By Bud Sagendorf (Virgin Books)
ISBN: 0-907080-16-2
There are few comic characters that have entered world consciousness, but a grizzled, bluff, uneducated, visually impaired old sailor with a speech-impediment is possibly the most well known of that select bunch. Elzie Segar had been producing Thimble Theatre since December 19th, 1919, but when he introduced a coarse, brusque “Sailor man†into the saga of Ham Gravy and Castor Oyl on January 29th, 1929 nobody suspected the heights that walk-on would reach.
Rather than explore the genius of Segar here, let’s concentrate on a general overview of Popeye in this anniversary book from 1981. Compiled and written by his assistant Bud Sagendorf (who took over the strip, the comic book and the merchandise design in 1958) it is a glorious primer into the huge, rich history and vast cast of the strip, with lavishly illustrated features on everything Popeye from Spinach to Collectibles, Notable Quotes to Maps and diagrams of the wild world the Sailor roams.
After Segar’s tragic death in 1938, Doc Winner, Tom Sims, Ralph Stein and Bela Zambouly all worked on the strip as the animated features brought Popeye to the World. When Sagendorf took over in 1958 his loose, rangy style and breezy scripts brought the strip itself back to the forefront of popularity and made reading it cool again. He wrote and drew Popeye until Bobby London took over in 1994.
This book is a gem for fans and casual readers alike. I’m hoping that with the 80th Anniversary so close now that King Features are planning something as good if not better for that landmark event.
©1981 King Features Syndicate, Inc. and Virgin Books, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.