Happy 30th Birthday, Bloom County

Berkeley Breathed’s Awarding-Winning Comic Strip Debuted on December 8, 1980

Cartoon Art Museum Hosts Special Exhibit Beginning in February 2011

San Diego, CA (December 8, 2010) – On December 8th, 1980, the first Bloom County comic strip was released in a handful of newspapers. Berkeley Breathed’s irreverent look at small town life and its memorable denizens rose from its modest beginnings to eventually appear in more than 1200 newspapers across the land. The first Bloom County collection, Loose Tails, sold more than one million copies. In 1989, and still at the top of the charts, Breathed turned off his studio light and walked away.

When reached at home for comment on this historic day, Breathed replied, “Oh, was that today?”

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 COMPLTE LIBRARY are currently available at fine bookstores everywhere. BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY Volume Four will be released in April 2011. 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.

“It’s a privilege to work on a project like this,” said series editor Scott Dunbier. “The strip is as fresh today as it was 30 years ago—thank you, Berkeley.”

The Bloom County celebration continues in February at the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco with a special exhibit spotlighting many of Breathed’s different works, both from Bloom County and his children’s books. The show will from February through June, featuring art spanning his career and including several movie projects such as Secondhand Lions, Flawed Dogs and Mars Needs Moms. The Cartoon Art Museum will host a reception on April with Breathed.

In addition to the print books, IDW will also release a BLOOM COUNTY application for Apple’s iPad, starting with the inaugural year, 1980-81. The app is expected to launch before the holidays, and will offer each year as a separate volume.

BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY VOLUME ONE ($39.99, 288 pages, hard cover, full color) is now available in stores.

BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY VOLUME TWO ($39.99, 304 pages, hard cover, full color) is now available in stores.

BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY VOLUME THREE ($39.99, 272 pages, hard cover, full color) is now available in stores.

BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY VOLUME FOUR ($39.99, 272 pages, hard cover, full color) will be available in stores in April 2011. ISBN 978-1600108990.

BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLTE LIBRARY VOLUME ONE (iPad only, $7.99, December 8 1980 – December 31, 1981, full color) will be available through iTunes in December 2010.