For this column, I’d like to return to the subject of comics criticism. A while back, HU hosted a Popeye roundtable, which raised some interesting general questions, but seemed to stop from lack of enthusiasm before it went very far. Not being in a position to contribute at the time, I would like to resurrect [...]
Reading through my reviews of the first three Fantagraphics collections of E.C. Segar’s Popeye (my review of Volume I is here, II here, and III here), one repeated phrase jumps out at me: “largely of historical interest.” The challenge I gave the work was for it to transcend that description. It occasionally did; there were [...]
“I bet one legend that keeps recurring throughout history, in every culture, is the story of Popeye.” —Jack Handey Popeye was pretty far removed from his Golden Age when I was first introduced to him, probably through some combination of Hanna-Barbera’s The All-New Popeye Hour (1978-81) on Saturday morning television, whichever Famous Studios shorts were [...]
Back in the day, I used to watch Popeye cartoons. I liked them OK, although I enjoyed Scoobie Doo more. Olive Oyl was feisty, and she didn’t wait around to be rescued. She was a force to be reckoned with. I never really liked Popeye himself, since he was kind of dumb and kind of [...]
For me, E.C. Segar’s Popeye remains, no matter what Noah says, not only one of the great comics of the 20th century but a great piece of Americana as well. It manages to combine hilarious slapstick, daffy absurdity, high adventure, sentimental melodrama and still create genuine emotion and care for the cast’s well-being. It deserves [...]
I organized this roundtable as an excuse to look at some of the E.C. Segar Popeye strips. I’d never read them, and many people love them, obviously, so I figured this was a good chance to catch up. After reading a couple of reviews, I tried the Plunder Island volume, often mentioned as the highpoint [...]
1. Popeye is old. I don’t mean the strip is old. Everybody knows the strip is old. I mean Popeye himself is supposed to be a senior citizen. He’s a grizzled old sailor, with emphasis on the old, with extra old added on.
But, there was one area of real policing where The Wire’s normally unflinching gaze pulled back.
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