On this day, Popeye, an aggressive and witty cartoon sailor created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appeared as a comic strip in 1929. Elzie Segar introduced the character into his existing newspaper cartoon strip, Thimble Theatre. Popeye is a scrappy little seaman with bulging forearms, a squinty eye, and a screwed-up face, and an ever-present pipe in his mouth. He is always ready for a fight instead of a reasonable discussion. Popeye's girlfriend is the gangly, uncoordinated Olive Oyl.