Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 3: 1984-1986 (Bloom County Library)
The third in the five-volume series reprinting the entire Bloom County run shows the strip at the height of its irreverence, with Opus and the rest of the gang settling nicely into their foibles. Memorable highlights include a Meadow Party bid for the White House (“For a Weirder America”), a revamped schnoz for Opus (New Coke, anyone?), the too-brief life of Oliver’s Mac-parody Banana Jr. 6000, and Bill the Cat selling national secrets to the Soviets. Annotations help sort out some of the more topical lampooning, but Breathed’s ability to balance terrific gags with hearty doses of underdog charm remains timeless. --Ian Chipman