In early 20th Century theater and film, the “sissy” was the dreaded antithesis of two-fisted pulp hyper-masculinity, at best, and at worst was a stereotypical euphemism for what was unspoken in general culture, homosexuality. Wimpy, the dandyish, appetite-driven counterpoint to Popeye’s principled violence, is of course Popeye’s best tutor for all things “sissy.” To make this sexual dynamic even weirder we have Popeye’s Pappy bewildered by his prancing progeny. It reads like an unintended burlesque of Popeye “coming out”. Per a previous post, These dailies precede Popeye deceiving the underground demons to come up and fight.

It is important to note that this gender-bending sequence was followed immediately by another adventure cycle involving Popeye getting the crap beaten out of him in a land of highly muscled women. And this is all happening right after E.C. Segar’s death in October 1938. The strip was being continued unsigned by assistants for the time being.

• The Bungles Are UsAugust 13, 2026
  Misanthropic and petty, scheming and nagging, reviled by their neighbors and barely tolerable to themselves, The Bungle Family was the quintessential domestic comic strip of the 1920s. Critical historians like Bill Blackbeard, Rick Marshall and… Read more: The Bungles Are Us
• Roy Crane, Wash Tubbs and the Art of Cartoony RealismAugust 11, 2026
  Roy Crane always seemed to me underappreciated in the pantheon of comic artists. True aficionados of the medium recognize his talent, of course. But in that larger gallery of cartoon notables, we tend to mention… Read more: Roy Crane, Wash Tubbs and the Art of Cartoony Realism
• Paging Dr. Perfect: Rex Morgan Wants a WordAugust 10, 2026
  This just in from 1948… . Let’s give it up for doctors, expertise, institutional authority and the principles of science they represent. Nothing speaks to the post-WWII shift in American culture and comics as starkly… Read more: Paging Dr. Perfect: Rex Morgan Wants a Word
• “Demented Woman Drops Thirty Feet…And Lands on Policeman’s Head”August 7, 2026
  In the first decade of newspaper comics, the line between familiar illustrated journalism and the emerging styles of cartooning sometimes blurred. My favorite example of those two worlds commingling is this news drawing from The… Read more: “Demented Woman Drops Thirty Feet…And Lands on Policeman’s Head”
• “Stop Biting!”: Cairo Jones’ Hard-Boiled CheesecakeAugust 5, 2026
  The home front during World War II was a wonderful arena for gender reassignment. As we explored via E. Simms Campbell’s quick-witted and curvaceous “Cuties,” women adopted new roles with so many American men overseas,… Read more: “Stop Biting!”: Cairo Jones’ Hard-Boiled Cheesecake