The Fellowship was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of POPEYE
#1 from IDW Publishing. The story is by Roger Langridge with art by Bruce
Ozella.
Castor Oyl comes up with a crazy scheme to find a mate
for Eugene the jeep so they can sell the litter and make a lot of money. He and
Olive shame Popeye into using his boat and set out to find the mysterious
island. They are joined by Wimpy who rather be with them than the cook who he
skipped out on paying his bill. After coming across Bluto’s ship (and fight that you knew you would see), Popeye and crew make it to
the island, but who or what lies there waiting for them?
I am more familiar with the cartoons than the original
comics and comic strips, but this was a fun read. The book invokes the spirit
of the original Fleischer Studios’ cartoons, rather than the later ones
released by Paramount Studios. Bruce Ozella does an incredible job of
duplicating E.C. Segar’s style. Roger Langridge captures the characters voices
and writes an entertaining story. If the rest of the four issue mini-series is this good, I
wouldn’t mind seeing this as an ongoing.
POPEYE #1 is in comic book stores now or available at www.idwpublishing.com.
~ Thomas
