Archie was created by Bob Montana, but Dan DiCarlo gave Archie and his pals the looks and personalities we are familiar with. Someone at Walt Disney Studios created Donald Duck, but it took cartoonist Carl Barks to transform the sailor-suited waterfowl from a screechy ill-tempered time bomb into a scheming, but good-hearted uncle to three industrious ducklings. And E.C. Segar created Popeye, J. Wellington Wimpy, Olive Oyl, Sweepea, and Bluto, but Bud Sagendorf's incredibly entertaining comic books about the one-eye sailor are the canonical Popeye (at least to me), on par with Little Lulu (created by Marjorie Henderson Buell and brought to life by John Stanley) and Barks' Uncle Scrooge.

My friend and cartoon historian Craig Yoe has been editing collections of Sagendorf's Popeye comics books, published as reasonably-priced hardcovers by IDW. Popeye Classics Volume 1 came out earlier this year, and Volume 2 is forthcoming. Like Uncle Scrooge and Little Lulu, these are great comics to read with your kids. Below, a couple of sample spreads. Read the rest

That story about a wife's tie-breaking vote? The plot of a Popeye cartoon from 1956.

By Vancouver artist Lee Romao, who is currently working on an animated feature, Escape from Planet Earth. Prints are just $15 at his homepage. [via Joe Hill] Read the rest

[Video Link] The Wilco track "Dawned On Me" re-imagined as a classic, early-era Popeye cartoon. The song is from the band's Grammy-nominated 2011 album, "The Whole Love." They're on tour now, and should not be missed, as they are one of the greatest live acts on the planet. The animation is a collaboration with King Features, and is "the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in more than 30 years." Directed by Darren Romanelli. Best url ever: wilcospinach.com.

A little more about how the video came to be, below, from Wilco and Romanelli... Read the rest