The original Popeye, introduced in a comic strip in 1929, is the star of this year's class of newly unprotected characters, books, movies and music.

Starting in 1932, Popeye headlined a number of cartoons up until 1957, with occasional animated returns to the character in the years since.

1942: Popeye becomes a patriotic figure in WWII-themed cartoons, battling Axis powers in a variety of animated shorts. 1946: The last Technicolor two-reel special, Popeye and the Pirates, is released.

Popeye eats spinach. Popeye wins” plot lines, but if we can look between those lines, the cartoon’s longevity makes more sense. Popeye never starts a fight with Bluto, and he’s not unstoppable.

Despite all of Popeye’s success in the print medium, his fame skyrocketed when Fleischer Studios used his image in a series of black & white theatrical cartoons.

Popeye’s sometimes-wife, sometimes-girlfriend Olive Oyl no longer plays the role of damsel in distress; she’s an independent girl — or woman — again, it’s not clear how old she is.

In North America, more kids think of Popeye as a Fried Chicken resturant chain. In Chile, Popeye represents a bar of soap. Brew reader Diego Cumplido sent this in. “I remember doing little ...

To those who love classic cartoon character Popeye and his entourage of Olive Oyl, Wimpy, Swee’Pea and others, the folks in Chester, Ill. have something to see.