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Complete Popeye #3
Popeye, Vol. 3: Let's You and Him Fight!
The third volume (of six) of the acclaimed hit series collecting the entirety of E.C. Segar's original Popeye (a.k.a. Thimble Theatre) comic strips features work from 1932 to 1934. In addition to the daily and Sunday strips, this volume will present a true collector’s item: Segar’s never-reprinted two-week “World’s Fair” continuity. In 1933, in addition to the normal daily and Sunday continuities, Segar produced a special, two-week sequence of extra-large strips (two to three tiers each) in which Wimpy and Popeye travel to Chicago to take in the World’s Fair. Olive Oyl is left behind on account of “she ain’t wide-minded,” but Olive has other ideas and follows Popeye to make sure he isn’t flirting with any pretty girls. This sequence has never been republished since its original publication 75 years ago.
Stories in this volume include "The Eighth Sea," a nautical thriller-diller starring, in his only appearance in the actual Segar Popeye strip, Bluto (plus the shape-shifting detective Merlock Jones); "Long Live the King" and "Popeye King of Popilania"; "Star Reporter," in which Popeye juggles his career as a newspaperman and a recent adoptive Dad to the one and only Swee'pea. Plus over a year's worth of great full color Sunday strips, many of them focusing on everyone's favorite glutton Wimpy!
This volume also contains the conclusion of Donald Phelps’s incisive and articulate critical essay on Segar’s work “Real People, Real Theatre.”
E.C. Segar blended complex narratives, slapstick traditions, brilliant characterization, and an inimitable cartooning style to create the most exciting and profound humor of his era, rivaling the great film comics of his era, such as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. Discover this American treasure in this handsomely designed series perfect for all ages.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2008
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About the author
E.C. Segar
142 books34 followersElzie Crisler Segar was a cartoonist, best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 2, 2025
The third volume of Fantagraphics' Popeye collection really comes into its own when J. Wellington Wimpy shares the spotlight.
He's the perfect foil for our title roughneck. Wimpy is a loafer, lazy and over-verbose, prone to flattery and flourishes and whatever scheme might land a little food in his bottomless pit of a stomach. Creator E.C. Segar has as much fun crafting Wimpy's overblown rhetoric as he does capturing Popeye's malapropisms, and the pair together is great stuff.
The volume drifts a bit in the early going, echoing early stories of ghosts and silly kingdoms with the debut of Bluto and further hijinks with King Blozo. The storytelling finds its stride when Popeye uses some Tammany Hall politicking to help the king win re-election, and then it gets sillier still when Popeye establishes his own island nation, Poplilania, inhabited, we find out, with rowdy tribes of Wild Men and Wild Women.
The humor here is sharp and well-illustrated and often plays against type. There are frenetic fight scenes and Popeye declaring himself a "high-voltage poppa" as he flirts with flappers and Wild Women chieftans. Sure, it gets a little sappy when his adopted son Swee'Pea shows up, but that's nothing a little Bonkus of the Konkus can't cure.
He's the perfect foil for our title roughneck. Wimpy is a loafer, lazy and over-verbose, prone to flattery and flourishes and whatever scheme might land a little food in his bottomless pit of a stomach. Creator E.C. Segar has as much fun crafting Wimpy's overblown rhetoric as he does capturing Popeye's malapropisms, and the pair together is great stuff.
The volume drifts a bit in the early going, echoing early stories of ghosts and silly kingdoms with the debut of Bluto and further hijinks with King Blozo. The storytelling finds its stride when Popeye uses some Tammany Hall politicking to help the king win re-election, and then it gets sillier still when Popeye establishes his own island nation, Poplilania, inhabited, we find out, with rowdy tribes of Wild Men and Wild Women.
The humor here is sharp and well-illustrated and often plays against type. There are frenetic fight scenes and Popeye declaring himself a "high-voltage poppa" as he flirts with flappers and Wild Women chieftans. Sure, it gets a little sappy when his adopted son Swee'Pea shows up, but that's nothing a little Bonkus of the Konkus can't cure.
July 31, 2021
Popeye is as great and foundational a work of American literature as MOBY DICK, fight me
March 9, 2015
It did not take long for THIMBLE THEATRE to lose a step. Just four years after the introduction of Popeye, the strip is repetitive and the energy seems down by a small percentage. It is still fun, and certainly would feel less tedious if read one strip per day, but this is a review of a book collecting the strips which is not designed for unpaced reading. The small size of the reproductions does the strips no favor. These ARE worthwhile, but you should expect less than you received from the first two volumes.
