Popeye

It’s a rare comic character who can make audiences laugh for well over half a century—but then again, it’s a pretty rare cartoon hero who can boast of forearms thicker than his waist, who can down a can of spinach in a single gulp, or who generally faces the world with one eye squinted completely shut.
When E.C. Segar’s gruff but lovable sailor man first tooted his pipe to the public on January 7, 1929, it was not in the animated cartoon format for which he is best known today (and which would become the longest running series in film history). Instead it was on the comics page of the New York Journal, as Segar’s Thimble Theatre strip. Over the decades to come, Popeye was to appear on radio, television, stage, and even in a live-action feature film.
This comprehensive and lavishly illustrated history is a thoroughly updated and revised edition of the highly acclaimed 1994 work. Animated series and films are examined, noting the different directions each studio took and the changing character designs of the Popeye family. Popeye in other media—comics, books, radio, and a stage play—is thoroughly covered, as are Robert Altman’s 1980 live-action film, and Popeye memorabilia.

Cartoonist Fred M. Grandinetti, who does not like spinach, co-founded the International Popeye Fanclub. He lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Fred M. Grandinetti
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 343
Bibliographic Info: 201 photos, appendices, indexes
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1605-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-2687-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      xi

Part One

Popeye in Print      1

Part Two

Popeye on Film: Cartoons of Fleischer and Famous Studios      25

Part Three

Popeye on Television      61

Part Four

Radio and Records, Stage and Screen            97

Part Five

The Supporting Cast of Characters      115

Episode Guide      155

Appendix A: Selected Scripts from the Animated Cartoons      209

Appendix B: The International Popeye Fan Club      257

Index      261

“excellent…highly readable…the ultimate tribute to Popeye…comprehensive…generously illustrated…the layout looks terrific…expertly researched. Popeye fans…be on alert. This is the only book to get. It’s written by an expert”—Classic Images; “a good purchase”—Booklist; “for the most thorough examination of Popeye, no other book comes close”—Big Reel; “[a] landmark publication”—Animation Insider; “a significant expansion of the author’s 1994 edition”—C&RL News; “a wealth of material…facts large and small are explored with equal enthusiam…one cannot help but be impressed…one cannot overstate the significance of what this book contains…there is simply no book like it”—DVDtoons.com “engaging cultural history”—Journal of the American Association of School Librarians; “probably the most complete source on the comic chapter”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly; “a terrific resource…Grandinetti knows his sailor man inside and out”—Northeastern University Magazine; “comprehensive…dedicated Popeye fans will welcome it”—Inks; “excellent”—Pop Art Times; “the ultimate pop-culture resource”—Model and Toy Collector; “gives the whole story of the comic world’s most famous sailor man…one of the more unique strips ever created”—Accessibly Live Off-Line.