| Swee'Pea | |
|---|---|
 ' | |
|
Real Name |
Scooner Seawell Georgia Washenting Christiffer Columbia Daniel Boom |
|
First Appearance |
Thimble Theatre (July 28, 1933) |
|
Original Publisher |
King Features Syndicate |
|
Created by |
E. C. Segar |
Origin[]
Swee'Pea, is a character in E. C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre and in the Popeye cartoon series derived from it. His better-known sobriquet suggests the flower known as the sweet pea.
Swee'Pea debuted on July 24, 1933 strip as a foundling infant left on Popeye's doorstep, with the identities of his biological parents being unknown. Popeye adopts and raises him as his son, or, as he puts it, "boy-kid". Initially a relatively minor character upon his introduction, Swee'Pea would gain prominence within the "Goldrush in Slither Creek" storyline (run in the Sunday strip in mid-1935), which both introduced his abnormal (for an infant) combat prowess - thus providing Swee'Pea with the ability to defeat larger, more experienced adult adversaries - and codified this trait as a running gag. Aligned with his initial provenance as a minor infant character, Swee'Pea's speech initially consisted entirely of the sound "glop".
Public Domain Appearances[]
Public Domain Comic Strip Appearances[]
- Thimble Theater Comic Strip (July 28, 1933-December 1936)
Public Domain Animated Appearances[]
- Little Swee'Pea (Fleischer, 1936)
- Barbecue for Two (TV pilot, 1960)
Notes[]
- It was discovered that the copyright to Swee'Pea's first appearance in the July 28, 1933 comic strip was not renewed 28 years later in 1960 or 1961.