Popeye (comics)

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Popeye
from the first
comic strip (1929)

Strip titles:
--- "The Thimble Theatre"
--- "The Thimble Theatre starring Popeye"
--- "Popeye"

Category: Comics

Genres: Adventure, Humor

Author: Elzie Crisler Segar

Country of origin: USA

First format: Daily strip on newspapers

First issue: December 19, 1919 - USA

Popeye (character) first appearance: January 17, 1929

First editor: King Features Syndicate

Background/Features: "The Thimble Theatre" was cartoonist E. C. Segar's third published strip when it first appeared in the New York Journal on December 19, 1919. Born as a drama-a-day, in a few months Segar changed the strip to a gag-a-day, easing out the melodrama satire and introducing new characters. In its early years, the strip featured characters acting out various stories and scenarios in theatrical style (hence the strip's name). Thimble Theatre's first main characters were Olive Oyl and her boyfriend, Harold Hamgravy. After the strip moved away from its initial focus, it settled into a comedy-adventure style featuring Olive, Ham Gravy, and Olive's enterprising brother, Castor Oyl. Olive's parents, Cole and Nana Oyl, also made frequent appearances. The Sunday Thimble Theatre started in 1925, and the cast grew here and there. Popeye first appeared in the strip on January 17, 1929 as a minor character; he was initially hired by Castor Oyl and Ham Gravy to crew a ship for a voyage to Dice Island. Popeye became soon so popular that he was given a larger role, and the strip was expanded into many more newspapers as a result. Though initial strips presented Olive as being less than impressed with Popeye, she eventually left Ham Gravy to become Popeye's girlfriend. In 1931 the strip was renamed "The Thimble Theatre starring Popeye"; "Popeye" became the strip's title in later years. The strip carried on after Segar's death in 1938, at which point he was replaced by a series of artists.

Main characters (in order of appearance, E. C. Segar period 1919-1936):
--- Olive Oyl, first appearance on December 19, 1919. Main character and Harold Hamgravy's girlfriend until Popeye makes his debut (1929), Olive is very tall and very skinny with black hair rolled in a neat bun, like her mother Nana, and enormous feet. Olive Oyl is named after olive oil.
--- Nana Oyl, first appearance on December 19, 1919. Nana Oyl is Olive Oyl's mother.
--- Cole Oyl, first appearance on December 19, 1919. Cole Oyl is Olive Oyl's father.
--- Harold Hamgravy, first appearance on December 19, 1919. Better known as Ham Gravy, he is Olive Oyl's original boyfriend.
--- Castor Oyl, first appearance on January 14, 1920. Castor Oyl is Olive Oyl's brother.
--- Bernice the Whiffle Hen, first appearance on September 13, 1928 (debut September 10-11-12 as a gift closed in a box). Bernice is an "African escape hen".
--- Popeye, first appearance on January 17, 1929. Popeye is a middle-aged sailor with a screwed-up face and muscular forearms, with anchors tattooed on them. He wears a captain's hat, and he smokes a corncob pipe. Despite his appearance, Popeye is very kind-hearted and adventurous. When he is up to his neck in danger, Popeye eats a lot of spinach that give him loads of strength (in its early adventures he got this power rubbing the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen). When Olive Oyl meets Popeye, she left Ham Gravy to become Popeye's girlfriend.
--- The Sea Hag and her vultures - specifically Bernard, first appearance in January 1930. The Sea Hag is one of Popeye's worst enemies. She had several vulture minions, and one of these vultures, Bernard, is her right-hand pet.
--- King Blozo the Third, first appearance in April 1931. King Blozo is a ruler of a fictional kingdom.
--- J. Wellington Wimpy, first appearance on May 3, 1931. Wimpy is Popeye's friend.
--- Oscar, first appearance in 1931. Oscar is Popeye's friend.
--- Rough House, first appearance on February 28, 1932. Rough House is a cook who runs a local restaurant.
--- Bluto, first appearance on September 12, 1932. Bluto is Popeye's nemesis.
--- George W. Geezil, first appearance on November 6, 1932. Over time, George appears under different names and roles.
--- Swee'Pea, first appearance on July 24, 1933. Swee'Pea is Popeye's adopted baby son.
--- Bill Barnacle, first appearance on December 3, 1933. Known as Salty, Bill Barnacle is Popeye's old friend.
--- Goons - specifically Alice the Goon, first appearance on December 10, 1933. Goons are a tribe of strange humanoids all identical; Alice is one of them: Popeye's enemy only during their first encounter, since than she becomes one of his best allies.
--- Toar, first appearance in February 1935. Toar is Popeye's enemy only during their first encounter, since than he becomes one of his best allies.
--- Eugene the Jeep, first appearance on March 16, 1936. Eugene the Jeep is a mysterious animal with magical abilities, pet and friend to Popeye and Olive Oyl.
--- Poopdeck Pappy, first appearance on October 25, 1936. Popeye's 99-year-old long-lost father, also a sailor.

