Popeye     On September 10, 1928, Olive and Castor Oyl's famous uncle, Lubry Kent Oyl (get it?), arrives from Africa. He brings with him a wooden crate containing what he refers to as "the strangest bird that ever happened." He raised it from an egg and says it's a Whiffle Hen. Her name is Bernice. When Castor comments that her name indicates she is female, Lubry claims that all Whiffle hens are female; there are no males. Castor is incredulous until Lubry explains that the males are all Whiffle Roosters.

    According to the Uncle, the Whiffle is also known as an African escape hen (or rooster). They can be neither captured, confined or killed. Of course, CASTOR doesn't believe him, so Lubry offers $1000 if he can successfully eliminate Bernice. For the next full month Castor is obsessed with bringing about the Whiffle's demise. He tries to brain her with an axe, shoot, poison, drown, gas, hang, dynamite and electrocute her. He also attempts to push her off a cliff, blow her out of a cannon, bury her alive, throw her to a shark and lure her into a beartrap, all without success.

    When it becomes time for Uncle Lubry to return to Africa, Bernice refuses to go with him. She's been having so much fun with Castor (not knowing he was trying to kill her) that she wants to stay with him. Castor wants nothing to do with her. When two sinister strangers recognize her as a rare Whiffle bird, they ask Castor if he's willing to sell her and if so for how much? Castor replies "Ten cents cash or credit!!" The men think he's kidding and begin bidding for her. Castor concludes that they're "Meat on the table for any squirrel.", but they finally manage to convince him they're sincere and he gladly accepts $31,000 for her, only to have a third gentleman offer $50,000. It's of little consequence though because Bernice refuses to be sold and comes back to Castor. The strangers decide that in order to get the Whiffle for themselves, Castor must die. They kidnap and try to kill him by throwing a knife at him and by tossing him off a cliff. Both attempts fail. Finally they hit him over the head with a club and believing him dead, bury him.

    But OYL heads are made of sterner stuff than that, and Castor is merely stunned. He manages to extract himself from his would be grave but is weak and delirious. He falls into the hands of a fourth Villain, a man named Fadewell. Fadewell is the owner of the largest gambling casino in the world. It's located on Dice Island off the African coast. He too wants Bernice, but he proposes to keep her by making Castor his perpetual prisoner. He allows Castor the run of his apartment but has him under constant guard by one of his thugs, Mr. Skum. Castor later overhears Fadewell telling one of his confidants that Bernice is more than an escape hen, She's also magic. Anyone who rubs the three hairs on her head will be endowed Wth unbeatable luck. Fadewell wants Bernice, so in his own words, he can "trim every millionaire who visits my gambling resort."

    Now that Castor knows Bernice's true value he determines to escape. He offers to stay with Fadewell provided he's well compensated financially. Fadewell agrees and gives him $10,000. Castor then shows the money to Mr. Skum saying that he and Fadewell have reached an agreement, and he no longer needs guarding. When Skum goes to Fadewell to verify Castor's claim, Castor makes his escape along with Bernice.

    Castor immediately tells his family of Bernice's powers. He and Ham decide to buy and provision a ship with the money Fadewell gave him, sail to Dice Island and use Bernice's luck giving ability to break the bank at the Casino.

    They purchase an old sailing ship called the 'Tom Cod' for $6000. The former owner assures them that she's imminently sailable, and the only holes in her hull are in the bottom where they don't show. They next head to the store and buy all the necessities for the voyage: 1000 cans of beans, three dill pickles and a bar of soap.

    Finally they look for a crew. On January 17th, 1929, CASTOR OYL tells Ham, "You'll find the scum of the Earth right here in this port. So we've got to be careful in picking our crew." He sees a seedy looking individual standing on the docks. In his mouth is a large corn cob pipe, there's a commodore's cap on his head, and he appears to have had a hard life because his right eye is missing. "Hey there," yells Castor, "Are you a sailor?" The sarcastic response is "'Ja think I'm a cowboy?" And with that said Popeye is hired and becomes a member of the 'Thimble Theatre'.

    It's believed that at the time, Popeye's role in the strip was intended to be temporary. He would serve his comic purpose and then be dismissed, just as had so many other characters before and since. But during his six month adventure he proved himself much too valuable to be permanently sacked. He left the strip but in less than six weeks he was back, never to leave again and eventually becoming the star of the 'Thimble Theatre'.     According to the lore of the town of Chester, Illinois, Segar based Popeye's physical appearance on Frank, "Rocky" Fiegel, A citizen of Segar's hometown of Chester, Illinois who was known for having never lost a fight. For more on Rocky click on the LINK.

     This essay is reprinted from the official Popeye Fan Club News magazine. To learn more about the club click on the LINK.