEL!
Sunday, 7/23/17, 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m., Room: 23ABC
Star Wars! Powerpuff Girls! DuckTales! Tangled! My Little Pony! Did we get your attention, kids? Come learn about these awesome comic books, and more importantly, how to make your own! Hosted by IDW Group Editor Sarah Gaydos and Editor Bobby Curnow, hear from a panel of “grown ups” including Derek Charm, Haley Mancini, Jake Goldman, and Agnes Garbowska about how they make some of your favorite kids comics. Plus: Free comics for all the kids!
Introducing Nickelodeon Splat Attack From IDW Games
Sunday, 7/23/17, 2:00p.m. – 3:00p.m., Room: 4
IDW Games invites fans of tabletop games and the classic 90s Nickelodeon cartoon line-up to join them in an in-depth discussion of the just announced board game, Nickelodeon Splat Attack. Nickelodeon Splat Attack is an action-packed, all out food-fight featuring many of your favorite Nickelodeon characters from the 90s. Attendees will not only get an inside look of how board games come to fruition, but also get a sneak peek at the roster of characters that will make up Nickelodeon Splat Attack!
Plus, don’t miss the CBLDF auction, benefitting the non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comics medium on Saturday night at the Hilton Bayfront, Sapphire Room AB at 8PM. Featuring a Keynote speech by Scott Snyder, and live-sketching from Jeff Smith!
SF – From Bloom County to Mars Exhibition
March 14, 2011 by Colin Solan
Filed under Animation, Art Show, California, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Movies, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Television, Top Stories
Comments Off on SF – From Bloom County to Mars Exhibition
The Cartoon Art Museum and The Hero Initiative proudly present the museum’s Annual WonderCon Weekend Party and Silent Auction, which will be held on Saturday, April 2, from 8pm to 11pm. Tickets for this event will be sold on a sliding scale from $10 to $100. Special incentives will be given for higher-level donations including membership, signed catalogs, and special limited edition prints. Advance tickets may be purchased through this link. Capacity for this special event is limited, and advance reservations are recommended.
Please visit The CAM and Hero Initiative booths at WonderCon on Friday and Saturday to get a sneak preview of the featured original artworks for Saturday night’s auction.
Many top comic book creators will be in attendance as special guests of the Cartoon Art Museum and the Hero Initiative. We are pleased to announce that our featured guest will be Berkeley Breathed, creator of Bloom County, Flawed Dogs and Mars Needs Moms, courtesy of WonderCon and IDW Publishing.
Sponsorship for this fundraiser has been generously provided by IDW Publishing, the publishers of Bloom County: The Complete Collection, a five-volume series that reprints Berkeley Breathed’s classic comic strip in its entirety. Please visit www.idwpublishing.com for more information on this and other collections in IDW Publishing’s Library of American Comics series.
Additional sponsorship has been provided by Guestlist Ticketing, which is facilitating advance ticket sales for this event. For more information about Guestlist, please visit guestlistapp.com
Ticket Pricing:
$10: General Admission for Saturday night’s party featuring Berkeley Breathed and other special guests
$25: General Admission plus a copy of From Bloom County to Mars, CAM’s new exhibition catalog featuring the original artwork of Berkeley Breathed; $5 from this ticket goes to The Hero Initiative
$50: General Admission, catalog, merchandise, plus exclusive CAM merchandise; $10 from this ticket goes to The Hero Initiative
$75: General Admission, catalog, merchandise, plus your choice of a CAM membership or a Hero Initiative membership; $25 from this ticket goes to The Hero Initiative
$100: General Admission, catalog, merchandise, Cartoon Art Museum membership and a Hero Initiative membership; $40 from this ticket goes to The Hero Initiative
About the Exhibit:
The Cartoon Art Museum is pleased to present From Bloom County to Mars: The Imagination of Berkeley Breathed, a retrospective exhibition covering the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist’s career from his beloved comic strip Bloom County to the upcoming Disney film Mars Needs Moms, based on his children’s book of the same name. The exhibition features a comprehensive look back at Bloom County as well as Berkeley Breathed’s children’s books and movie projects, including material from Secondhand Lions and Flawed Dogs.
Celebrating the cultural impact of this remarkable comic strip, IDW Publishing has teamed up with Breathed for the first complete and chronological collection of Bloom County. The first three volumes of Bloom County: The Complete Library are currently available at fine bookstores everywhere, with release of the fourth volume coinciding with Breathed’s appearance at San Francisco’s WonderCon, one of the nation’s largest comic book and pop culture conventions. Each volume features the many quirky citizens of Bloom County—such as Opus, Bill the Cat, and Milo Bloom—while projecting Breathed’s uncanny ability to be both cynical and naïve, often at the same time.
IDW Publishing and the Cartoon Art Museum are producing a limited edition catalog to accompany the exhibition. The From Bloom County to Mars exhibition catalog will debut at WonderCon in April.
About Berkeley Breathed
Berkeley Breathed (born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, children’s book author/illustrator, novelist, director, and screenwriter, best known for Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip which dealt with socio-political issues as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters (e.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.
His first regularly published strip, Academia Waltz, appeared in the Daily Texan in 1978. The strip attracted notice from the editors of the Washington Post who recruited him to do a nationally syndicated strip. On December 8, 1980, Bloom County made its debut and featured some of the characters from Academia Waltz, including former frat-boy Steve Dallas and the paraplegic Vietnam war veteran Cutter John.
Bloom County earned Berkeley the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1987. The strip eventually appeared in over 1,200 newspapers around the world until he retired the daily strip in 1989, stating, “A good comic strip is no more eternal than a ripe melon. The ugly truth is that in most cases, comics age less gracefully than their creators.”
He replaced this strip with the surreal Sunday-only cartoon, Outland in 1989, which featured some of the Bloom County characters, including Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat. He ended Outland in 1995.
Eight years later, Berkeley began producing the comic strip, Opus, a Sunday-only strip featuring Opus the Penguin, who was one of the iconic characters from Bloom County. He colors the cartoon himself with Adobe Photoshop.
In addition to his syndicated cartoon work, which has produced eleven best-selling cartoon collections, he has also produced seven children’s books, two of which, A Wish for Wings That Work and Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big, were made into animated films. Berkeley’s writing has also been featured in numerous publications, including Life, Boating, and Travel and Leisure, and he produced the cartoon art in the film, Secondhand Lions, which featured a strip called Walter and Jasmine. The panels he drew for Secondhand Lions appear in Opus: 25 Years of His Sunday Best, and he refers to them as “the comic strip that never was.”
Berkeley is a fan of outdoor activities such as power-boating and motorcycling. In 1986, he broke his back in an ultralight plane crash, later incorporated into a “Bloom County” storyline in which Steve Dallas breaks his back after being attacked by an angry Sean Penn. Berkeley also nearly lost his right arm a few years later after a boat propeller severed his humerus bone.
Berkeley, his wife and their two children live in Southern California. Although a private person, he has given interviews to on-line magazines such as The Onion and Salon – but only rarely face-to-face or telephone interviews. He and his wife support animal rights, and his book, Flawed Dogs: The Year-End Leftovers at the Piddleton ‘Last Chance’ Dog Pound, promotes adopting pets from shelters.
Cartoon Art Museum
655 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
