Popeye: I Yam What I Yam v. 1 [Hardcover]

Like the rest of us, Popeye came from nothing. The pug-faced, squinty-eyed, semi-literate Terminator of the sea blessed with forearms of exploding Zeppelins began as an ancillary character. A throwaway, the Star Trek crewman never before seen and doomed never to reappear after the next scene with the spandex monster. BWaaghYAA! No more. Yes, one of the most enduring, ubiqitous, and fundamental personalities of twentieth century popular culture emerged from the primordial muck as a mere plot device. But first some history. Some moments after the Big Bang, in 1919, a strip entitled "Thimble Theater," a name now humbled by the sandblaster of time, seeped from the head of one E.C. Segar, tunnelled through the nib of his fountain pen, and saturated the New York Journal's fibrous pages for the first time. Olive Oyl, the walking stick heroine, graced the strip's very first panel. Much later her brother, the haphazardly entreprenurial Castor Oyl, waddled his way to major character status. The bendy Ham Gravy completed the trio as Olive's beau. Until 1928 these characters held "Thimble Theater's" top spots. No one challenged their authority. No one dared. Ham loved Olive, Olive loved Ham. Castor schemed. So on it went. Then, in 1928, one year before the financial catastrophe that signaled the Great Depression, Castor Oyl's Uncle brought home an elusive Wiffle Bird. This bird, quaintly named Bernice, brings good luck to those that rub her tiny pea head. Her powers are no secret. Others stalk Castor and covet the feathery fortune. A high-heeled shadow with shapely legs, the "Black Ghost," apprehends Castor and reveals the valuable secret he carries. Her employer wants to win bajillions by exploiting the Whiffle Bird's powers at a Casino called Dice Island. Castor catches wind of this plot, escapes with Bernice, and plans his own trip to the remote water locked casino. Of course he needs a boat. And to operate the boat he needs... a sailor. "'Ja think I'm a cowboy?" one of the most serendipitous accidents of comic history squacks on his first appearance in early 1929. So humbly began Popeye. Plot spackle. But, unlike most of us, he soon came out swinging hammer fists that pulverized morality into a morass of violence and tenderness.

As this coffee table sized book begins, the Whiffle Bird has just arrived from Africa. Apart from Castor's exclamation "Well, I'll be pop-eyed!" the sailor with the face like a "ship wreck" doesn't appear until page twenty-seven. The book thus provides adequate setup for Popeye's momentous entrance. Once he does appear he steamrollers his way onto center stage. First, he outsmarts Castor by using the Whiffle Bird against him. This allows him to buy a new shirt "Ain't she hot, cap'n?" Soon after he slugs Ham Gravy, the strip's soon to be previous alpha male, right in the chewer. Popeye's ubiquitous "Blow me down!" becomes a hilariously entrancing mantra that reduces other catch phrases to the insignificance of fleas on Sasquatch. With volcano punches and an imperviousness to bullets Popeye hails the era of superheros that would dawn a decade later. But his morality differs greatly from the Americana glory that Superman became. The 1920s Popeye never hesitates to solve problems with a sock to the face. Someone's after Olive? Smack 'em! Someone's giving me trouble? Whack 'em! Someone's contradicting me? Zap! Fist to the head! Like Batman and the very early Superman, Popeye has a dual nature. He bullies his way to justice, openly defies the law, breaks out of jail, smacks anyone acting as an inconvenient obstacle, all while claiming that he's a "@*!!mm!! good man!" When Olive enters the picture and kisses him by accident, Popeye shows his sensitive side. He melts. In the Sunday pages, which follow a completely different storyline from the dailies, he gives $10,000 to a homeless family. Castor thinks he gambled it all away on craps. And one particular memorable Sunday strip, in the heat of the Great Depression, has Popeye confronting a hot dog stand owner. The owner has refused a hot dog to a hungry child. Popeye hauls off on the owner and shreds the stand. On the last panel the boy walks away, eating from a wreath of hot dogs around his neck, while Popeye proudly states "I feels exter happy now on account of I done a good deed." Heavy handed justice, indeed. This book, dense as a neutron star, ends after Popeye and Castor solve "The Mystery of Brownstone Hill" and just as they shove off to tackle "The Wiltson Mystery." A mixture of comedy, adventure, and romance, the tall packed pages turn like waving flags as the various plots unfold. Never a dull moment.

