Popeye Announces First Manga With Special First Look (Exclusive)

You might think the world knows all there is to Popeye the Sailor Man, but that could not be further from the truth. Soon, publisher King Features Syndicate plans to prove that truth to fans with help from a special comic. After all, Eye Lie Popeye plans to bring the infamous sailor into the world of manga, and the exciting tale will pay homage to some of shonen’s best series. 

A recent announcement by King Features Syndicate confirms Eye Lie Popeye plans to blend manga-inspired artwork with the cartoon character’s quintessential style. Created by Marcus Williams, this ambitious new series plans on show readers just how Popeye lost his eye all those years ago. And as you can see below, ComicBook has been given an exclusive look at the comic’s first two pages!

“As a huge fan of both Popeye and manga, I’m looking forward to combining both passions and bringing fans an all new format and style to experience the iconic character’s adventures. I’m thrilled that my Popeye Goku art led me here and am excited to infuse the traditional shonen style with a modern twist and explore the mystery behind Popeye’s missing eye,” Williams shared. 

What You Need to Know

Eye Lie Popeye will mark the character’s first manga-inspired run, and it is fitting to see the sailor try the medium out for size. After all, this comic was inspired by a viral trend on social media involving Popeye and Goku. The whole thing began ages ago when a fan-fic of the two hit the Internet, and Williams was the one who brought that story to life. Now, the artist has been tapped for a full-blown comic under King Features Syndicate. 

“We have been exploring the idea of a manga-inspired style for Popeye, and once we learned of Marcus’s manga-style Popeye fan art that quickly became a fan favorite across the internet, we knew he was the right person to bring this to life. Popeye has been a staple on the funny pages for over 90 years, and it’s incredible to continue telling new facets of his lore and connecting with fans in different ways,” Tea Fougner, the publisher’s editorial director of comics, said.

Currently, Eye Lie Popeye plans to unfold in arcs on the web. The first arc will go live here over a period of five weeks, and each page will be available to view for 24 hours. So if you want to know whether Goku finds his way into this collaboration, you will want to check it out ASAP. You can keep up with the series as it launches on its official page here. As for our full conversation with artist Marcus Williams, you can find it below: 

CB: How did your interest in manga influence your creation of Eye Lie Popeye?

Marcus Williams: Haha well King Features created Eye Lie, and thankfully tapped me to be the muscle behind it. However, Japanese comics and animation have burned a permanent bar of extreme quality action scenes and character focus in my brain from the very beginning of me being introduced to the craft. The masters of this genre overall have continued to shock the world with phenomenal jaw dropping fight choreography and heart stopping moments across numerous Japanese IP’s.

In my opinion, Popeye fits perfectly within this action-packed, fighter-comic genre with ease as his world has always been composed of it. Blending the different styles of Popeye’s animated cartoon/comic strip origins and Japanese comic/anime influence has been a joy to say the least. Japanese manga influence however, forces my brain to see each scene as fully rendered animation as I draw the pages [laughs]. Which is pretty entertaining for me I guess, so of course I can’t wait to see a Popeye animated series created with a manga feel!

CB: Why do you feel Popeye makes for a good manga protagonist?

Williams: I did a fan fiction where I paired Popeye alongside Goku (from DragonBall Z), because the lead characters are so alike. Similar to say Goku’s journey, Popeye as a character has strong moral values that guides him throughout his countless adventures and obstacles. His willingness to stand up against bullying and protecting those in need regardless of the danger it places him in, makes him the perfect manga protagonist.

The only thing missing from Popeye’s core character dynamic (as it relates to manga storylines) is a carefully planned out progression of his abilities over time. How he gains his strength and continuously learns to master new heights as the story unfolds. That’s classic manga character growth right there [laughs].

CB: What challenges did you have in turning this Popeye tale into a manga?

Williams: The only challenge so far is the page limit [laughs]! Having a limited page count definitely restricts the amount of real-estate for the action scenes that are common in most traditional japanese manga stories. It’s a fun sequential art challenge for sure, but if you are a fan of manga, you’re very accustomed to having handfuls of pages to choreograph intricate action/fight scenes as they unfold, and I didn’t have that luxury for this first piece [laughs]. Other than that, I could come up with countless action scenes for Popeye with all of the wonderful Japanese influence I’ve digested over the years.

CB: Do you think there is room in the Western comic market for more manga and manga-inspired work?

Williams: Absolutely! Thankfully, the new crop of young adult readers/viewers have literally grown up in an era (thanks to the internet) having full direct access to unfiltered Japanese content on a daily basis. The big networks of the world can no longer deny the overwhelming demand and numbers of how much American anime/manga fans love this type of content. Netflix for example have poured millions of dollars into producing new and original animated series to keep pace with the insatiable wave that is the action cartoon series.

As far as the comic market goes, the young fans already know how to find the manga online to pacify their need for action and storytelling should their favorite anime be out for work for a season. The West simply needs to capitalize on more avenues (like manga cafés, gas stations, airports, and other points of purchase) for fans to access manga throughout our daily travels.

CB: And if your version of Popeye could pop into any manga series, which would it be and why?

Williams: Definitely DragonBall. In my fan fiction (“Popeye+DragonBall- World breakers”) , I teased the idea of Popeye and crew becoming Z fighters and sparring with the DragonBall cast because it would simply be a joy to watch [laughs]. I personally think Popeye and Goku would become fast friends as their similar personalities would yield some hilarious commentary. The obvious reason is simply because DragonBall is a fighter/ brawler series that constantly pits new bullies against the hero’s to engage, and Popeye and gang would fit right in. Popeye is well known for pulling off some amazing feats of strength over the years and I could see his inclusion to the DragonBall world as a great new playground to test his limits!