Production History
In numerous interviews before launching Opus, Berke Breathed stated his hopes that the strip would help reinvigorate the medium of newspaper comics. He criticized many modern strips, especially Garfield, for lacking expressive artwork or original humor.
In an interview appearing in the April 2007 issue of Texas Monthly, Breathed announced that he planned to end the strip by killing off the main character. On April 2, 2007 the journal Editor & Publisher reported on this interview in a story titled "Will Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed Kill Off Opus the Penguin?" However, Breathed's editor has reportedly quoted him as stating, “I mentioned Opus’ literal death just for talking points on my tour coming up. Not gonna kill him, but it’s good for copy.” Breathed confirmed that he was joking in an interview with Salon: "I was kidding about killing Opus, by the way. I'd like to walk the streets free from fears of spontaneous garroting."
In August 2008, the strip began a sequence playing off the 2007 interview, as "the Creator" of the strip informed Opus that "the end is near." The strip ended on Sunday, November 2, 2008, with Opus snugly in bed at the conclusion of Goodnight Moon.
Read more about this topic: Opus (comic strip)
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