February 16, 2021
Segar hasn't quite reached his "Pool of Youth" / "Popeye's Ark" heights yet, but he's well on his way there. Significant episodes include one of Popeye's most serious pre-Toar fights, against Bluto (who will be featured more prominently in the cartoon), as well as shorter stories that see Popeye launching his own country ("Popilania"), his becoming a newspaper editor in exchange for investing in a failing paper (Rolling Stone is offering similar deals today!) , and his decision to protect the newly-arrived baby Swee'Pea ("Schooner") from the intrigues of the Demonian secret service. The Sunday strips are excellent, developing the character of the utterly feckless, hamburger-obsessed college man, J Wellington Wimpy, and the 1934 World's Fair insert constitutes a nice bit of ephemeral proto-sponcon (Segar is able to squeeze some good gags out of the subject matter, at least). The introductory essay is cram-packed with useful material, but is slow going on account of the author's clunky, academically-inflected prose. Highly recommended nevertheless.
February 21, 2021
This is the third volume of E. C. Segar's original comic strip of Popeye. This brings together many of the characters that people know,(Olive, Wimpy, Bluto, Sweetpea) and some you might not know. (King Blozo, Geezil, Roughhouse, Castor Oyl) I enjoy reading the strips that were in the papers all those years ago. Popeye is a little different from the Fleischer Brothers Cartoon. (Those are great also) Spinach is used in the strips, but Popeye doesn't get his strength from it solely. ( He touched a whiffle hen and that gave him his inhuman strength)
I think these comics are swell but it is hard to find inexpensive copies of these books. I have vol 4 coming but cannot find 5 and 6 for under $500 bucks!
I think these comics are swell but it is hard to find inexpensive copies of these books. I have vol 4 coming but cannot find 5 and 6 for under $500 bucks!
March 29, 2018
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two volumes - too much Wimpy, for my tastes. Sometimes, Segar uses Wimpy in surprising, fun ways, but as often, he simply lets one of Wimpy's stock phrases serve as the punchline, and I got tired of those phrases quickly. Still, there's some good humor here, and plenty of fun to be found in Popeye's founding his own kingdom, Popilania, in the daily strips.
Still good, just not as good as the first two Popeye books.
Still good, just not as good as the first two Popeye books.
May 12, 2018
Glorious
April 21, 2024
when i salutes them they stays saluted sir
December 31, 2019
Volume Three of this Fantagraphics reprint series collects THIMBLE THEATER daily and Sunday strips from 1932-1933, and some special contemporary strips promoting the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair. Noteworthy events include the introductions of Bluto and Swee’Pea, and the greater prominence of Wimpy as a supporting character in both daily and Sunday strips (He had previously appeared in Sunday strips only.).
History aside, there’s much to enjoy here. Segar’s Popeye series really did have it all: colorful characters, 1930s-style high adventure, mysteries, heroism, slapstick humor and sharp political satire (Segar takes aim at Prohibition and Depression-era relief programs, among other matters.). Above all else, this book is just plain fun to read.
In my review of Volume 2, I noted Segar’s cynical views on humanity and how all his characters seemed inherently selfish. In Volume 3, this is alleviated somewhat with the introduction of baby Swee’Pea, who brings out a gentler, more caring side of Popeye. In his “origin story,” Swee’Pea is shown to have seven moles on his back, making him an object of worship in the superstitious country of Demonia. The Demonians want Swee’Pea, so his mother gives him to Popeye to protect him. Interestingly, Popeye names the baby “Schooner,” but also often refers to him as “Me Li’l Swee’Pea,” and the two names seem to have been used somewhat interchangeably until “Swee’Pea” finally won out.
We also meet Bluto, and his introduction is both more and less important than it might seem. He is the villain of the book’s opening tale, a high seas comedy adventure in which Popeye seeks the Eighth Sea. Some googling tells me that this story ran while the Fleischer Brothers were making their famous Popeye cartoons, and thus, Bluto became Popeye’s archenemy in said cartoons. Segar, however, never used the character again! In fact, more googling reveals that Segar’s neglect of Bluto ultimately led to the Bluto/Brutus confusion. The King Features Syndicate, which owned Popeye, actually assumed that Bluto appeared first in the cartoons and that the Syndicate didn’t own the rights to the name. Thus, they renamed him “Brutus.” Apparently, it wasn’t until years later that someone realized that King Features had full rights to “Bluto” after all!
While Segar did indeed create Bluto, it’s really the Fleischer Brothers who morphed him into the Bluto that we all know. Segar’s Bluto is a more typical villain – a nasty thug, and a much darker character than his cartoon counterpart (Segar's Bluto is so greedy that he pulls all the gold out of his henchmen’s teeth!). Unlike the cartoon Bluto, he is not a rival for Olive Oyl’s affections. Segar clearly never intended him to be any kind of break-out character, and it’s not especially surprising that he never used him again.
Despite my love of Segar’s Popeye, I will concede a flaw in this volume. The Swee’Pea/Demonian storyline evolves into an overly long running gag in which Popeye is hit on the head and subsequently diagnosed with “Bonkus of the Konkus.” He then wanders off, convinced that he is a cowboy, while Olive desperately works to find both him and a cure for his condition. The gag is funny, but Segar milks it way too long, and it’s unsatisfactorily resolved. Meanwhile, Segar seems to drop the Demonian plot line altogether, with a couple threads left dangling. It’s possible, though, that he picked them up again in a later story. Hopefully, the next volume will provide some answers.
