Six comic strip stars who lost the spotlight

As I learn more about comic strip history through my work on the U of C's comic art collection, it's interesting to see how many strips evolved over the years - in some instances by casting off their original protagonists in favour of a new one, sometimes with dramatically different results!

Here are six starring characters who found themselves diminished - or outright put out of work.

Barney Google

Began as the star of: Take Barney Google, F'rinstance, 1919, wherein our pint-sized hero debuted as a gambling sportsman; over the years he would acquire his famous horse Spark Plug, appear in animated shorts, become featured in one strangely-preserved song ("Barney Google Foxtrot") and have a search engine named after him.

Supplanted by: Snuffy Smith, a hillbilly who indulges in hillbilly antics; he entered the strip in 1934 and took it over in 1954; you may be surprised to learn this strip is still being published as Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, albeit Google's name is little more than a legacy.

Lesson learned: Horse racing jokes become dated; hillbillies are a bottomless jug of comedy.

Mitzi McCoy

Began as the star of: Mitzi McCoy, 1948, presented there as the glamourous heroine of a soap opera.

Supplanted by: Kevin the Bold, her swashbuckling 15th century ancestor who shamelessly took over the strip in 1950 and held on 'til 1968 (Mitzi is such a minor footnote I had tremendous difficulty finding just one image of her).

Lesson learned: Unless Geena Davis or Roman Polanski are involved, swashbuckling always wins out.

Castor Oyl

Began as the star of: Thimble Theater, 1919, wherein our pint-sized hero headed an ensemble cast in comical variations on melodramatic stories.

Supplanted by: A new ensemble player named Popeye the Sailor, who swaggered his way into the strip in 1929 and within a year made it his own and has remained so featured to this day; although Popeye served as the primary romantic interest of Castor's sister Olive, ensuring Castor would never be forgotten, his presence diminished to the point where Castor is as much a piece of trivia as anything.

Lesson learned: Beware the character whose personality is more outrageous than yours; you yam what you yam and that's that you yam.

Fritzi Ritz

Began as the star of: Fritzi Ritz, 1922, wherein our glamourous protagonist engaged in comedic/romantic escapades much like other lady "flapper" stars of the time (ie, Winnie Winkle, Tillie the Toiler).

Supplanted by: Nancy, her adorable niece who debuted in 1933 and took over by 1938, delegating her aunt to a subservient role as a "mother type." Nancy runs in papers to this day.

Lesson learned: The public's not interested in beautiful, independent women. Cute kids, that'll never get old.

G. Washington Tubbs III

Began as the star of: Washington Tubbs III, 1924, wherein our pint-sized hero went on largely comedic adventures, seeking to find his place in the world through the circus, acting and even soldiering.

Supplanted by: His pal Captain Easy, who helped Tubbs out of one jam during 1929 and - excepting occasional absences - never left. In 1933, Easy took over Tubbs' Sunday pages and by the 1940s, Tubbs had been virtually retired; the strip kept his name, but Captain Easy remained in charge 'til the end in 1988.

Lesson learned: We empathize with your everyman hero who struggles to make a mark in this world, but all told we'd rather be the muscular, no-nonsense tough guy sidekick.

Big Chief Wahoo

Began as the star of: Big Chief Wahoo, 1936, wherein our pint-sized hero with his hilarious mode of speech engaged in comedic escapades while brushing up against paleface society.

Supplanted by: Steve Roper, an adventurous photojournalist who began edging Wahoo out in 1944, then renamed the strip after himself in 1947 and kept it 'til the 2004 finale; along the way, Roper picked up his own subordinate, Mike Nomad, pushing the strip's original star even further into obscurity.

Lesson learned: Stereotyping the indigenous peoples will always be funny, so the lesson must obviously be the fickle public just aren't into pint-sized heroes.

Seven thoughts about Popeye#12

At the launch of Roger Langridge's Popeye comic book for IDW last year, I composed a list of seven thoughts about Popeye#1. With the cancellation of the series as of this month's Popeye#12, I felt it was appropriate to revisit the list format and mark the passing of one truly fun comic book series.

 

Thought#1: Publishing a Popeye comic book series in the 21st century was always Quixotic. If people of my generation just barely remember Popeye as a not-that-great live action film and very-forgettable Saturday morning cartoons, how must generations younger than I feel? Meanwhile, the generation older than me has barely any money left for a $3.99 comic book after purchasing the month's allotment of Muslix. Lasting twelve issues is no small feat, especially considering it was first conceived of as a four-issue limited series.

 

Thought#2: Speaking of the Muslix-munching crowd, this issue guest stars Barney Google; according to the indica, he and Popeye are both owned by King Features Syndicate. I only know of Barney Google through the song written about him (it was in a family songbook - my mother played it a few times). I can't speak as to whether Langridge portrayed Google accurately or respectfully, but it was a little fun to imagine the Popeye cast of characters brushing up against some other comic strip's continuity.

 

Thought#3: Langridge was joined by several artists during his Popeye tenure, beginning with Bruce Ozella in issue #1, who, in my opinion, was the best. It would have been fine to see Ozella on duty for this final story, but instead it's drawn by Langridge himself, who seems to have grown more comfortable with the characters as time has gone on. It's interesting to reflect on the fact Langridge's written-drawn series Snarked also completed on issue#12.

 

Thought#4: The plot concerns Castor Oyl winning Spark Plug the racehorse off Google in a poker game. Determined to win his horse back, Google hires Wimpy to find him a horse to race against Spark Plug; Wimpy being Wimpy, Google winds up with a racing-cow instead. There's also a back-up tale where Swee'pea roughs up a wrestler.

