| Poopdeck Pappy | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real name |
Poopdeck |
|
First appearance |
The Thimble Theatre (October 24,1936) |
|
Original publisher |
King Features Syndicate |
|
Created by |
E. C. Segar |
Origin[]
Poopdeck Pappy is a secondary character created by E.C. Segar in 1936 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. He is the crusty, miserly and misanthropic father of Popeye (whom he greatly resembles physically) who disappeared at sea shortly after the latter's birth, a departure which profoundly affected Popeye's life.
After Popeye acquired the mysterious Eugene the Jeep, he decided to use the creature's supernatural knowledge to find his father. An expedition was set up to go to Poopdeck's home on Barnacle Island, which included Toar the caveman, Alice the Goon, Wimpy, Rough House and Olive Oyl. The ungrateful father answered Popeye's greeting with, "You look like something the cat dragged in... I don't like relatives." He came to Popeye's home anyway, followed by some mermaids whom he had flirted with.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Public Domain Comic Strip Appearances[]
- Thimble Theater Comic Strip (October 24, 1936-December 14, 1936)
Notes[]
- It was discovered that the copyright to Pappy's first appearance in the October 12, 1936 comic strip was not renewed 28 years later in 1963 and 1964.
- Like his son, Pappy's favorite food is spinach (which he went 40 years without).
- Before Pappy was introduced, Popeye was originally a orphan raised by Whaler Joe in a series of prose from March 1931 titled "The Private Life of Popeye"