"There's a lot you don't know about Popeye."

June 7, 2022 11:18 AM

Having hit 93 years in the funny pages, the long running spinach chomping sailor undergoes a change as Randy Milholland, creator of the long running webcomic Something Positive, takes over as the regular Sunday strip artist for Popeye. (SLWaPo)
posted by NoxAeternum (43 comments total)

“Olive Oyl is a millennial at this point,” he says of the sailor’s forever love interest. “And Popeye is a tail-end Gen-X’er.”
posted by box at 11:28 AM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

The Popeye Memorial Day Tweet was really quite well intentioned, though the tone ain't right. Anyhoo, more web comics artists taking over the syndicates!
posted by Going To Maine at 11:31 AM on June 7, 2022

I'm in favor of anything that shines a spotlight on Popeye, which to me is *THE* greatest of all American comic strips. The original Segar run of the strip is an incredible masterpiece, at the levels of character design, narration, use of space, timing, humor, and so many other criteria.

While it's not fair to compare the new strip to Segar's strip, the couple of examples included in the WaPo article suggest that the new creator might do well to study Segar's masterful techniques for depicting movement and action. The new strip seems a bit ... static to me.

/grumpyoldcomicsnerd
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:34 AM on June 7, 2022 [5 favorites]

Huh. That was certainly unexpected. Congratulations to Randy.

I wonder which webcomic creator will takeover what legacy comic strip next. Jeph Jacques and Flash Gordon? Shaenon Garrity and Dennis the Menace? David Willis and For Better or For Worse?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:39 AM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

I wonder which webcomic creator will takeover what legacy comic strip next.

I know they're not really doing webcomics anymore but I would pay all the money there is if it would get me a David Hellman and Dale Beran version of Little Nemo.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:44 AM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

I wonder which webcomic creator will takeover what legacy comic strip next.

Gisèle Lagacé has done a few issue of Archie Comics.
posted by fings at 11:48 AM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Gisèle Lagacé has done a few issue of Archie Comics.

That makes perfect sense given her webcomic was basically "What if Archie, but Horny?" already.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:50 AM on June 7, 2022 [5 favorites]

I was hoping to say "I'm disgustipated!", a la Robin Williams' Popeye, but I'm not.
Good luck and may Popeye live long and prosper.

Does Swee'Pea eat baby spinach?
posted by MtDewd at 11:59 AM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

I admit I'm kind of boggled at this whole thing, but good for Randy.
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:02 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

David Willis and For Better or For Worse?

Funny about that…

https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/burnsauce
posted by Eikonaut at 12:06 PM on June 7, 2022 [4 favorites]

I know it won't happen, but I'd love to see Randy turn the Popeye comic as dark and cynical as Something Positive.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:31 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

David Willis and For Better or For Worse?

Funny about that…

Apparently that particular wormhole to your link has collapsed.
posted by y2karl at 12:32 PM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Funny about that…

https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/burnsauce

this is the best and I cannot believe I never saw it
posted by Countess Elena at 12:47 PM on June 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

"And Popeye is a tail-end Gen-X’er."

What I yam is what I yam
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 12:52 PM on June 7, 2022 [28 favorites]

"And Popeye is a tail-end Gen-X’er."
What I yam is what I yam

I had a whole-ass comment ready to go and then this work-of-art comment from Harvey Kilobit appeared and I am slain by its level of GenX genius.

you're what you are or what?
posted by kimberussell at 1:04 PM on June 7, 2022 [10 favorites]

> [...] as dark and cynical as Something Positive [...]

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
posted by sourcequench at 1:29 PM on June 7, 2022

you're what you are or what?

Edie Brickoyl
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 1:35 PM on June 7, 2022 [13 favorites]

When the time comes, they'll give Jeph the reins to Fred Bassett. Because 1) Jeph loves his dogs, 2) I believe he now lives in Canada, which is close enough to the UK for Bassett punchlines, and 3) What Fred Bassett desperately cries out for, these days, more than anything, is lots of sentient robots.

Also, let it be known: Wimpy is lit.
posted by zaixfeep at 1:54 PM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

I was hoping to say "I'm disgustipated!", a la Robin Williams' Popeye, but I'm not.
Good luck and may Popeye live long and prosper.

Does Swee'Pea eat baby spinach?

Olive Oyl : Swee'Pea is the worst name I've ever heard on a baby.
Popeye : Well what do you wants me to call him? Baby Oyl?


I wonder which webcomic creator will takeover what legacy comic strip next. Jeph Jacques and Flash Gordon? Shaenon Garrity and Dennis the Menace? David Willis and For Better or For Worse?

