Eye Lie Popeye #4
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeEye Lie Popeye #4 is the penultimate chapter of the first manga-inspired Popeye miniseries ever published in the direct market — a genuinely novel formal experiment that reframes a nearly century-old newspaper-strip character through the kinetic grammar of shonen action comics. The issue deepens the overarching mystery that the entire series was built around: the untold origin of how Popeye lost his eye, a question E.C. Segar never answered in the original strips and that no licensed Popeye comic had seriously pursued before. By centering classic supporting cast members — Eugene the Jeep, Swee'Pea, and Wimpy — in a space-and-time-spanning thriller rather than a gag-oriented strip, issue #4 signals how far the series stretches accepted Popeye storytelling conventions while staying grounded in the character's core mythology. Its publication also marks a broader cultural moment: the print miniseries arrived alongside a concurrent live-action feature film in development and a digital Comics Kingdom serialization, making this run a rare case of a single new creative vision simultaneously reshaping a character across multiple platforms.
In "Eye Lie Popeye: Book Four," Popeye faces his greatest test yet when Wimpy—under mysterious psychic control—abducts Swee'pea, leaving Popeye shaken and questioning his ability to protect those he cares about. With the truth about Olive’s witch-blooded lineage revealed and Bluto offering unexpected counsel, the duo must unite to face a threat far beyond their usual battles. Written and illustrated by Marcus Williams, with inks and colors by Williams and Rodney Velchez, this issue’s cover by Marcus Williams captures the tension of a world where even the most familiar faces are not who they seem.
ComicBooks.com Value
Find on ebay
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The series traces directly to a piece of fan art Marcus Williams posted in 2023 depicting Popeye alongside Dragon Ball Z's Goku — a crossover image that went viral and was spotted by Alex Garcia, Director of Direct-to-Consumer Comics at King Features Syndicate, who immediately saw it as a template for a formal project. King Features developed the concept with Williams, who had already built credits at Marvel, DC, BOOM! Studios, and Image Comics, and the webcomic debuted through Popeye's own social channels in late 2022, with pages living on eyelie.popeye.com. Massive Publishing entered the picture to bring the story to print, partnering with King Features for a Free Comic Book Day 2024 preview (24 pages) followed by a full five-issue monthly run, with issue #1 launching at a 40-page count. Issue #4, released April 16, 2025, is written and illustrated by Williams, with interior art also credited to Rodney Velchez on variant editions.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Eye Lie Popeye is a five-issue miniseries published by Massive Publishing under license from King Features Syndicate, written and drawn by Marcus Williams.
- Issue #4 was released on April 16, 2025, and is the fourth of five chapters; issue #5 concludes the series in July 2025.
- The series marks the first time in Popeye's publishing history that the origin of his missing eye is treated as a central, sustained narrative mystery across a full miniseries.
- The story in issue #4 sends 'Team Popeye' on a journey across space and time guided by Eugene the Jeep, and escalates with the kidnapping of both Swee'Pea and Wimpy as leverage against Popeye.
- Marcus Williams drew visual inspiration from anime titles including Cowboy Bebop, Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, One Piece, and Dragon Ball in crafting the series' action sequences and character design.
- The series originated as a digital webcomic debuting in late 2022 on Popeye's social platforms and eyelie.popeye.com before Massive Publishing acquired the print rights.
- A 24-page Free Comic Book Day 2024 preview issue introduced the print version to direct-market shops ahead of the full run, and the debut issue was a mega-sized 40 pages.
- The broader Eye Lie Popeye creative moment coincides with a separately announced live-action Popeye feature film in development at Chernin Entertainment, with screenwriter Michael Caleo (The Sopranos) attached.
Full credits
Variants (2)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.