| Oscar | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real name |
Oscar |
|
First appearance |
The Thimble Theatre (1931) |
|
Original publisher |
King Features Syndicate |
|
Created by |
E. C. Segar |
Origin[]
Oscar is Popeye's balding, buck-toothed, none-too-bright friend that holds a number of odd jobs throughout his appearances, and sometimes accompanies the sailor protagonist on his adventures. He was created in 1931 and appeared in the original strip Thimble Theatre by E. C. Segar.
Oscar was created by newspaper cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar as a minor recurring character, debuting as General Bunzo's orderly within the 1931 storyline "The Great Rough-House War", although he would advantageously change allegiance to Nazilia's then-reigning monarch (and Bunzo's primary political opponent) King Blozo within months. Oscar would resultantly continue to appear throughout the 1930s as a rotating secondary character; while typically a naive (and oft-tactless) foil to the neurotic Blozo, Oscar's unintelligence frequently led him to shift allegiance to Blozo's antagonists (most notably the rebel leader Tork within the 1934 "Unifruit" storyline) on blatantly-superficial or opportunistic grounds, although Popeye, generally perceiving Oscar as a "kid", typically does not view him as entirely morally-accountable for these misjudgements.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Public Domain Comic Strip Appearances[]
- Thimble Theater Comic Strip (1931-1934)
Notes[]
- It was discovered that the copyright to Oscar's first appearance in the 1931 comic strip was not renewed 28 years later in 1958 or 1959.