Review by Woodrow Phoenix
Popeye is one of those characters like the flying boy robot Astro Boy or Hot Stuff the Little Devil who have seemingly been around forever, and their so distinctive appearances are baked into pop culture. Everyone recognises them from toys, clothing and other merchandise, but with none of their comics generally available, couldn’t name them or say where they come from. So who is the sailor man? E.C. Segar introduced Popeye as a supporting character in his Thimble Theatre newspaper strip in 1929. His screwy speech patterns, sarcastic quips, barely domesticated behaviour and superhuman strength soon pushed the other characters into the background and by 1930 the strip was all his.
Olive Oyl and Her Sweety is the first in a series of four volumes of The E.C. Segar Popeye Sundays, reprinting the eight years of Segar’s colour newspaper pages from March 1930 to October 1938. The classy and striking design presents each softcover volume housed in a very solid slipcase with a die-cut window on the front, framing the image on the front cover beneath.
Inside, the Sunday strips are large and clear on the landscape format pages, but unlike the previous reprintings, the ‘Sappo’ strip that accompanied Popeye in newspapers is not included. There is an introduction in the form of two strips created especially for this volume by two contemporary comics creators: Sergio Ponchione, an award-winning Italian cartoonist contributes ‘An introduction to the feature’, an affectionate if dreadfully self-indulgent five-page commentary. Cathy Malkasian, an animation director and cartoonist contributes ‘“Oomph” A Popeye Short’, a two-page slice of whimsy featuring Popeye and Olive Oyl. These feel confusing in their placement here as there is absolutely no information about this work, or any editorial explanation of why it was thought desirable or useful to add additional artistic voices to this book. In fact there is no supporting text at all except for a one paragraph bio of Elzie Crisler Segar on the final page. If readers unfamiliar with Popeye have questions they’ll have to find the answers elsewhere.
The stories are engagingly odd and funny right from the start as newcomer Popeye has to literally fight for the affections of Olive Oyl over her many interested suitors, and then carries on punching when Olive’s brother Castor tries to make big money by managing him as a boxer. Popeye is too impulsive and anarchic to confine his flying fists to the ring, and Segar’s inventively silly plots continually find ways to prevent any successful boxing matches from taking place. Popeye’s unique personality of big-heartedness and extreme violence is established via a succession of battles with brutish foes, increasing in size and menace till he even takes on a gorilla. This becomes monotonous, but there is no way anyone at the time would have dreamed these throwaway gag strips would ever be seen together or read more than once.
Some repetition works to the advantage of the jokes, as fight promoters and others continually try to bribe Popeye to lose fights. Boxing champ Kid Jolt offers $10,000 to smack Popeye in the chin with the first punch of their match, expecting one almighty righthander will guarantee victory. “P.S.T. Keep this under your hat – Don’t tell nobody – Because we must keep the fight game CLEAN,” the Kid tells him. He won’t be the only person to say this in what becomes a running joke about the sordid link between professional boxing and gambling. Segar introduces more variety to his strip with an expanded cast in Popeye Volume 2: Wimpy & His Hamburgers.
