Popeye vs. a Dinosaur

Though it is a subject that doesn't seem to come up too much in casual conversation (a fact I personally find bizarre), it is fortunate that we live in a world where we can find out who would win a fight between the world's toughest sailer and a dinosaur. In fact, would a world without that information be one worth living in at all?  I think not.

Dell Comics' Popeye #33 (July-September 1955) was published during a run that had Bud Sagendorf both writing and drawing the stories. Sagendorf's work on Popeye is brilliant--full of truly funny gags, great stories and wonderful art work. Popeye has had a lot of good writers recounting his adventures over the decades, but Sagendorf is the only one who rivals E.C. Segar as the perfect writer/artist for the character.

"Monskers!" begins with Popey and Swee'Pea camping in the desert. Swee'Pea finds a small tunnel that leads into a hidden valley, where he's promptly menanced by a brontosaurus. Popeye crawls through the tunnel to rescue him, but the two end up trapped atop a mesa.

Popeye's first attempt to deal with the dinosaur doesn't work out too well. But, fortunately, Swee'Pea remembers that he just happened to bring along a spinach sandwich. So Popeye powers up, but does not simply start punching out the brontosaurus.

Because an important part of Popeye's character is his fair-mindedness and his compassion. Popeye gets into a lot of fights and often enjoys himself in the midst of a brawl, but he is never a bully and he never chooses to fight when he can make a friend instead. When writers such as Bud Sagendorf get this, Popeye rises above being a comedic character and becomes truly awesome.

So Popeye gives the brontosaurus a good talking to and tries to tame him. Of course, the requirements of slapstick means this fails utterly. But it really is neat to see him try.

Well, when a fight is indeed necessary, Popeye will indeed fight. And, powered up with spinach, he makes short work of the dinosaur.

Which turns out not to be a dinosaur, but a robot about to be used to film a scene in a movie. So Popeye and Swee'Pea spend the night fixing the damage they had done.

"Monskers!" is a great story, combining expertly choreographed slapstick with great dialogue and a keen understanding of who Popeye is.

But then, we don't really find out what would happen if Popeye fought a dinosaur, do we? The dinosaur turns out to be a robot. That question actually is unanswered! 

The world is doomed.

Well, despite the doom, we will return next week with a look at the final part of the Avengers battle with Count Nefaria.