''Penguin Dreams and Stranger Things'' is the third collection of the comic strip series

Bloom County ''Bloom County'' is an American comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which 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, wh ...

Berkeley Breathed Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (; born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, children's book author, director, and screenwriter, known for his comic strips ''Bloom County'', '' Outland'', and '' Opus''. ''Bloom County'' earned Breathed the Pu ...

. It was published in 1985. It is preceded by '' Toons For Our Times'' and followed by '' Bloom County Babylon''. The book's cover is a parody of ''Daybreak'', a popular painting by

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

Synopses of major story lines

* "Motherquest".

Opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

sets out for Antarctica to find his mother. Mistaking it for a luxury cruise liner,

boards the Greenpeace ''Rainbow Warrior'', headed for a confrontation with Soviet whaling ships. After a few harpoonings,

and Mrs. Limekiller land in Antarctica just ahead of an American invasion force, "Operation Antarctic Fury", who have mistaken the penguins for Bulgarian-backed Marxist guerrillas. The pair is involuntarily "rescued" by the Marines and returned to American soil. (p11, 25 strips) * "Survivalism".

Steve Dallas Steve Dallas is a fictional character in the American comic strips of Berke Breathed, most famously ''Bloom County'' in the 1980s. He was first introduced as an obnoxious frat boy in the college strip ''The Academia Waltz'', which ran in the Uni ...

, Portnoy, and Hodge-Podge move into their custom-built bomb shelter, in anticipation of the Soviets dropping "The Big One". (p20, 6 strips) * Binkley experiments with break-dancing and dressing like

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

. (p23, 3 strips) * Binkley's father experiences a stressful withdrawal when Binkley hides his cigarettes. (p26, 5 strips) *

leads new readers on a tour of the comic strip. (p28, 6 strips) * Portnoy and Hodge-Podge hunt "wild hunters". (p30, 4 strips) *

enters

in a drawing to star in a Tess Turbo music video. Steve unwillingly dons a spiked leather costume (shocking his mother), and submits to the director's outlandish script until pyrotechnics ignite his chest hair. After a stay in the hospital, Steve sues Tess Turbo in the People's Court, coercing

into perjuring on his behalf. (p32, 20 strips) *

's disapproving mother stops by for a visit. (p49, 5 strips) * The Meadow Party caucus reconvenes. Hodge-Podge leads an institutional prayer biased toward the long-eared, prompting Portnoy's short-eared ire.

Bill the Cat Bill the Cat, or Bill D. Cat, is a fictional cat appearing in the works of cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, beginning with the comic strip ''Bloom County'' in the 1980s and continuing in '' Outland'' and ''Opus'' in the following decades. Bill also ...

wins the vote for presidential candidate, despite being dead. (p51, 12 strips) * "Time" magazine declares the end of the Sexual Revolution, thereby ending

's conquests at "Bob's Bar and Flesh Market". (p57, 4 strips) * Oliver's father gives him a chemistry set. After a few explosions, Oliver attempts to genetically engineer a long-tailed hamster. (p59, 6 strips) * Steve serves as legal counsel to axe-toting "Mrs. Whacker", accused of turning her husband Charlie into chopped liver. The judge releases Mrs. Whacker without bail, under the condition that she stay at Steve's house. Mrs. Whacker is found not guilty, precluding Steve from selling her movie rights. (p62, 19 strips) * A year after his divorce, Binkley's father seeks his son's permission to start dating. He brings home the fishnet-clad "Stormee", whom he met in K-mart's hardware department. (p69, 5 strips) * Oliver's mother, convinced that he needs a positive role model, wallpapers Oliver's laboratory with a

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

poster. (p70, 3 strips) * Convention time for the Meadow Party. The delegates pile into

Cutter John Cutter John is a fictional character in the 1980s comic strip ''Bloom County'' by Berke Breathed. Cutter, a Vietnam War veteran using a wheelchair due to paraplegia from a war injury, was one of the county's most well-liked citizens. Despite be ...

's "meadow-mobile" and head off to San Francisco. Bob Woodward obtains dirt on

through ever-innocent

. An enthusiastic armadillo represents the party's Texas delegation. At the close of the convention, the presumed-dead

makes a surprise entrance. (p71, 24 strips) * Oliver hacks into the NBC News computer with the password "Dan Rather is a turnip", and changes the results of the news poll to "Basset hounds got long ears" and "Hold the pickles". (p80, 4 strips) * The Jacksons tour Bloom County, and

is sent to ask

for a political endorsement. After visiting Jackson's Disneyland-like "magic kingdom",

convinces Jackson to escape his fantasy-land for an afternoon, and teaches him baseball. Jackson, in turn, has

switch places with him, a-la " Prince and the Pauper". (p91, 17 strips) *

enters the "Mister America" pageant, and ends up winning, thanks to a hack from Oliver. A scandal erupts when a number of magazines publish old nude photos of him, including National Geographic and Dog World. (p98, 12 strips) * For his dad's birthday, Oliver erases his dad's record from the IRS computer. Unfortunately, this causes his dad to no longer exist. Oliver restores the IRS record. (p103, 4 strips) * Binkley's mortality visits his anxiety closet. (p105, 3 strips) * To boost the Meadow Party's dismal poll results,

is sent to hold a rally on a college campus. He is caught in a riot of right-wing business students who sing folk songs about Reagan and shout, "Don't trust anyone under $30,000 a year." (p107, 9 strips) * Run-up to election day. Despite last-minute speech coaching (

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

's position on tax indexing is "Ackphft") and canvasing (with

mistakenly costumed as a chocolate éclair), the Meadow Party fails to take the presidency. (p110, 14 strips) *

runs off to join the

Rajneeshee The Rajneesh movement are people inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho, particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins". They used to be known as ''Rajneeshees'' or "Oran ...

cult, renaming himself "

Bhagwan Bhagavan ( sa, भगवान्, Bhagavān; pi, Bhagavā, italics=yes), also spelt Bhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord"), is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is u ...

Bill".

Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine *'' Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * ''Milo'' (video game), a first-person adventure-puzzle computer ga ...

and

infiltrate the cult and bring Bill home. After an unsuccessful attempt to "de-program" Bill,

ships the cat off to the Betty Ford Center. (p115, 16 strips) {{Bloomcounty Bloom County Books by Berkeley Breathed Little, Brown and Company books 1985 books