“EYE LIE POPEYE” FROM ARTIST MARCUS WILLIAMS TO DEBUT NOVEMBER 22
NEW YORK, November 21, 2022 – King Features Syndicate, home to some of the world’s most popular entertainment characters, today unveiled the first Manga-inspired style Popeye comic, Eye Lie Popeye.Penned by Marcus Williams, Eye Lie Popeye is an all-new “what if” style webcomic that tells the story of how Popeye the Sailorman famously lost his eye.
Eye Lie Popeye focuses on the mystery behind the iconic Popeye character and his missing eye, which is believed to have been lost in battle during an early voyage. In this new series, the Sea Hag seeks to retrieve a bejeweled “eye” that is in Popeye’s possession, thought to have been used as a replacement for his original missing eye. She sends “the temp” in disguise to source out the eye’s location by canvassing Popeye’s friends and family for clues as to its location and origin, resulting in varying stories of how Popeye lost his eye and replaced it with “the eye.”
The Eye Lie Popeye webcomic was inspired by a viral social media moment where the Popeye account engaged with Manga audiences. It then sparked a “Popeye Broke the Internet” fan fiction share of Popeye and Goku artwork, which was actually created by Marcus Williams. He was then chosen as the artist forEye Lie Popeye, drawing from some of the best shonen-style Manga and infusing that into a modernized story for both Popeye and Manga fans to enjoy.
“As a huge fan of both Popeye and manga, I’m looking forward to combining both passions and bringing fans an all new format and style to experience the iconic character’s adventures. I’m thrilled that my Popeye Goku art led me here and am excited to infuse the traditional shonen style with a modern twist and explore the mystery behind Popeye’s missing eye,” said Marcus Williams, creator of Eye Lie Popeye.
“We have been exploring the idea of a manga-inspired style for Popeye, and once we learned of Marcus’s manga-style Popeye fan art that quickly became a fan favorite across the internet, we knew he was the right person to bring this to life.Popeye has been a staple on the funny pages for over 90 years, and it’s incredible to continue telling new facets of his lore and connecting with fans in different ways,” said Tea Fougner, editorial director, comics, King Features.
Eye Lie Popeye will roll out in arcs, with the first available for a limited period of five weeks and delivered twice weekly. The content will be made available in “story” like fashion, with each page available for 24 hours on Popeye social before living on eyelie.popeye.com.
Marcus Williams is a writer, illustrator and current comic artistbehind projects Tuskegee Heirs and Super Natural and the Popeye World Breakersfan fiction.
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