#e.c. segar

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall - Popeye (1980)

[silviacrossdresser]

"Thimble Theatre", by E.C. Segar, daily strips from June 4 to 7, 1934.

[chernobog13]

Popeye versus the X-Men, by John Byrne.

[fromthedust]

E.C. Segar (American, 1894-1938)

Nobody's Pal (Wimpy) - cartoon - 1934

[fielderbb]

posting some Segar Popeyes, no reason

[coulisses-onirisme]

A la mémoire de Shelley DUVALL, dans le rôle d'Olive. Actrice décédée le 11 juillet et récompensée au Festival de Cannes en 1977, prix d'interprétation dans TROIS FEMMES (Robert Altman)

[eclecticpjf]

Reblogging my most popular original post

Thimble Theatre starring Popeye by E.C. Segar, December 19, 1937

Presented without comment

[schaeder]

Stark av att äta spenat?

Alla vet att Popeye (Karl-Alfred) blir stark av att äta spenat. Men hur började det? Varför var han så besatt av denna grönsak? Berodde inte allt bara på ett vetenskapligt misstag?

Alla vet att Popeye (Karl-Alfred) blir stark av att äta spenat. Men hur började det? Varför var han så besatt av denna grönsak? Ett urval källor Första gången Popeye äter spenat för att bli stark var troligen 3 juli 1932, i söndagsserien med ’Thimble Theatre’ av Elzie Segar, där han äter spenat för att det innehåller A-vitamin. ©KFS Popeye, skapad för Thimble Theatre av E. C. Segar, hade ett…

[popeyesmith]

Royal Fetish: Screwball Monarchy in 30s Cartooning

[graphicpolicy]

Check out Fantagraphics this January

Check out Fantagraphics this January #comics #comicbooks

Chartwell Manor by Glenn Head No one asks for the childhood they get, and no child ever deserves to go to Chartwell Manor. For Glenn Head, his two years spent at the now-defunct Mendham, NJ, boarding school — run by a serial sexual and emotional abuser of young boys in the early 1970s — left emotional scars in ways that he continues to process. This graphic memoir — a book almost 50 years in…

[el-ffej]

Harrison Ford IS Popeye

Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford photographed by Andy Gotts

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Robin Williams as Popeye (1980)

[browsethestacks]

Popeye

Art by...

1) Zombie Goon

2) E.C. Segar And "Son"

3) E.C. Segar

4) Kelley Jones

5) Otto Schmidt

6) Roger Langridge

7) Marcus Williams

8) Tom Fowler

9) Chris Wahl

10) Steve Mannion

[dearyallfrommatt]

Last year was the 90th anniversary of Bluto's introduction into the Popeye Extended Universe in the form of the original Thimble Theater comic strips by E.C. Segar way back in 1932. Most folks know - if they know anything at all - that the original comics were vastly different from what they know from the Popeye Cartoons. For example, we all know the one-eyed sailor was introduced as the strip was already popular but rapidly became the focus of the strip as well as Olive Oyl's affections.

Bluto was just one of a number of nogoodnik's Popeye went up against and their first meeting ended after a weeks-long fight with Popeye giving the big bully the twister sock. Originally, he just wanted to kill Popeye to prove he was the toughest and cared nothing for the beguiling charms of the alluring Miss Oyl. For the record, that original story was called The Eighth Sea.

Of course, Fleischer Studios started making cartoons featuring Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, and a few others in 1933, spinning them off from their extremely popular Betty Boop series. Again, it's well-known that the cartoons and the comic strip did share some obvious similarities, certain things were emphasized while others were ignored. For instance, Thimble Theater originally focused on Olive's family and the weird residents of Sweet Haven. Spinach was still a source of Popeye's heroic might, but in the strip, it was a gag used sporadically. Similarly, Bluto only appeared once in the strip during Segar's life but was a recurring character in the cartoons, usually as a rival for Olive's affections.

All well and good, Segar goes to Davy Jones' Locker in 1938, and the cartoons remain hot all through the '40s. When the '50s came around, the cartoon was introduced to the kiddies via television and Popeye became a nationwide hero all over again. Due to the popularity of the cartoon, Bluto comes back to menace Popeye again in the strip, now helmed by Ralph Stein. He also introduced Bluto's beardless brother Burlo, both pirates out to mess up Popeye's shit.

Here's where things get confusing. As he became a regular on the cartoon, he became a regular on Popeye merchandise, everything from coloring books to a strength tester. For some reason, Paramount Pictures (who financed the initial theater cartoons) were under the impression they held the rights to Bluto and King Features (who published the original comic strip) never contested it, again for some reason. From thence, Bluto was often referred to as anything other than Bluto, from The Mean Man to the Swab to Sonny Boy (he was the son of fellow Popeye villain the Sea Hag) but never "Bluto."

King Features didn't receive a nickel from the original theater cartoons, so when the opportunity arose in the 1960s to produce their own Popeye cartoons. Thus, we got Popeye The Sailor, which ran until 1963 and was in syndication until the '90s. Like a lot of animation aimed at children's television in the '60s, the show was done on the cheap, both storywise and animation-wise. Initially, a lot of the old gang from the Fleischer/Famous Studios cartoons came back but by the end... well, it just got bad, embarrassingly so. Maybe the worst of the classic cartoons, but one's mileage may vary.

