Popeye the Sailor Man is being collected in his original newspaper strip form by Fantagraphics. The famous sailor's Sunday comic strips will be re-released later this year in a brand new format. Popeye has long been a favorite of comics readers young and old, and the release of this comic will certainly be treasured by fans of all ages, as well as anyone with an interest in comics history. Popeye has been a pop culture icon for close to a century now - only recently starring in his own movie in 2014 and animated shorts to celebrate his ninetieth birthday - and the new collection Fantagraphics is releasing will certainly further cement that.
Popeye the Sailor - created by Elzie Crisler Segar - has captivated audiences of all ages for decades. First published in strip form in newspapers across the country, Popeye has seen endless adaptations, including a 1980 movie starring Robin Williams. Full of classic characters like Popeye himself, his sweetheart Olive Oyl, his gluttonous friend J. Wellington Wimpy, and his rival Bluto, the strip is known for its humorous tongue-twisters and cartoon fistfights. The lighthearted and classic comic is a staple of American pop culture and prefigured the modern obsession with comic properties.
Later this year, Fantagraphics will be releasing the first of four collected volumes of Popeye's classic adventure. The volumes collect the complete run of the Sunday Popeye strips. The first volume, Popeye Vol. 1: Olive Oyl and Her Sweetie, covers the years 1931 to 1932 and focuses on Popeye's romance with his sweetie, Olive Oyl. These two lovebirds are just as likely to butt heads as they are to hold hands, making them a relatable - and entertaining - couple to read about. Each of the volumes is in an accessible slipcase paperback format, perfect for fans who want to read the entirety of Popeye's story. Fantagraphics has provided Screen Rant with an exclusive trailer celebrating this first volume, which is below.
This new volume is perfect for a classic cartoon fan. The introduction to the book are comics tributes, written by acclaimed cartoonists Sergio Ponchione (a Gran Guinigi Award winner) and Cathy Malkasian (a British Academy Award nominee for her work on The Wild Thornberrys film). Readers will enjoy seeing Popeye chase fame and fortune as a prize fighter, even going so far as to fight the strong Johnnie Brawn and a literal gorilla. The praise for this new release of the classic Popeye strips has already begun, with reviewers noting that its focus on relatable themes like love, romance, commerce, and daffy humor make it a series readers should not miss.
With Popeye having recently celebrated its ninetieth anniversary in 2018, the hundredth is just on the horizon. Readers still have a few years to prep for that important anniversary, and a perfect way to do that is to check out the strips that made this American icon a household name. The first volume of the four-volume set, Popeye Vol. 1: Olive Oyl and Her Sweetie will be released on November 2, 2021, exclusively through Fantagraphics.