Celebrate The Birthday Of Popeye Creator E. C. Segar

Today is the posthumous birthday of E. C. Segar, born on December 8, 1894, as Elzie Crisler Segar. You may not know the name of the famous cartoonist, but the odds are that you know his greatest creation, Popeye. Popeye made its first appearance in the Thimble Theater comic strip in 1929.

Born the son of a handyman, Segar was raised to paint and hang wallpaper. However, when the local theater caught his eye he played the drums to accompany the films and vaudeville acts. He then got promoted to projectionist and live performances all before the age of 18! Once he was 18, he decided he wanted to be a cartoonist and took a correspondence course from W. L. Evans.

This was the same course the creators of Dick Tracy and Dennis the Menace used to learn their trade. He admitted that he was working through the day, and then staying up until 3 a.m. completing the courses to learn the art of cartooning.

Segar was introduced to the Chicago Herald by Richard F. Outcault, who helped him get his first comic published on March 12, 1916, “Charlie Chaplin’s Comic Capers.” While this comic ran for a year, it opened the door for him and gave him more contacts within the publishing world. Then William Curley from Evening American sent him to New York Journal where he began working on “Thimble Theatre” which debuted on December 19, 1919. The Thimble Theater introduced the Oyl family.

It was still a decade before the famous Popeye would be created. In January of 1929, the lead of the comic Castor Oyl needed a character to navigate a ship, and an old sailor was introduced. That sailor was named Popeye. It wasn’t long before Popeye stole the strip and became the star of the series.

If Popeye is foreign to you, where have you been, but here are a couple of things to lean into to learn more about the character?

Popeye (1980)
 
The live action film Popeye is adapted from E. C. Segar’s Thimble Theatre more specifically “Gelman’s Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye the Sailor” a hardcover reprint of the comics from 1936-37. While Segar didn’t live long enough to see the film released based on his character, I wonder what he would think of Robin Williams depiction of the cartoon. I don’t know if he would really appreacite his subtle work on the role, but I know he would have loved Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl.
Popeye (2012)
 
As a tribute to E. C. Segar’s classic figure, Roger Landridge and Bruce Ozella created a short run 12- issue limited series from IDW that shared the style of art from E. C. Seger, and a backstory that doesn’t forget the history of the famous figure.

What’s your favorite Popeye story?

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