Interesting facts: In the comics, Popeye originally derived his great strength from rubbing the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen, until June 26, 1931, when spinach was first referenced as the source of Popeye's power. Popeye is known as Iron Arm - "Braccio di Ferro" - in Italy, Karl Alfred in Sweden and Skipper Skraek or "Terror of the Sea" in Denmark. Segar's strip was quite different from the cartoons that followed. The stories were more complex, with many characters that never appeared in the cartoons. Spinach usage was rare and Bluto made only one appearance.

Quote (Popeye): «I yam what I yam!»

Property: King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Reference website: http://popeye.com

The Thimble Theatre, first daily strip (New York Journal, December 19, 1919). In this strip four characters made their debut: Olive Oyl, her first boyfriend Harold Hamgravy, and her parents Nana and Cole Oyl. Note: Segar often signed his comic strips with a cigar, due to his last name being a homophone of "cigar" (SEE-gar).

Thimble Theatre, first Sunday strip (January 25, 1925)

Popeye, first appearance in the Thimble Theatre daily strip (January 17, 1929)

Popeye, debut of his superpower (June 11, 1929). Popeye got strength rubbing the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen (instead of eating spinach, gimmick introduced later).

Popeye, first (accidental?) kiss from Olive (August 27, 1929). In this strip Olive Oyl kisses Popeye, but she is imagining Julius J. Herringbone, her current suitor. Anyway, she soon becomes Popeye's undisputed girlfriend.

Popeye, first reference to spinach as source of power (June 26, 1931). When general Bunzo asked him: «You lick my best men – You break jail at will – You escape from a ton of rope – How are you able to do such things?», Popeye reveals: «Tha's easy. I eats Spinach».

Popeye, first bowl of spinach that gives him superpowers (February 28, 1932). «They's nothin' like Spinach to give a man strengt'». Popeye eats a heaping bowl of the leafy stuff, and it gives the strength to knock out an iron-jawed braggart.

Popeye, first explanation about spinach power (July 3, 1932). When a woman catches Popeye in the act of eating hungrily a lot of spinach from her garden, she exclaims: «Good heavens! Are you a horse?!»; Popeye replies: «Spinach is full of vitamin 'A' an' tha's what makes hoomans strong an' helty».

Popeye, The Thimble Theatre cast (1932). The cover of the Chein & Co. comic toys catalogue displays Popeye surrounded by 32 characters, saying «I suspose yer all susprised on account of me bein' center».

