1937, spinach capital Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue to honor E.C. Segar and Popeye for their positive influence on America’s eating habits, making Popeye the first cartoon character ever immortalized in public sculpture.
Interestingly, Popeye’s spinach obsession began in THIMBLE THEATRE but became an indispensable plot device in his later animated adventures. The spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33 percent increase in U.S. spinach consumption and saving the spinach industry in the 1930s.
Popeye has been a comic-book hero since the early 1930s, both in America and around the globe.
The famed Fleischer Studios cartoons are considered the classics by fans and critics alike.