Bloom County is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed. It originally ran from December 8, 1980, until August 6, 1989. It examined events in politics and culture through the viewpoint of a fanciful small town in Middle America, with a mix of human and anthropomorphic animal characters. The primary cast includes the adolescent Michael Binkley and Milo Bloom, as well as attorney Steve Dallas and Vietnam War veteran Cutter John. Animal characters include Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat.