I take back everything bad I said about Opus. I’ve decided that Opus is a good comic, and I like the artwork. My initial reaction can be explained, however. When Opus was put on the front page, other comics had to make room. And, instead of dumping another comic, someone came up with the brilliant idea to shrink the comics! You know how you have one comic running vertical along the side, and then the other comics are shrunk to fill the space to the side of it? (Well, you should.) Two of those non-vertical comics were shoved side by side. Yes, the already reduced comics, reduced to an even smaller size. You can hardly read the text. Of course, the first victim was Monty, one of the few comics, print or otherwise, that actually makes me laugh out loud, and one not lacking in text. Luckily, that changed in subsequent weeks.

If you think that’s a travesty, look at what the San Jose Mercury News did now! The bastards shrunk Opus! Yes, arguably the best artwork in the funny pages today has been shrunk. And what do they promote to the top of the front page of the comics section… Clear Blue Water. Let me put this plainly: Clear Blue Water is a bad comic. The artwork… you can’t even call it artwork.

This comic is even worse than, dare I say it, Garfield, which, incidentally, is on the front page as well. Five of six panels were exactly the same, except for the text. We all know how repetitive Garfield is. Yes, I’m saying Clear Blue Water is worse than Garfield. Where the hell did Ms. Montague-Reyes learn how to draw?

Dump Clear Blue Water. Make Opus half-page again. I seriously should write to the Mercury News.