The Pop-Eyed World

I loved the Popeye cartoons growing up. They taught me that the solution to any problem is horrifically cathartic ultraviolence. Augmented by what amounted to canned steroids.

Robert Altman's movie version was based more on the original comic strip version of Popeye. I loved that movie growing up, despite how different it seemed from the cartoons I knew and loved.

Now there's a compilation book documenting Popeye's funny pages origins: Popeye Volume 1: I Yam What I Yam. Popeye the Sailor Man was originally a bit character in a strip called "Thimble Theater", that had already been running 10 years with a robust cast of misfits before ol' squinty showed up and captured America's hearts & minds. In the comic strip, he didn't lean on spinach as a performance-enhancing crutch. He beat up most of his antagonizers on his own. He and Olive Oyl started off bickering. Altman took quite a few cues from the old Thimble Theater roots.

The book's cool and provides some great context for the character.

It's father's day, isn't it. Fuck you, Hallmark. You delight in generating holidays that highlight the worst blemishes of my life. A'right, I guess I should call the guy or sommat...