After three incarnations, Opus the penguin is biting the dust for the last time. Berkeley Breathed has announced he will retire from comic strip writing for good and focus on his children's books from now on. According to Breathed, Opus the penguin might actually die, making it impossible to bring him back yet again, as Breathed did with "Outland" and then "Opus" after ending "Bloom County" in 1989.
Breathed told Editor and Publisher that retiring from comics is a patriotic act, suggesting that the best thing he can do for his country in such difficult times is "write funny stories for America's kids. I call on John McCain to join me."
His latest kids' book began as a drawing by his daughter at age five. It's called Pete and Pickles and will be in bookstores on 16 October 2008.
Image: JimHillMedia.com
