Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“If I’m not me, who am I. And If I’m somebody else, why do I look like me?” ―
January 17 is the 96’th Birthday of the world’s most famous spinach loving, nautical hero — Popeye the Sailor Man! Today, we honor this legendary sailor who is tough and fit with tons of grit, as one of America’s most renown, pop-culture icons.— from The National Day Calendar.
In 2025, we are celebrating 96 years of this iconic character and the inspiration and laughs Popeye has brought to billions of people. Popeye is the perennial underdog with bulging forearms, a mean uppercut and a love of canned spinach. He is a defender of the weak and protector of those he loves. As an embodiment of strength and fitness, Popeye inspires us to work hard, care for others, be persistent and stay strong to the finish.
Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler (E.C) Segar and on January 17, 1929 made his first appearance in a comic strip that was called “Thimble Theater.” Originally created as a minor character, Popeye quickly became its star. By 1938, the comic had changed its name to “Popeye,” and in the process became one of the most iconic comic strips of all time. When Segar passed away in 1938, other writers and artists carried on with “Popeye” comics. New “Popeye” comics continue to be produced today and are currently written and drawn by Randy Milholland.
How this photograph was made: I photographed this handsome Popeye wannabe at a Halloween costume contest—for dogs! I don’t know if this charming fellow won the contest but he surely had my vote. The camera used was a Canon EOS 5D Mark I with an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens (at 200mm.) Exposure was 1/400 sec at f/6.3 and ISO 320. The JPEG file (made before my RAW+JPEG regimen) was color corrected in PictoColor iCorrect Portrait with some tasteful burning in PhotoKit.
Since his creation, Popeye has appeared in thousands of comic strips, more than 600 cartoon episodes and over 100 books and has more than 9.6 million followers on social media! Popeye is one of the most recognizable and beloved cartoon characters in the world.
Latest News: Popeye is among a group of 1929 animated and cartoon characters and work, as well as some 1924 sound recordings, that entered into the public domain on January 1, 2025. Some of the others include more Mickey Mouse cartoons and Disney’s “The Skeleton Dance.”
Postscript. I would like to thanks Mary Farace for suggesting this post. Some text, facts and details are excerpted from The National Day Calendar.
You can picking up a copy of the book I co-wrote with my friend Barry Stave called Better Available Light Digital Photography. It’s available for $21.50 with used at prices starting around twelve bucks from Amazon, as I write this. The Kindle price varies.