Popeye: Wha’s a Jeep?

Remember last volume’s cliffhanger? The penultimate installment of thisacclaimed reprinting of E.C. Segar’s masterpiece begins with “Popeye’s Ark: PartTwo,” the tale of Popeye’s eventful reign over Spinachovia — a bleak island populatedonly by men and lacking all “femininity” — even as Olive Oyl controlsthe country of Olivia (not to mention the men of Spinachovia). Then in “WarClouds,” the two monarchies come tumbling down in a furious battle as Spinachoviais attacked by the tyrannical land-hungry King of Brutia, King Zlobbo!This volume’s star is Eugene the Jeep, the rare, friendly, leopard-spotted, andmagically-endowed little creature. And Segar makes a great addition to the castin “The Search for Popeye’s Poppa,” when the ever-cantankerous PoopdeckPappy is tracked and finally, hilariously found; the title of the follow-up story,“Civilizing Poppa,” speaks for itself, as it tells the classic tale of man tamingbeast as Popeye guides a stubborn Pappy through table manners.

And as in every volume, this year-and-a-half ’s worth of full-color Sunday strips are as dazzlingly reproduced as ever.The adventures of Popeye, Olive, Wimpy, Swee’Pea and the gang on the top are complemented with the riotously funnybonus strip “Sappo,” including a somewhat self-referential storyline where the titular character becomes a cartoonist andteaches the craft to his friend, Professor Wotasnozzle.