Popeye, Thimble Theatre main characters (1937)

Elzie Crisler Segar
(Chester, Dec. 8, 1894 – Santa Monica, Oct. 13, 1938), the cartoonist who created Popeye

Popeye celebrates 10 million Facebook fans (November 24, 2014) and his 90th birthday (January 17, 2019)

Ferrari: 1st model ever

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Ferrari logo 1947
by Eligio Gerosa

Name: "Auto Avio Costruzioni 815"

Category: Cars

Subcategory: Sports car

Designers: Alberto Massimino, Vittorio Bellentani

Producer: Auto Avio Costruzioni (founded by Enzo Ferrari on September 1, 1939, the company name changed to Auto Costruzioni Ferrari in 1957)

Production start: 1940 - Modena, Italy

Features: The engine was largely based on the four-cylinder, 1.1 L engine of the 508 C Balilla 1100. In concept, it was two 508C engines placed end to end, but it used a specially designed aluminium block built by Fonderia Calzoni in Bologna for integrity and light weight and a five-bearing crankshaft and a camshaft designed and built by AAC to get the traditional straight-8 timing and balance. The engine used Fiat valve gear, cylinder heads (two 508C heads per engine), and connecting rods. The engine was high-tech for the time, with a single overhead camshaft, two valves per cylinder, and a semi-dry sump lubrication system. Four Weber 30DR2 carburettors were specified for a total output of 75 hp (56 kW) at 5500 rpm. The 815 used a Fiat four-speed transmission with the Fiat gears replaced by gears made in-house by AAC. The transmission was integral to the engine block. The car had independent Dubonnet suspension with integral shock absorber at front, with a live axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear. The bodywork was done by Carrozzeria Touring using Itallumag 35, an aluminium/magnesium alloy, and was done in long, flowing forms with integrated wings. The bodywork weighed 119 lb (54 kg). The complete car weighed 625 kg (1,378 lb) and attained a maximum speed close to 170 km/h (110 mph).

Interesting facts: The AAC 815 was designed and developed in 1940 at Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company founded by Enzo Ferrari. Although a contract clause restricted him from racing or designing cars for four years, Ferrari managed to manufacture two cars for the 1940 Mille Miglia; however, legal issues with former associates Alfa Romeo prevented Ferrari from creating the Ferrari marque. One of the cars was later scrapped, while the other is currently in a car collection in Italy. The designation "815" was based on the car's 8-cylinder, 1.5 L engine.

Quote (Enzo Ferrari): «Bad luck does not exist».

Property: Ferrari S.p.A.

Producer website: http://www.ferrari.com

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, the first car designed by Ferrari (1940)

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, the only two models with their respective owners: the Italian racing drivers Alberto Ascari (top) and Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli.

Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 at the Mille Miglia (April 28, 1940)

Enzo Anselmo Ferrari (Modena, February 18, 1898 - Maranello, August 14, 1988), motor racing driver, entrepreneur and founder of the Ferrari S.p.A.

Ferrari advanced models (2015): the Formula One racing car model SF15-T, and the sport car model 488 GTB (official video)

Space Invaders

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Space Invaders logo 1978

Original name: "Space Monsters"

Name: "Space Invaders"

Category: Video games

Subcategory: Arcade

Genres: Sci-Fi, fixed shooter

Inventor: Tomohiro Nishikado

Developer: Taito Corporation - Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Publishers: Taito (Japan), Midway (North America)

Released: 1978 - June (Japan) - July (North America, limited) - Oct. (N.A., wide)

Platform: Arcade

First price: 1 play 1 coin - 25 cents

Tomohiro Nishikado
(Osaka, March 31, 1944)
video game developer
and creator of the
arcade Space Invaders

Number of players: Up to 2 players, alternating turns

Cast of characters:
--- Laser cannon (1 play 3 cannons)
--- Large Invader (10 points)
--- Medium invader (20 points)
--- Small invader (30 points)
--- UFO (50 to 300 points)

Features: Space Invaders is a two-dimensional fixed shooter game in which the player controls a laser cannon by moving it horizontally across the bottom of the screen and firing at descending aliens. The aim is to defeat five rows of eleven aliens that move horizontally back and forth across the screen as they advance towards the bottom of the screen. The player defeats an alien, and earns points, by shooting it with the laser cannon. As more aliens are defeated, the aliens' movement and the game's music both speed up. Defeating the aliens (55 per screen) brings another wave that is more difficult, a loop which can continue without end. The aliens attempt to destroy the cannon by firing at it while they approach the bottom of the screen. If they reach the bottom, the alien invasion is successful and the game ends. A special "mystery ship" will occasionally move across the top of the screen and award bonus points if destroyed. The laser cannon is partially protected by several stationary defense bunkers that are gradually destroyed by a numerous amount of blasts from the aliens or player.

