Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf

This is Popeye at his finest!

I am a big fan of E.C. Segar's Popeye, and have read nearly all of his stories, so I was eager to find out what the better-known Sagendorf incarnation was like. The stories in this volume are pretty good, and Sagendorf has a wit and style of his own that has echoes of Segar's, but it still distinctively his own. The comic book format of the stories mean that he is able to open up the art far more than Segar ever did, who mostly kept everything at ground level in a tight stage (as in 'Thimble Theatre'). I would still say that I prefer Segar's style, but I guess that is a personal preference.This book, however is a tad disappointing. All the stories are from the 1950s. Considering how long Sagendorf drew the strip for, it would have been interesting to have stories charting the development of the strip over time. The printing is okay, but the book feels a little cheap for $20 in paperback. The introduction gives some history, but is overall light on insight and heavy on silly puns and gushing praise. There is a whole story to be told about Sagendorf's work on the strip and how his art and storytelling developed.There is some interesting background art at the beggining of the book, including promotional work done for the army, and some instructional material. It was a strange design decision to have page numbers located halfway up the side of the page as green numbers falling out of a tumbling spinach can. It's very distracting and ugly, and on every page. Finally, there is no afterword, or material to close off the book, which feels a bit cheap. Overall, it is worth a read, but probably wait until it is discounted.

A great compilation of classical Popeye Stories

Classic