Bloom County
On October 25, 2017 IDW published "Bloom County: Real, Classy, & Compleat: 1980-1989", collecting the complete run of "Bloom County" in two volumes. An "Ultimate Collectors Set" was also released, including the original art from a daily strip featuring Opus, a page from Breathed's sketchbooks, and a personalized sketch of Opus on the slipcover.Published by The Library of American Comics, an imprint of IDW Publishing.
Minor characters in Bloom County
Though the strip's various compilations do not do them justice, the original cast of characters in "Bloom County" were Milo, Bess, and Major Bloom, along with a basset hound named "Rabies" whose thoughts could be read à la Snoopy; the first year of strips are mysteriously omitted from all compilations save the "Bloom Library", although a selection did find publication in a 1986 anthology collection "Bloom County Babylon: Five Years of Basic Naughtiness". Most of the strip's most memorable characters debuted later on, with Milo being the only key character to appear for the duration of the strip's run.
Alphonso Ali was the first significant African American character in "Bloom County". An ardent admirer of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, Alphonso was first introduced as Binkley's opponent in the boxing ring. Later, Alphonso would make appearances as a friend of Binkley and Milo, as well as everyone else in the meadow, and fought in the Great Snake Massacre. He disappeared in 1983, and was replaced by Oliver Wendell Jones later that year.