In the tradition of The Complete Peanuts, Popeye, Volume 1 reintroduces the brilliance of E. C. Segar and his famous sailor man to a new generation.

Most folks are familiar with Popeye through a variety of incarnations that have ensconced the character in the public consciousness for almost 80 years — the animated Popeye cartoons, the feature film Popeye, etc. — but far fewer have been exposed to the original brilliance of Popeye's creator, E.C. Segar. Now, comic strip fans can experience Segar's original comic strips through this new six-volume series.

In 1929, Segar took his eccentric Thimble Theatre comic strip (which began in 1919) and introduced Popeye, transforming the strip almost overnight into one of the most popular works of art in American history. Segar's entire cast of characters, such as Olive Oyl, Wimpy, Eugene the Jeep, the Sea Hag, and Alice the Goon became a part of American culture. This outwardly farcical gaggle of vaudevillian-esque antiheroes, bumbling about on picaresque chases was one of the most sophisticated — and hilarious — comic strips in history.

Fantagraphics' Popeye will collect the complete run of Segar's Thimble Theatre comic strip (dailies and color Sundays) featuring Popeye, re-establishing Segar as one of the first rank of cartoonists who have elevated the comic strip to art. He was the most popular cartoonist of his day, his sense of humor coming straight out of Mark Twain, who also balanced exaggerated tall tales and a perfect ear for everyday speech with dark themes that undercut his laugh-out-loud stories.

In this first volume, covering 1928-1930, Popeye's initial courtship of Olive Oyl takes center stage while Olive's brother CastorOyl discovers the mysterious Whiffle Hen. Also, the entire cast meets the Sea Hag for the first time in their pursuit of the Mystery House (Popeye's first extended daily narrative), and Castor Oyl attempts to turn Popeye into a boxing champion in a series of hilarious Sunday strips.

These strips are masterpieces of comic invention. Popeye's omnipotence pre-figures the rise of superheroes in the 1930s and 1940s, though Popeye is a much more sympathetic character, and his very name announces his vibrant personality. He's a scoundrel with a heart of gold, and a tongue of silver: My sweet patootie loves me because I yama high-voltage poppa, and she is my hotsy-totsy momma! His mangled English pulsated with the vital spirit of immigrant America, its rhythm poetic in its own vulgar way: 'I yam what I yam and tha's all I yam.'

Segar blended complex narrative, slapstick traditions, brilliant characterization, and an inimitable cartooning style to create the most exciting and profound humor of its era, rivaling even the great film comics of his era, such as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers.

"Most people know Popeye...through his animated incarnation, but Segar's strip is a far richer creation....Although many hands continued the strip after its creator's death in 1938, none of them came close to capturing the brilliance Segar displays in these pages." Booklist

"[S]canned from original newspaper clippings that otherwise had been yellowing somewhere or another, this book documents not only the birth of a great American comic character, but also, in a smaller measure, the death of a great straight man." John Hodgman, The New York Times Book Review

"[A] gratifyingly dense collection....Reading the saga from the start, it seems likely that the Depression became a crucible for fans' ardor. Popeye is self-sufficient, fatalistic; he's a survivor, with or without money." Los Angeles Times

"Segar's Popeye, a rough and ready strongman, is a wonderfully colorful character....Segar was a remarkble cartoonist and an inventive storyteller, and these classic adventures are strongly recommended for all libraries." Library Journal

In this first volume, covering 1928–1930, Popeye's initial courtship of Olive Oyl takes center stage, while Olive's brother Castor Oyl attempts to turn Popeye into a boxing champion. In full color and B&W.

Elzie Chrisler Segar was born in 1894 and died in 1938. His work was recently showcased in the landmark "Masters of American Comics" exhibition at the Hammer and MOCA museums in Los Angeles.

Fantagraphics' Popeye will collect the complete run of Segar's Thimble Theatre comic strip (dailies and color Sundays) featuring Popeye, re-establishing Segar as one of the first rank of cartoonists who have elevated the comic strip to art. He was the most popular cartoonist of his day, his sense of humor coming straight out of Mark Twain, who also balanced exaggerated tall tales and a perfect ear for everyday speech with dark themes that undercut his laugh-out-loud stories. In this first volume, covering 1928-1930, Popeye's initial courtship of Olive Oyl takes center stage while Olive's brother Castor Oyl discovers the mysterious Whiffle Hen. Also, the entire cast meets the Sea Hag for the first time in their pursuit of the "Mystery House" (Popeye's first extended daily narrative), and Castor Oyl attempts to turn Popeye into a boxing champion in a series of hilarious Sunday strips. These strips are masterpieces of comic invention. Popeye's omnipotence pre-figures the rise of superheroes in the 1930s and 1940s, though Popeye is a much more sympathetic character, and his very name announces his vibrant personality. His mangled English pulsated with the vital spirit of immigrant America, its rhythm poetic in its own vulgar way: 'I yam what I yam and tha's all I yam.'"