On Sunday, June 5, Randy Milholland takes up the mantle as the longtime iconic comic book artist, popeye. Randy takes over the beloved Sunday strip after the retirement of Hy Eisman, who used to draw popeye on Sundays since 1994. According to a statement, Milholland’s passion for popeye dates back to childhood, when he fell in love with the cartoon series, and is “a true expert on all things Popeye, and brings his knowledge of the character and his story to the forefront of the strip”. Randy Milholland first gained recognition for his Popeye cartoons when he took part in Popeye’s Cartoon Club for the Sailor’s 90th birthday in 2019. He is best known for his popular online comic series, something positive.
While staying true to the adventurous Popeye roots of the original Thimble Theater comics where the character debuted in 1929, Randy seeks to modernize popeye, updating comic book humor and incorporating a diverse cast of characters to make Sweethaven more representative of today’s world. It also seeks to incorporate the adventurous elements of the past popeye comics he fell in love with as a child, bringing monsters and other fantasy elements back into comics.
Popeye was created by EC Segar in 1929 and has been a constant presence in pop culture ever since. After Segar’s death in 1938, Thimble Theater was sued by other creators, including Segar’s assistant Bud Sagendorf, whose reprints continue to air during the week. At least from now on, it looks like Milholland will continue Eisman’s tradition of drawing the Sunday comics but leading the way in the dailies.
From 1932, popeye headlined a number of cartoons through 1957, with occasional animated returns to the character in the years that followed. Robert Altman even brought the character to live action in a 1980 film starring Robin Williams, which bombed, but left a village standing in Malta has since become an iconic tourist destination.
popeye is syndicated by King Features Syndicate and readers can find the latest comics at ComicsKingdom.com.