Loose Tails

Loose Tails is the first collection of the comic strip series Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed. It was published by Little, Brown and Company in 1983.[1] At least two different editions exist; the contents and front cover art are identical but later editions swapped out the serious author biography on the back cover for a parody one.

Loose Tails
AuthorBerkeley Breathed
IllustratorBerkeley Breathed
Cover artistBerkeley Breathed
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreComedy
PublisherLittle, Brown & Co.
Publication date
1983
Preceded bynone 
Followed byToons For Our Times 

It is followed by Toons For Our Times.

Synopses of major story lines
  • Senator Bedfellow faces some antagonism when visiting Bobbi Harlow's fourth-grade classroom. "How'd you launder the Libyan kickback money, Senator Bedfellow?" (p1, 4 strips)
  • Steve Dallas takes Bobbi Harlow on a date, in his gold Jeep with a license plate that spells out "HORNY". (p3, 3 strips)
  • Cutter John rolls into Bloom County, sweeping Bobbi Harlow off her feet both literally and figuratively. (p6, 6 strips)
  • Santa Claus visits Milo, and describes his recent labor trouble. After Santa's elves go on strike, the president fires them and replaces them with out-of-work air traffic controllers. (p10, 9 strips)
  • Otis Oracle is named Grand Wizard of the local Moral Majority chapter. (p16, 3 strips)
  • Milo works as waiter at the county New Year's Eve party. (p18, 6 strips)
  • Prince Charles and Princess Di discuss baby names. "Prince Butch." (p22, 3 strips)
  • Milo, in his capacity as Bloom Beacon reporter, harasses Senator Bedfellow. (p23, 5 strips)
  • Opus is introduced as Binkley's new pet. (p27, 3 strips)
  • Milo and Binkley organize a nuclear weapons protest demonstration, and visit a college campus to recruit. (p29, 5 strips)
  • Milo is arrested for giving a school report on penguin evolution. Penguin evolution versus "scientific penguinism" is debated in the subsequent Penguin Trial. (p34, 7 strips)
  • Major Bloom is harassed by the house cockroaches. (p39, 3 strips)
  • The Rolling Stones visit Bloom County to play the school dance, causing consternation among the Moral Majority. (p41, 8 strips)
  • Cutter John meets Bobbi Harlow's mother. (p46, 2 strips)
  • Binkley's father takes Binkley hunting. (p49, 4 strips)
  • Milo tries to dig dirt on Senator Bedfellow. "Will you confirm that you sunk Jimmy Hoffa in your backyard pond?" (p51, strips)
  • Everyone dons radiation masks following a leak at the Bloom County nuclear power plant. Milo sings the "Split-Atom Blues" with the critters, who have been advised to avoid breathing until Tuesday. (p57, 5 strips)
  • Opus is accidentally sent to the dog pound, where he shares a prison cell with a switchblade-wielding canine. (p59, 4 strips)
  • The Bloom County neighborhood baseball game shows Binkley to be an incompetent pitcher, and Cutter John an overconfident shortstop. (p70, 6 strips)
  • A town meeting is called to propose a nuclear arms freeze. (p74, 4 strips)
  • The revolting Bill the Cat is introduced as a marketing ploy. "Start looking for 'Bill the Cat' shirts, tote bags, mugs, toys, wallpaper, lunch pairs and toilet seat covers." (p79)
  • Quiche Lorraine, Bobbi Harlow's cousin, is introduced when Bobbi sets her up with Steve Dallas. (p82, 4 strips)
  • Opus and the critters take over a KFC, outraged that birds are being served as food. "Sir, some of my best friends are chickens." (p87, 3 strips)
  • Opus's relatives in the Falklands are caught in and confused by the war. (p89, 4 strips)
  • The gang goes to see "Space Raiders of the Lost Extraterrestrial Shark" at the local theater. "No flightless seabirds admitted under the age of two." (p93, 5 strips)
  • Prince Charles teaches his new son the ways of monarchy. (p96, 3 strips)
  • Steve Dallas substitute-teaches Bobbi Harlow's class, and takes them on a field trip to a bar to "observe the human condition". (p98, 6 strips)
  • Milo shoots his first low-budget film, "E.P. - The Extraterrestrial Penguin" starring Opus as E.P., Binkley as the Boy, and Quiche Lorraine as a giant alien cucumber. (p102, 4 strips)
  • Milo and Binkley form a band and rock out. Binkley gets carried away. (p104, 5 strips)
  • Milo's Meadow is leased for oil exploration. (p107, 3 strips)
  • Opus gets work as the Bloom Beacon's film critic, thanks to his extensive vocabulary: "Flop". "A disaster". "Terminally putrid". (p109, 3 strips)
  • Steve Dallas again attempts to win Bobbi Harlow's affections, even going so far as to compose a love sonnet: "In my dreams / you're all I sees / Boobs, butt, and knees / Be my main squeeze." (p121, 5 strips)
  • Blondie is introduced, and immediately captures Binkley's heart. He asks her out to see Pink Floyd The Wall, and the critters show up as chaperones. (p129, 9 strips)
  • Milo directs the school's Christmas pageant, with Opus starring as a cow. (p140, 5 strips)
  • Milo again works as waiter at the Bloom County New Year's party. Opus is a surprisingly effective bouncer. (p146, 6 strips)

References
  1. Catalog record for Loose Tails at the United States Library of Congress
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