Popeye is Kind of a Jerk
January 16, 2009When I was younger, I remember watching Popeye cartoons, and playing the Popeye video game, and I always wondered why Olive Oyl would date both Bluto and Popeye, when Bluto was clearly an oversized oaf, and Popeye stood for truth and justice and everything right in the world.
I’ve read the daily comic strip for a number of years, and though Popeye seemed a little dim sometimes, he was always being an honest, hardworking guy, and generally nice to everyone he meets (even the evil Sea Hag). Until the most recent storyline involving an animal from the moon (a moon Quark), I’m not sure Bluto has graced the daily strips in a few years.
Anyway, this recent Sunday strip puts everything into perspective. We get a glimpse of what Popeye is really like behind closed doors – It’s no wonder Olive Oyl likes to keep her options open.
Popeye – 1/11/2009
Hi,
You raise a good point, but I offer the possibility that the current writer of Popeye is the jerk. A brilliant comic brought to its knees by contemporization and mishandling, this.
Best regards,
Bengo
LilNyet.com
ScratchinPostComics.com
P.S. I’m not anti-technology, but it is essential for cartoonists to remember that it tends to be de-humanizing, and therefore must be used with care, or the characters become soulless blobs like the fake “Popeye” above. Thoughtful readers will find magic in the Fantagraphics compilations of E C Segar’s original Popeye strips.
Comment by Bengo — January 22, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
*or the, not of the
Comment by Bengo — January 22, 2009 @ 1:06 pm
Unless you can bring something totally rebootable (I made up a new word!) to the comic strip world, these legacy strips are just taking up space. Why can’t the cartoonist create an original sailor comic strip and pitch to syndicates or post online like everyone else?
Comment by Boomtown — January 23, 2009 @ 10:19 am