Despite that one minor dissatisfaction, I’m still very much on board with this series. I have three more volumes to go, and I suspect that I’ll be very sad when I’m finally done.
History aside, there’s much to enjoy here. Segar’s Popeye series really did have it all: colorful characters, 1930s-style high adventure, mysteries, heroism, slapstick humor and sharp political satire (Segar takes aim at Prohibition and Depression-era relief programs, among other matters.). Above all else, this book is just plain fun to read.
In my review of Volume 2, I noted Segar’s cynical views on humanity and how all his characters seemed inherently selfish. In Volume 3, this is alleviated somewhat with the introduction of baby Swee’Pea, who brings out a gentler, more caring side of Popeye. In his “origin story,” Swee’Pea is shown to have seven moles on his back, making him an object of worship in the superstitious country of Demonia. The Demonians want Swee’Pea, so his mother gives him to Popeye to protect him. Interestingly, Popeye names the baby “Schooner,” but also often refers to him as “Me Li’l Swee’Pea,” and the two names seem to have been used somewhat interchangeably until “Swee’Pea” finally won out.
We also meet Bluto, and his introduction is both more and less important than it might seem. He is the villain of the book’s opening tale, a high seas comedy adventure in which Popeye seeks the Eighth Sea. Some googling tells me that this story ran while the Fleischer Brothers were making their famous Popeye cartoons, and thus, Bluto became Popeye’s archenemy in said cartoons. Segar, however, never used the character again! In fact, more googling reveals that Segar’s neglect of Bluto ultimately led to the Bluto/Brutus confusion. The King Features Syndicate, which owned Popeye, actually assumed that Bluto appeared first in the cartoons and that the Syndicate didn’t own the rights to the name. Thus, they renamed him “Brutus.” Apparently, it wasn’t until years later that someone realized that King Features had full rights to “Bluto” after all!
While Segar did indeed create Bluto, it’s really the Fleischer Brothers who morphed him into the Bluto that we all know. Segar’s Bluto is a more typical villain – a nasty thug, and a much darker character than his cartoon counterpart (Segar's Bluto is so greedy that he pulls all the gold out of his henchmen’s teeth!). Unlike the cartoon Bluto, he is not a rival for Olive Oyl’s affections. Segar clearly never intended him to be any kind of break-out character, and it’s not especially surprising that he never used him again.
Despite my love of Segar’s Popeye, I will concede a flaw in this volume. The Swee’Pea/Demonian storyline evolves into an overly long running gag in which Popeye is hit on the head and subsequently diagnosed with “Bonkus of the Konkus.” He then wanders off, convinced that he is a cowboy, while Olive desperately works to find both him and a cure for his condition. The gag is funny, but Segar milks it way too long, and it’s unsatisfactorily resolved. Meanwhile, Segar seems to drop the Demonian plot line altogether, with a couple threads left dangling. It’s possible, though, that he picked them up again in a later story. Hopefully, the next volume will provide some answers.
Despite that one minor dissatisfaction, I’m still very much on board with this series. I have three more volumes to go, and I suspect that I’ll be very sad when I’m finally done.
June 1, 2009
If you're a big Wimpy fan like I am you'll be in hog heaven because he's all over this book, offering such catchphrases as "You must come over for duck dinner; You bring the ducks!". There's also the first stories with Swee'Pea which are great, too.
It's also great seeing Olive Oyl punching out Popeye and any hussy who tries to scam on her sailor boy: she's way more intense in the strips than the wuss she plays in the cartoons.
A lot of the humor and art reminded me of those old Mr. Natural comix that R. Crumb did in the early Seventies. I'm sure they're influenced by these classy Popeye yarns.
It's also great seeing Olive Oyl punching out Popeye and any hussy who tries to scam on her sailor boy: she's way more intense in the strips than the wuss she plays in the cartoons.
A lot of the humor and art reminded me of those old Mr. Natural comix that R. Crumb did in the early Seventies. I'm sure they're influenced by these classy Popeye yarns.
November 6, 2025
This Popeye features the first reprint of the Chicago World Fair series, one that wasn't previously reprinted perhaps due to the fan dancing that Olive Oyl performs. Swell collection by me, and I think we all need to eats our spinach!
April 10, 2009
Includes the only comic strip sequence by Segar featuring Bluto. Sheer bliss for a vintage comics geek.
July 20, 2009
THIS BOOK WAS SO AWESOME!!
January 9, 2012
very good, very well done. with the introduction of Swee'pea, bluto, and Popeye's newly made land of Popliania.
July 10, 2013
Delightful collection of comics from the early 30s.
December 30, 2016
has additional panels revolving around the current Chicago World's Fair
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews