August 1st, 2019 
Jackson Murphy 
Today marks 25 years since the final daily “Popeye” newspaper comic was published. But the iconic Sailor Man is still going strong in other forms – and for new generations.
For nine decades, audiences have been treated to the adventures of Popeye. And to celebrate his 90th Anniversary, Warner Archive and King Features held recently held a banner panel at San Diego Comic-Con.
Moderator Gary Miereanu welcomed panelists C.J. Kettler, King Features President, IDW Popeye artist Tom Neely, animation historian Jerry Beck and D.W. Ferranti and Matthew Patterson of the Warner Archive Podcast.
The panelists gave audiences a brief overview of the history of the character, who originated in 1929. And according to Ferranti, who dressed up as Popeye for the occasion, “he was everywhere and everything on the radio. That’s a guy who’s gonna take over the strip and American consciousness. He grew out of a very rich source, and an American one.”
Popeye quickly connected with audiences because, as Beck put it, “during the Depression era, he represented the little guy. He was the most popular cartoon character in the 30s, 40s and into the 50s and 60s once he was on television.”
“This is a character that resonates because he’s a superhero. He represents the underdog,” Kettler said. Appropriately, part of the presentation included a clip from a “Popeye” cartoon called She-Sick Sailors where Olive Oyl (who turns 100 this year) is reading a Superman comic. Bluto decides to dress up as him, as Popeye once again fights for Olive Oyl’s affection. The crowd really enjoyed it.
Popeye’s 90th Birthday Party, with (right to left) C. J. Kettler, Jerry Beck, Tom Neely, D. W. Ferranti, Matthew Patterson, moderated by Gary Mireanu
But how does Popeye speak to a 21st Century audience? As Beck acknowledged, a tattooed sailor man with a pipe – “Try pitching that to Nickelodeon today.” Currently, King Features has Popeye’s Island Adventures shorts on YouTube, aimed at 4-7 year-olds. But there are no plans on new, more traditional “Popeye” content from King at this time, because they want to get it just right. “We feel the enormous responsibility every day of taking Popeye out into the real world,” Kettler said.
In the meantime, Kettler sees great value in digital comics, with Popeye’s Cartoon Club work from Neely among recent selections. Neely has “loved the character since childhood” and enjoyed creating his own stylistic version of Popeye.
The Comic-Con attendees were also treated to a sing-a-long of the Popeye theme – and news that Vol. 3 of “Popeye The Sailor: The 1940s” is coming soon to Blu-Ray. “Don’t disconnect your Blu-Ray players. This is the best they’re going to look,” Patterson said.
The Vol. 3 sneak peek short for the audience: one in which Olive Oyl is elected U.S. President, and she tries to unite the Democrats and Republicans (literally represented as donkeys and elephants). The one word panelists used to summarize it: “Timely”.
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