Interesting facts: The game was originally titled Space Monsters, inspired by a popular song in Japan at the time ("Monster"), but was changed to Space Invaders by Nishikado's superiors. Space Invaders was first released in a cocktail-table format with black and white graphics, while the Western release by Midway was in an upright cabinet format.

Slogan (1978): «The world's hottest game»

Property: Taito Corporation

Producer website: http://www.taito.com

Space Invaders, screenshot of the play area

Space Invaders "cocktail table" cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders upright cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders, play area with background (1978)

Space Invaders, first level gameplay

Space Invaders, advertisement for the upright cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders, advertisement for the "cocktail table" cabinet by Taito (1978)

Space Invaders, advertisement for the upright cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders, advertisement for the "cocktail table" cabinet by Midway (1978)

Space Invaders 40th Anniversary (1978-2018)

LEGO

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LEGO logo 1934

Name: "LEGO"

Category: Toys

Subcategory: Construction set

Inventor: Ole Kirk Christiansen

Producer: The LEGO Group (founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932)

Production start: 1932 (marketed since 1935) - Billund, Denmark

Features: In 1932 Ole Kirk Kristiansen, master carpenter and joiner, establishes his business in the village of Billund, Denmark. His firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards, stools and wooden toys such as cars, aeroplanes and yoyo's. His son Godtfred starts working in the business at the age of 12 and creating models at 17. In 1946 the LEGO Group is the first in Denmark to buy a plastic injection-moulding machine for toy production. At the machine demonstration in Copenhagen the British salesman has given Ole Kirk Kristiansen a handful of plastic bricks to take away with him. The bricks have been invented by a Briton, Hilary Fisher Page, but they have not been a success for his company, Kiddicraft. Ole and son begin redesigning the plastic cubes and in 1949 the company launches its first building set: Automatic Binding Bricks, a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we know today.

Interesting facts: In 1934 the company and its products adopt the name LEGO, formed from the Danish words "LEg GOdt" ("play well"). Later, it is realised that in Latin the word means "I put together". 

Slogan (1936): «Det bedste er ikke for godt» (Only the best is good enough).

Property: The LEGO Group

Producer website: http://www.lego.com

First LEGO product line (1932)

LEGO Duck (1935), the first toy marketed by LEGO, made of birch wood.

LEGO Yo Yo (the surplus was used as wheels on the wooden cars and carts) and the early cars with the LEGO logo (1930s).

LEGO Automatic Binding Bricks (1949). The first LEGO bricks were the 2x2 and 2x4 slotted bricks. They were only sold in Denmark. These bricks had no "LEGO" text embossed anywhere on the brick, introduced only in 1953 with the new series "LEGO Mursten". Windows and Doors with wings that slotted into the slots in the ends of the bricks, were also introduced in 1949.

LEGO Toy Building Bricks, figure from Patent (Oct. 24, 1961, filed July 28, 1958) granted to Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the third son of Ole Kirk Christiansen.

Kiddicraft Self-Locking Building Bricks by the Briton Mr. Harry Fisher Page. LEGO reprised the design of this set to create Automatic Binding Bricks, after examining a sample given by the British supplier of the first injection moulding machine they had purchased.

Ole Kirk Christiansen (Filskov, Apr. 7, 1891 – Mar. 11, 1958), master carpenter and joiner, inventor of the LEGO construction toys and founder of the LEGO company.

LEGO 90th anniversary (2022) and the company's history in a short animated film