The Popeye many have grown up with, from the famous Fleischer or Saturday morning cartoons, does not appear in this book. Not once does he yank a can of spinach from his shirt, nor does Bluto ever kidnap Olive. In fact, Bluto doesn't even appear. And Popeye faces rather fiendish competition for Olive Oyl. As always, the jackhammer fists provide the solution. The Popeye that does appear drifts from second banana obscurity and morphs into one of the most devastatingly clever powerhouses ever known to the comics page. His personality is a mash of appalling, endearing, crass, magnanimous, and self-actualized "I yam what I yam" wonder. E.C. Segar stumbled unknowingly into astonishing new territory by merely developing a storyline. Serendipity pays. A masterpiece resulted. This incredible book preserves the origins of that timeless and confounding legend who blasticated his way into Depression-laden hearts. He stands well poised to sock his way into many more.

If you asked most people about Popeye, they'd be able to recall the cartoon. Each one had basically the same plot: Popeye and Bluto would vie for the affection of Olive Oyl; Bluto would trounce Popeye until the hero ate his spinach, which would then give him super-strength and he'd save the day. Some of the early Popeye cartoons are pretty good, but overall, they're just average or even awful at times. If you asked these same people if they knew Popeye was originally a comic strip character, they would probably be surprised. What would be more surprising was that the comics Popeye was quite different from his animated counterpart.

E. C. Segar had actually been writing the Thimble Theater comic strip for a decade before he introduced Popeye, who soon became a fixture. As Volume One (out of an intended six) of these Popeye reprints opens, Olive's brother Castor is the main character. Presented by his uncle with a Whiffle Hen, Castor tries to kill the magical bird, spurred on by a monetary award. The Whiffle Hen, however, is completely unkillable, and actually enjoys Castor's attention. The two bond, and when Castor learns that the Hen will bring good luck, he decides to sail to an island where there's a casino. To get there by boat, he needs a sailor, and he finds Popeye.

Popeye is a good-natured brawler, loyal but not overly intelligent. Almost unbeatable in a fight, he gets to punch out more than his fair share of ruffians. Other principal characters in this volume include Castor, Olive, Ham Gravy (Olive's early boyfriend who disappears out of the story soon enough) and villains like Jack Snork and the Sea Hag. The daily strips feature one set of storylines which takes Castor and Popeye all over the globe in search of adventure. The Sunday strips are featured separately (and in color) and usually stay near home; plot lines deal with Popeye getting in boxing matches and trying to woo Olive). As a bonus, the Sunday strips also include Segar's other strip Sappo.

If you've been turned off by the Popeye cartoons, these strips are, in contrast, a real pleasure, a combination humor and serial comic strip. The only problem is that the volumes are only coming out around once a year, so it'll be a little while before you can collect and read them all. They will, however, be worth the wait.

WOW! Make that a double WOW! This is a real lulu of a book! Oops, sorry different cartoon strip.

This is the first long look that I've had of the real, honest to goodness Popeye other than just fragments in comic strip histories. This volume gives the reader a chance to get to know Popeye and the Oyl family and some other assorted characters from E. C. Segar's brilliant Thimble Theatre.

Popeye doesn't need spinach to make him strong. He got his strength from the sea and from the school of hard knocks. In these Depression-era tales, we get to see an undereducated, rough-around-the-edges "everyman" make it in a world of cold, hunger, joblessness, dispair, crooks, thieves, get-rich-quick schemers, murderers, and some nice people thrown in for good measure.

Popeye manages to outsmart and outfight them all without even trying. There is such a basic goodness in him, that the world around him can't beat him down no matter how hard it tries.

That spirit got America through the Depression and made Popeye an American icon... and old "blow me down" Popeye still lives today. Granted, in a somewhat more sanitized version, but he's still Popeye.

Buy this book and marvel at the stroylines, the wordplay, and the genius of E. C. Segar. Thanks, Fantagraphics for giving Popeye and the Thimble Theatre cast the treatment they deserve, which is world class. I can't wait for volume two coming in the fall of 2007!