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Olive Oyl

Olive Oyl

189 appearances Β· Platinum Age Β· 1934–2023 Β· 9 key issues
Who is Olive Oyl?

Olive Oyl is Popeye the Sailor's lanky, strong-willed girlfriend, a central figure in the slapstick world of Popeye comics. She frequently finds herself at the center of comedic misadventures, often requiring rescue from the villainous Brutus while caring for the foundling infant Swee'Pea.

Olive Oyl is one of comics' most enduring leading ladies, a Platinum Age original whose presence in the funny pages stretches an extraordinary nine decades from her 1934 debut all the way through 2023 β€” a longevity that speaks volumes about her staying power. A fixture across Popeye, Popeye, and Popeye the Sailor from Dell, she navigates a wonderfully chaotic world alongside the likes of Swee'Pea, Wimpy, Brutus, and Poopdeck Pappy, holding her own in some of comics' most beloved slapstick adventures. With 189 catalog appearances and nine recognized key issues to her name, she's far more than a supporting player β€” she's a cornerstone of one of the most iconic casts in the history of American comics. If you're building a serious collection of classic funny-book characters, Olive Oyl is absolutely essential.

Modern Mechanix and Inventions
#6
β˜… First appearance
Modern Mechanix and Inventions #6
Oct 1934

Trivia

  • Olive Oyl's comic-strip origin is a genuine pop-culture oddity: she existed in Thimble Theatre for about a decade before Popeye entered the strip, so the franchise's title character was originally a later addition rather than the lead.popeye.fandom.com
  • Bud Sagendorf has written more of Olive Oyl's comics than any other writer in our catalog β€” 78 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years β€” 1943–2019

Four Color #17 β˜… 1943
Four Color #17
Four Color #168 1947
Four Color #168
The Friendly Ghost, Casper #2 1958
The Friendly Ghost, Casper #2
The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #1 β˜… 1973
The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #1
Popeye the Sailor Annual #1980 1979
Popeye the Sailor Annual #1980
The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye #5 1987
The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye #5
Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s #[nn] 1997
Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s #[nn]
The Comics Before 1945 #[nn] 2004
The Comics Before 1945 #[nn]
Popeye #1 2012
Popeye #1
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny #[nn] 2019
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny #[nn]

Appearances (151–189 of 189, oldest first)

Popeye (1969)
The Little Monsters (1964)
#36
Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (1970)
King Reading Library (1973)
Bugs Bunny (1962)
Popeye the Sailor (1978)
Comics Teach (1979)
Popeye the Sailor Annual (1979)
Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye (1979)
Laugh Comics / Laugh (1946)
Mickey Mouse (1962)
Grimm's Ghost Stories (1972)
#58
Popeye Holiday Special (1965)
Comics Review (1984)
#4
The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye (1984)
Anything Goes! (1986)
#4
Camp Candy (1990)
#1
Popeye Summer Special (1993)
#1
Girltalk (1995)
#2
Tijuana Bibles: Art and Wit in America's Forbidden Funnies, 1930s-1950s (1997)
The Comics Before 1945 (2004)
Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology (2007)
The Comics: The Complete Collection (2008)
Sam's Strip: The Comic About Comics (2009)
Mars Attacks Popeye (2013)
Thimble Theatre Presents Popeye (2014)
#1
Mad (1952)
Screwball! The Cartoonists Who Made the Funnies Funny (2019)
Popeye Variations: Not Yer Pappy's Comics an' Art Book (2023)