One thing this brought us, though, was Brutus as the show's main antagonist. Remember, Paramount and King Features both thought the former owned "Bluto" and neither company was willing to put much money into proving otherwise or taking too close a look at "Brutus" and his originality. All fine and good, we all learned about the one-eyed sailor with the weird arms who'd down a whole can of spinach when he felt it was time to whip some ass. No, I don't think that's where "open up a can of whup-ass" came from but I'm fine with pretending.

If there was a physical difference, Brutus' belly stuck out a bit more. Regardless, Brutus became more prominent in cartoons, the strips, board games, toys, etc. until 1978 when Hanna-Barbarea produced The All-New Popeye Hour for Saturday morning cartoon. We got back Bluto - who was also played by Paul Smith in the incomparable 1980 live-action movie - and he's been status quo ever since.

So the question is, are Bluto and Brutus the same character? Well.. depends on where you look. You ask most folks, they'll say "Bluto" is Popeye's archenemy. When Hanna-Barbera put out Popeye And Son in the late '80s, they went up against Bluto and his son Tank. In later media, it's still Bluto though his relationship with Popeye has become significantly less homicidal since his initial 1932 introduction.

Now, stick with me; we're coming to the end. The comic strip is still chugging along. I remember back in the late '80s/early '90s a big stink was made because Olive Oyl came out as pro-birth control and, by inference, pro-choice. In 1991, Bobby London was producing the Popeye strip and brought back Bluto. This, the story goes, was the original Bluto from 1932 and he was mad as hell to see all these bearded copycats running around. Popeye whipped them all anyway but seeing the different Bearded Bully designs is pretty neat. Hy Eisman (who helmed the strip until 2022) ran with that and claimed Brutus was Bluto's brother.

Current cartoonish R.K. Milholand keeps up the brotherly connection in the Sunday strips, which can be found here. Outside the comic strip, of course, no one really cares and Bluto has been status quo since the late '70s.

Profiles in Villainy 

Bluto

A selfish, greedy and violent brute, the cad known as Bluto (sometimes Brutus or Bluto the Terrible) has been the recurrent foe of Popeye the Sailor.  Bluto and Popeye have matched wits on countless occasions as the lumbering villain has gone to despicable lengths to best his enemy and strike it rich.  Although Bluto is quite strong, burly and resilient, he is no match for Popeye when the sailor is fueled by his strength-inducing spinach.  

Bluto is additionally a rival of Popeye’s when it has come to the affections of the fair Olive Oyl.  While Olive is often flattered to see two men vying for her attention, Bluto frequently takes it to far and abducts her or puts her at peril.  Thankfully, Popeye has always been able to save her and there has been many an occasion where Olive has saved herself.  

Throughout the many adventures of Popeye, there have been some that have seen Bluto and Popeye as friends and even business partners.  There are also numerous fantasy tales where Bluto has played different roles, such as a fiendish king or a despotic sheik.  At some point Bluto married a woman named Lizzie and had a son whom he named Tank.   

Numerous actors have provided the voice for Bluto, including William Pennell, Gus Wickie and Allan Melvin.  The villain’s first appearance in animation was in the 1933 Fleischer Studios production, Popeye The Sailor.  

[megan-the-artoonist]

No, this is not an actual vintage comic! Yes, I drew this! The sequence of events behind it:

-I watched the 1980 Popeye movie

-I started reminiscing about my childhood interest in Popeye and my favorite character from the bunch, Wimpy

-I read some of the old Popeye comics by E.C. Segar

-I remembered this joke from Spongebob and decided to draw it like a classic comic with Popeye characters.

[sg-00001]

Farewell to a friend

My friend I moved to LA with introduced me to Joe Matt when I first moved here. They had met on Myspace and she said I should meet him. Coming from a small town and growing up conservative, I was introverted and had a hard time meeting people, making friends, or even talking. So when I met Joe, I was immediately swept away by his huge personality and inviting nature. He'd ask questions and be intensely interested in the people he met; it made me feel for once like even I might be an interesting person. It was so comforting to find someone I could so easily talk to, someone who was brutally honest, always willing to offer criticism, but never judgemental.

And oh how we talked. The initial shared interest in films (I was thrilled to find a fellow Buster Keaton fan) and literature was a constant binding force in our friendship over the years. Having mostly ignored comics after my childhood, Joe Matt rekindled my love for comics—both because I found his comics so refreshingly honest and insightful and because he introduced me to so many other great works, from his Toronto pals Seth and Chester Brown to Charles Burns to E.C. Segar's brilliant Popeye comics, a whole new world opened back up to me and I started to find myself interested in drawing again.

I could go on and on about how much he influenced me, not just in comics, but in life: getting rid of my car, discovering my love for coffee, always searching out the ridiculous in not just life around me, but in myself as well. He was one of the funniest people I've ever met, always able to find something to laugh about. Truly, Joe was a singular man, and his time he shared with me made my life so much better. I miss my friend. I regret not having had at least one more conversation with him, but then I'd have wanted at least one more…and so on.