Title: Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope
Author: Berkeley Breathed
Genre: Humor / Politics / Satire / Animals / Friendship / Relationship
Year Published: 2016
Year Read: 12
/28
/2017
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Series: Bloom County Relaunch #1
Source: eARC (NetGalley) and Library
Content Rating: Ages 15+ (Some Language and Sexual Dialogue)
Buy on: Amazon // Book Depository
I would like to thank NetGalley and IDW Publishing for providing me a copy
of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Introduction:
Now, I will admit that I had
never read the “Bloom County” comics
before, even though I had heard of the series way back in the 1990s. I guess it was because that by the time I
started reading newspaper comics, “Bloom
County” had all but vanished from the strips and I was not able to read the
series then. So, imagine my surprise
when I found out that a) the author of the “Bloom
County” comics Berkeley Breathed,
had decided to bring this comic series back to the pages in his newest comic
book called “Bloom County Episode XI: A
New Hope” and b) NetGalley has given out this book for readers to check
out!
What is this story
about?
After twenty-five years of the “Bloom County” comic strips going out of the pages, the Bloom
County gang has finally come back with new adventures and are trying to get
used to all the new technology, such as social media and dealing with all the
political drama in this modern-day world!
What I loved about
this story:
Berkeley Breathed’s writing: Wow!
I never would have thought that there would be a day where I would actually
read Berkeley Breathed’s legendary
comic strip “Bloom County” and now
that day has finally come! Berkeley Breathed has done a brilliant
job at writing this comic book series as the humor is sharp and witty and I
really enjoyed the way that the satire on the modern-day era is handled in this
series as I found myself laughing at each jab at the current state of
politics. Now, I will admit that I do
not normally read many books or comic books that deal with politics because
most of them tend to be a bit too one-sided for my tastes. However, Berkeley
Breathed was able to make the political satires in this comic be more
hilarious and memorable as it managed to poke fun at both liberals and
conservatives and that really amused me!
I really liked the fact that the comic is written in a way where you do
not have to read the previous “Bloom
County” comics to get the characters or the setting. The fact that the characters felt the same
way as they did decades ago except for the fact that society has changed over
time, really made reading this comic a pleasant experience for me! I also loved the way that Berkeley Breathed wrote each character,
especially Bill the Cat and Steve Dallas as all the characters were hilarious
and entertaining to read and I especially enjoyed their interactions with each
other, especially with how Steve usually acts like a jerk towards the other
characters, but is still on friendly terms with them.
Berkeley Breathed’s artwork: Berkeley
Breathed’s artwork is hilarious to look at as all the characters are drawn
in a semi-realistic way and yet, the images of Opus the Penguin and Bill the
Cat are much more cartoonish than the human cast and they really stand out in
the artwork.
What made me feel
uncomfortable about this story:
For anyone who does not like language and sexual dialogue,
this comic strip does have some language such as the constant usage of the “a”
word and also there are some sexual dialogue littered throughout the comic,
mainly coming from Steve Dallas himself as most of his story arcs involve him
trying to get a date with various women.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope” is a fantastic
continuation of the “Bloom County” comics and anyone who is a
huge fan of the “Bloom County” comic series will surely enjoy this graphic
novel!
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