 

Thought#5: It's interesting to note how well Langridge can combine gags and plots; usually, each page starts setting up a gag to be resolved by the end of the page, but at the same time the plot of Google & Castor's rivalry continues. One really feels the economy of entertainment in a Roger Langridge comic book - you get value from every penny of the $3.99 price tag! It's similar to the sort of timing you would expect from a comic strip; perhaps more of today's comic book writers should take a cue from the pace of comic strips.

 

Thought#6: Of all the cast of Popeye characters, Wimpy seemed to be Langridge's favourite and I'll certainly miss the monthly dose of Wimpy jokes I've been favoured with for the past year. Wimpy's characterization - a single-minded individual who can place a square meal over his best friends, yet possesses a peculiar sense of honour despite it all - would be very easy to get wrong, I think. That Wimpy can perform despicable deeds while remaining sympathetic, funny and loveable speaks to Langridge's talent as a writer.

 

Thought#7: Roger Langridge can draw a happy cow like no one's business.

R.I.P., IDW's Popeye.

Review: Popeye#7

It's strange to me that while comic books set in the Marvel & DC continuities receive much comment on the internet, where the other publishers are concerned, you're usually lucky to find reviews for first issues, last issues and perhaps a change in creative team. Thus, why not look in on IDW's Popeye again? The most recent issue is #7, featuring "The Beast of Desolation Gulch or, the Case of the Desert Yeti."

In this tale, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Castor Oyl & J. Wellington Wimpy visit an ostrich ranch which is bedeviled by a mysterious hairy monster who lives in the desert. The foreman of the ranch is none other than Ham Gravy, Olive's former fiancee. Since they last met, Ham has picked up his own set of super muscles (courtesy of "Charles Adenoid"), making him a match for Popeye.

As is typical with Langridge, Wimpy is integral to the plot. I'd earlier noticed how Wimpy is similar to Langridge's Snarked protagonist J. Wilberforce Walrus, but while both men are clever con artists, it's worth observing many of Langridge's other protagonists are less-than-clever victims (notably Fred the Clown and Muppet Show's Fozzie Bear).

After collaborating with various artists over the first six issues, this issue features Langridge assuming the writing/art duties (which probably wasn't feasible while he was writing/drawing Snarked during the earlier issues). Langridge is suited to the world of Popeye, but there's something about the way he draws Popeye himself which I don't like; I think it's the lines on Popeye's open mouth, as seen above.

The second feature of the book is "the Cow of Tomorrow," a Professor Watasnozzle story also by Langridge. This character has made frequent appearances in back-up stories during Langridge's Popeye run thus far; Watasnozzle was another creation of Popeye maker E.C. Segar, but not one I was familiar with until this series. Each story follows a similar pattern: eccentric inventor Watasnozzle makes a device to simplify some mundane task, but Sappo & Myrtle, the couple whose home he boards at, find some way to abuse the device; usually something explodes at the climax. In this case, Watasnozzle has invented an electric cow which can do anything a cow can, including fashion its own dairy & meat products (albeit, awful products). I do find these stories repetitive, but each has had enough amusing moments to remain diverting.

I never believed I'd see the day where I was looking forward to Popeye every month, let alone twice a month since the launch of Classic Popeye! Good show, IDW!

Seven thoughts about IDW's Popeye#1

Thought#1: My background with the Popeye franchise amounts to experiencing some of the animated programs, comic books and singular live action film while growing up. I'm not very knowledgeable about the Thimble Theatre comic strip he originated from. It was the name of writer Roger Langridge which brought me to IDW's Popeye#1, rather than any fondness for the characters. Certainly, a cover homaging Action Comics#1 doesn't hurt at implying the audience's familiarity/affection for Popeye by likening him to Superman.

Thought#2: Even so, I recognized characters including Popeye, Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, Wimpy, Alice the Goon, Bluto, the Jeep and the Sea Hag. I'm not sure if I had ever seen Olive's brother Castor Oyl before, although I'm certain I had heard something about hhim.

Thought#3: With so many of the Popeye franchise characters present and bearing in mind IDW originally announced this as a limited series, I wonder if Langridge and artist Bruce Ozella wanted to maximize what they assumed was a time-sensitive opportunity to indulge in the Popeye universe. Consequently, they've placed their best foot forward in the first issue which is exactly what a first issue should be!

Thought#4: In spite of my limited background with Popeye, I knew enough to recognize his first line of dialogue in Popeye#1 ("D'ja think I'm a cowboy?") is a play on the first words he spoke in Thimble Theatre. The things I've retained from years of comic book quizzes!

Thought#5: Then there's the sequence where Wimpy devours a whole shark in a manner very similar to the infamous strip where Wimpy devours a whole cow. What's great about references such as these is they aren't necessary to enjoy the story but are immensely rewarding for those of us in the know. There are probably other references to classic Popeye characters and situations I know nothing about, but I was never made to feel like an outsider.

Thought#6: Speaking of Wimpy, it wasn't until I read Langridge's take on J. Wellington Wimpy that I suddenly realized the protagonist of his Boom! series Snarked - one Wilburforce J. Walrus - is clearly an homage to Wimpy. Both wield their vocabularies to ingratiate and deceive others, wear derby hats, dislike violence and are friendly, but ultimately self-serving.

Thought#7: Interest in Langridge was enough to secure a sale of issue #1; the stunning art by Ozella and fun dialogue by Langridge was enough to ensure I'd be back for issue #2; IDW's Popeye is now one of the most pleasant comic books I'm reading.