December 19, 1919: The very first daily strip of Thimble Theatre. Interestingly, Olive Oyl is the main character, a full ten years before Popeye makes an appearance.January 17, 1929: Popeye’s first appearance in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.June 11, 1929: For the first time we see that Popeye has super powers. But here he activates it by rubbing the head of a chicken.August 27, 1929: Uh-oh! Olive “mistakenly” kisses Popeye for the first time!June 26, 1931: Popeye reveals for the first time that the source of his super-power is in fact spinach, not chicken heads.February 28, 1932: We actually see Popeye eat spinach for the first time. Not from a can, but from an actual bowl.July 3, 1932: Popeye explains how spinach gives one super powers (it’s the Vitamin A). I yam what I yam an’ tha’s all what I yam.
July 14, 1933: Popeye signs a movie contract and makes his first appearance on the silver screen in a Betty Boop cartoon!
A Popeye short from 1938, “A Date to Skate.”
A two-reel short (meaning 20 minutes long) from 1939 filmed in Technicolor, “Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp.”
A much later Paramount short (1956), also in Technicolor, “A Haul in One.”
A full episode from the TV show, “Caveman Capers” (1960).
