Bud SagendorfPopeye Classics, Vol. 10: Moon Rocket and more

For the true comics fan, part historian, part guy or gal who simply wants to laugh, these books are the best buy at Amazon. For me, comics have become so over-produced, so slick and painterly, that it is exotic to see someone who can cartoon so boldly - with a kind of fast-paced narrative that throws out the rule-book and rarely bothers to explain anything. Maybe over the years Popeye has become distorted into some sort of spinach-eating two-fisted cliche, but these books were truly imaginative (space creatures; dimension-hopping) and have an immediacy and movement not unlike that of Carl Barks. And when I mention "cartooning," study Sagendorf's character-expression. This is the forerunner to everything from The Simpsons to Bob's Burgers, on a style level. The books have a manic energy; in another volume, I would say it was the "shrink weed" story that had me hooked. Now I look forward to every volume. I don't know whether I'm the only one reading these, but if you like your comics raw, stylized, and poppy, these colorful yarns pop off the page.