Popeye #1
Written by Roger Langridge
Art by Bruce Ozella
Colors by Luke McDonnell
Letters by Bruce Ozella
Covers by Bruce Ozella, Jules Feiffer and Bud Sagendorf
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 25, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

He’s been everything from a comic character to a movie star. He’s had about a half dozen cartoon series, including one with his son, and his famous theme song will get stuck in your head for days if someone else even whistles a few bars of it. That’s right, everyone’s favorite sailor man returns to comics in Popeye #1!

A BIG thanks go to writer Roger Langridge for making a VERY fun comic book. It’s classic Popeye. Adventure at sea, fighting with Bluto, spinach. Everything that you want to see in a Popeye comic is here to enjoy.

The story is an issue-length adventure filled with jokes on each page, and Langridge manages to throw in just about every one of Popeye’s supporting cast in one way or another. This is just a terrific read, folks, it really is. IDW has gone above and beyond putting talented creators on this book and it pays off in spades. Langridge writes a story with a LOT of dialogue (compared to your average comic book) and it’s all necessary, funny, and entertaining.

Bruce Ozella draws the perfect Popeye. Not only Popeye, but Popeye’s whole world. Everything looks like it should, cartoony and goofy. Plus, he brings an unusual amount of detail to something that doesn’t really need it. You’ll swear that you’re looking at an old Whitman Comics issue of Popeye, only it’s better. Ozella is a great storyteller and even though the issue is jam packed with dialog, the panels never look cramped at all. From the first page he brings a smile to your face that doesn’t leave until you close the back cover.

I gotta tell you, at the end of a day filled with reading heavy, serious superhero comics, it’s nice to settle down and read something that’s just plain out fun. And that’s what this book is. It never tries to be anything else, there’s no hidden social context, no mega corporate tie-in, nothing but an entertaining comic book, plain and simple. And that’s why I think it’s a solid winner that’s going to be around a long time. Both young and older readers will enjoy this book on EXACTLY the same level. I highly recommend that you pick this book up and put it on your pull list. It’s definitely a keeper.