“Popeye the Sailor, one of the most enduring characters in animation history, began not in motion pictures but in E.C. “Elzie” Segar’s “Thimble Theater” comic strip.

“Thimble Theater” depicted the adventures of Ham Gravy, his girlfriend Olive Oyl and her brother Castor. The venture was a success, expanding to an additional Sunday color page in 1924. Segar’s comic strip used complex, rambling and frequently eerie narratives that attracted a devoted following, but it lacked strong central characters. In the “Thimble Theater” of January 17, 1929, Ham and Castor decided to hire a crew to sail in search of the legendary Whiffle Hen. Walking up to a grizzled one-eyed mariner on a dock, Castor asked him, “Are you a sailor?” “`Ja think I’m a cowboy?” came the reply, introducing Popeye to readers.

Over a period of months, Popeye developed from a supporting character to the central figure in the hunt for the Whiffle Hen. When Segar finally brought the narrative to a close and tried to retire the sailor, outraged fans contacted the Hearst syndicate demanding more adventures with Popeye. Segar obliged them: the sailor replaced Ham as Olive’s love interest, Castor Oyl was reduced to infrequent appearances, and the strip was renamed “Thimble Theater, Starring Popeye.”

Samples of early Thimble Theater can be found here.