Thimble Theatre and the pre-Popeye Comics of E.C. Segar Hardcover – December 4, 2018

Because we were all immigrants then. E. C. Segar, like the man who would one day take the reins on Popeye, Bud Sagendorf (hands down on my short list with Carl Barks, Don Rosa, and Art Spiegelman and maybe Seth for ... among ... the best of all time), gave us the unique marriage of the old world with things resolutely American, like his funny-shaped horses from the western genre, or the conniving one can go through in a booming country where money can be thin to obtain the grace inherent to a mere hamburger; we get only a wink at Popeye here, but we see the facets that would build the character's world. We know instantly that this is a landscape of John L Sullivan and Ty Cobb, tough women who could mother another man's child and still look vaguely jazz age; fat men, and the days when strong men were, by far, not sculpted. This is a world. It makes me think of something totally off-base that, too, has its own world-building: "Regular Show" -- the two could not be more different but what one bears witness to in either case is genuine world-building with strokes of ink. The paper by the way is thick and lush, not slick, a perfect paper to capture that newspaper ambiance, and the images are reproduced large while retaining their original coloring style, not filling in or perfecting the color -- just like how if you were rebuilding an Indian motorcycle you'd avoid repro parts and slick paint.

The first thing you've got to know is that these Thimble Theatre cartoons are before Popeye turned up into these Segar creations. Popeye doesn't turn up until the end of the book. The humor is still hilarious and you actually end up getting twice as much fun because each Thimble Theatre strip is also accompanied by a Sappo strip, Segar's companion strip.The second thing you've got to know is that this book is very large and isn't going to fit on the typical bookshelf so if you buy it plan for a place to put it.The only thing that I'm unhappy about is that this publisher didn't do what Segar did from when this book ends until Segar's death. That would have made it complete. If you love what you've seen of Thimble Theatre definitely buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

The early Thimble Theatre comic strips before Popeye made his appearance in 1929, still haven't been reprinted extensively in book form, and that's why this book is worth supporting. It's an oversize collection of Sunday pages mostly from the late 1920s featuring Olive Oyl's lunatic brother, Castor. His expedition to the desert is here, as well as many other adventures. Castor was the dominant character in Thimble Theatre before he hired Popeye to work on his voyage in 1929. The color and reproduction of the Sunday pages is first class here and there is a good bio of Segar and samples of his other early strips such as "The Five-Fifteen", and "Sappo". Please buy this book and maybe someday some lucky publisher will collect the DAILY Thimble Theatres from 1919 featuring Olive Oyl and boyfriend Ham Gravy. Think of it, 2019 is the ONE HUNDRETH ANNIVERSARY of Olive Oyl in the comics!

A wonderful book. If you have cycled through all of the Popeye reprints and wanted more, then this is for you. The writing and art have that same casual, offhand style that we Segar fans can’t get enough of. To cite one example, Castor Oyl wanders lost in the desert muttering “Nothing but bones, cacti, sand and Herriman rocks.” Add the large format and color, and you have a comic strip collector’s dream. Highly recommended.

This is a magnificent release. Don't know if you can help me but I would like to contact Sunday Press (couldn't find the way online) and tell them what a terrific work they've done. Segar is at his best in this sundays. I just hope Sunday Press will also release a sample of the pre-Popeye dailies starring Castor and the rest of the gang.I hope for a follow-up volume with the daily strips!!

Already had the entire Popeye run. So happy to discover there’s more from this master.

Finally republished. A very good edition of Segar's work.

Mais um livrão em tamanho gigante lindo. É em inglês e conta com as tiras de histórias publicadas nos jornais da década de 1930, com a turma do Popeye, antes dele ter sido criado. Na última página ele aparece, tomando a Olívia Palito do seu namorado anterior que é o personagem principal deste encadernado. É todo colorido, a capa é maravilhosa, capa dura. Os desenhos do autor são muito bonitos e os roteiros são muito bons.

It is a beautiful edition giving the reader a clue about the pre-Popeye work of Elzie C. Segar. However, the choice of strips appears a bit random. Popeye, for example, appears suddenly towards the end of the volume and has a fight with Ham Gravy (Olive Oil's boyfriend) but it is not clear when he appeared the first time. This is probably due to the fact that Popeye first appeared in a daily strip while the book collects Sunday tables. Still, I would recommend the purchase of this volume which also contains a great deal of information about Elzie C. Segar, his life and early works.

Letal para el bolsillo, pero imprescindible para el coleccionista, Sunday Press continúa su exquisito catálogo con una serie que ya pocos recuerdan con su nombre original ("Thimble Theatre"), ya que se vio completamente sometida a la popularidad de uno de sus personajes secundarios : Popeye. A partir de 1928, fecha de la primera aparición del marinero tuerto en las tiras diarias, este fue adueñándose progresivamente del protagonismo de TT, hasta el punto de que los protagonistas iniciales, Ham Gravy y Castor Oyl, fueron eclipsados por completo por él. De ahí que el período pre-Popeye de TT haya caído en el olvido.Su recuperación parcial es lo que se plantea Sunday Press en este tomo, exquisitamente editado como de costumbre (tapa dura, papel grueso, tamaño 42 x 34 cm aproximadamente, artículos informativos a modo de prólogo ilustrados con multitud de rarezas, etc.) ofreciendo al lector unas 125 páginas dominicales de "Thimble Theatre" en color primorosamente reproducidas. Las 20 primeras son una muestra dispersa de las dominicales de la serie desde el comienzo de las mismas (en 1925, se incluye la primera de ellas) hasta marzo de 1928. En ese mes comienza el viaje de uno de los protagonistas de TT, Castor Oyl, al salvaje oeste, donde luego se le unirá el segundo, Ham Gravy. Su vuelta a casa se realizará en marzo de 1930, fecha en la que Popeye aparece por primera vez en las dominicales (año y medio después de su debut en las diarias). Y esos dos años de "sundays", al completo, son los que ocupan la mayor parte de este tomo : Más de 100 páginas dominicales consecutivas que, aunque comparten un mismo escenario desértico, no componen una única historia larga, sino más bien un grupo de pequeñas historias independientes enlazadas que siguen los intentos de Castor y Ham de prosperar en el oeste, buscando oro, montando pequeños espectáculos, vendiendo productos estrambóticos o incluso tratando de convertirse en bandidos.Aunque la narrativa visual de Segar no me parece tan creativa como la de Herriman, King o Sterrett (y por eso le quito una estrella) , al menos en este período, se trata de una lectura muy entretenida rebosante de un humor fresco e imaginativo,, que se prolonga en la tira de cabecera presente en casi todas las dominicales del tomo, la cual constituye una serie distinta : "Sappo", sobre las desventuras matrimoniales del protagonista, John Sappo, esclavizado por su dominante esposa Myrtle. Todo ello conforma una nueva delicatessen de la editorial, muy recomendable para los amantes del cómic clásico americano.