This new Nancy strip is lit – and it’s got people on the internet going crazy

It’s 2018, and people are suddenly screaming at each other about 85-year-old comic strip character Nancy
posted by ActingTheGoat at 2:19 PM on June 7, 2022 [8 favorites]

came here to find out about Popeye reboot

left humming Edie Brickell's "Ghost of a Dog"
posted by elkevelvet at 3:19 PM on June 7, 2022

> I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

instante mense
posted by sebastienbailard at 3:54 PM on June 7, 2022

I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

I mean, the very first strip kind of sets a tone that the strip would very very slowly back away from over time, but not all the way.
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:01 PM on June 7, 2022

This new Nancy strip is lit – and it’s got people on the internet going crazy

At least it isn't Cathy. That would be, to paraphrase the berobed leader of Invaders From Mars, a total ack! ack! ack! ack! ack! attack.
posted by y2karl at 4:04 PM on June 7, 2022

Is Little Lulu still around? What about the two cigar smoking crows? KatzenjammerKids?...I'm old.
posted by Czjewel at 4:19 PM on June 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Nancy revival? Where are the three rocks?
posted by njohnson23 at 4:41 PM on June 7, 2022

This is moderately exciting for me because my partner and I have ended up with the weird hobby of rewriting the Wikipedia article about sailor tattoos, with significant research in scholarly sources, and my todo list includes working in a mention of Popeye's iconic anchors. The character's whole style is an interesting archetype from a specific moment and has endured for long enough to become really anachronistic in a fun way.
posted by dreamyshade at 5:19 PM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

I remember long ago when I was young, we went on a family vacation to LA, and in the hotel room there was a TV channel that continually played vintage Popeye Cartoons. That's just part of why I often think of Los Angeles as a mythical realm.
posted by ovvl at 7:31 PM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

It's funny, S*P used to be part of my regular webcomics feed, and then... I dunno. I could tell that Randy was indeed getting less cynical (he even had Mike, formerly his designated whipping boy for everything he didn't like about nerds, say and do some halfway-decent things), but I do think that I'd just reached a point in my life where "it's not as bad as it was a few years ago" wasn't quite good enough. Some of the recent strips look good. (Here's one that's relevant to the news.) And, at its most downbeat, S*P was nowhere near as objectionable, on any level, as Sinfest is now.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:45 PM on June 7, 2022

The best version of Popeye since E.C. Segar was a series of private strips made by comic book great David Lapham (best known for Stray Bullets) for his wife and creative partner, Maria. Maria briefly posted some on a Tumblr blog, and I’ve never gotten over the fact that she stopped.

It’s well worth checking out regardless, and I’d love to live in a world where David Lapham drew a daily Popeye for the rest of my life.

https://marialapham.tumblr.com/
posted by denmch at 9:48 PM on June 7, 2022 [3 favorites]

Deeply surreal. It's bizarre to think of the webcomics scene slowly getting tapped by syndicates - Ryan North not withstanding, because Ryan North is a polymath genius - and even then Milholland is not the kind of guy I would have thought would take on a legacy strip. S*P always struck me as deeply cynical and willing to go dark for the joke, but with enough fundamental self-awareness to know that a lot of hacks have worked out you can go dark for easy laughs, as well.

I wish him the best, though; we've seen at least one wildly successful revamp of a legacy property thanks to a webcomic artist taking it over.
posted by Merus at 1:51 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

Is it still unknown who the person is drawing Nancy?
posted by timdiggerm at 4:40 AM on June 8, 2022

I think it's still unknown. Some people might know (I do not) but all things considered, given that the artist has chosen to use a pen name I think it's probably better to respect their wishes.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 4:48 AM on June 8, 2022 [4 favorites]

If this is half as good as the Nancy revamp, it will be great.
posted by jordemort at 5:24 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

we've seen at least one wildly successful revamp of a legacy property thanks to a webcomic artist taking it over.

Nancy and Mark Trail have been fairly successful, it seems like, though I don't follow the comics biz very closely. Are there others I should know about?
posted by box at 5:30 AM on June 8, 2022

The new Nancy artist got smacked with cranky misogyny from the strip's readers, most of whom apparently hung around for the full-panel cheesecake drawings of Nancy's aunt Fritzi Ritz in skin-tight sweaters. Jaimes could not be clearer with her attitude towards that. In almost every strip she uses her in, Fritzi wears a shapeless turtleneck and tube pants.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:36 AM on June 8, 2022 [2 favorites]

The new Nancy artist got smacked with cranky misogyny from the strip's readers

Part of what makes the new Nancy so great is getting to read all the comments from agitated asshole!
posted by jordemort at 7:35 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

There is a lot I don't know but wonder about Popeye! Like has he ever eaten anything besides spinach?
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:03 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

I'm in favor of anything that shines a spotlight on Popeye, which to me is *THE* greatest of all American comic strips.

I agree, but you seem to have misspelled "Krazy Kat."
posted by the sobsister at 9:49 AM on June 8, 2022 [7 favorites]

Yeah, I would have gone with Krazy Kat or Pogo if we're talking about "classic" comic strips.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:08 AM on June 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

Randy's response on SP to this.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:48 AM on June 8, 2022 [11 favorites]

Just coming here to say what a mind-blowing moment it is, as someone who's read Randy's work for (yikes) about two decades now. His deep affection for classic comics and daily strips has always come through, particularly in his side projects, and it's really wonderful to see him taking the reins for real.
posted by verb at 1:14 PM on June 8, 2022

Another long-time Something*Positive fan here, and yeah, as jenfullmoon linked, when I read today's strip I stood up and cheered so hard. Davan has long felt like the deeply identifiable part of me that I don't show anyone, but Randy spiking the ball on an anti-lefty teacher is sooooo vicariously satisfying.
posted by straw at 11:22 AM on June 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

Are there others I should know about?

I’ve beaten this drum before, but Heathcliff is a masterpiece of surrealism.
posted by MrBadExample at 9:24 AM on June 11, 2022 [2 favorites]