Punch-Popeye-In-The-Face Day!!

It's juts a normal day in Thimble Town, when a stranger comes up to our good friend Popeye...

Well, that was uncalled for!!

The stranger skedaddles away, but then...

Hmm...must be a full moon or something.

Popeye kvetches to Olive about the day he's had...

What the?!?

Perhaps Swee'Pea will be more sympathetic...?

And when Popeye tries to drown his sorrows with food...

Surprisingly, there's only one person in town who's not taking a poke at Popeye...

Well, at least you have Wimpy, right?

Maybe. The kids in town help Popeye figure out what the Sam Hill is going on...

Uh-oh...

That is why I love Popeye. He has no reason, and no responsibility, to go along with this scheme. But he's a good sport, and they paid their money, so he's gonna let 200+ people take a poke at him! Bless you, Popeye!!

And the last guy in line cheats a bit:

Still, Wimpy can't be allowed to do this kinda thing, so Popeye comes up with a a plan to get him:

So endeth the Punch-Popeye-In-The-Face Day!!

From Four-Color #113 (1946)

Friday Night Fights--Wile E. Sea hag Style!!

We may have found the secret origin/inspiration for one of our culture's enduring monuments in this week's Friday Night Fights.

We start as the vile Sea Hag has tricked Wimpy into helping her get rid of Popeye (because the Sea Hag ALWAYS tricks Wimpy)...

Wait...an "X" on the ground? A dropping boulder trap...in the middle of the desert? Why does this seem so familiar?

Any, the Sea Hag makes the crucial mistake of not providing enough hamburgers for Wimpy:

So...

SPLASH!!!

Spacebooger wonders where Sea Hag left her Acme blueprints...

A villain hoist on her own petard is from Popeye #30 (1954)--which was three years before the Road Runner cartoons debuted!!--as reprinted in Classic Popeye #30 (2015) 

Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why?!? A cultural discovery of this magnitude deserves your vote!! So go do it!!

Manic Monday--How Rich Is Popeye?

Just how rich is The Sailor Man?

Popeye refuses to give Swee'pea a dime--but it's not because he's broke!

Wha--?? Seventy-two million dollars?!?!? 

And that's in 1954 money...calculating the inflation, that's the equivalent of $630,000,000 today!!!

Still, Swee'pea needs his dime, so he goes to the town's greatest moocher for some tips...

Uh-oh...

Swee'pea comes home...but:

So how did he and Wimpy get so wealthy??

Oops...I guess I have to change the title of this post to "How Rich WAS Popeye?"

From Popeye #29 (1954), as reprinted in Classic Popeye #29 (2014)