Alice the Goon
Encyclopedia
Alice the Goon is a fictional character
in E. C. Segar
's comic strip
Thimble Theatre and in the Popeye
cartoon
series derived from it.
, a vicious pirate and the last sorceress
on Earth
. She is portrayed as an Amazonian giantess
(her height is eight feet) bald, with a large nose
(reminiscent of a Proboscis Monkey
, or of Rastapopoulos
from Tintin
) no visible mouth and extremely hairy forearm
s and legs
. Her name and sex were given in the January 14, 1934 strip, after she had captured Wimpy
.
Alice first appeared when the Sea Hag returned to Sweethaven searching for a former slave of hers named Cringly, as he is the only one who knows the location of Plunder Island, the Sea Hag's lair. At this time Alice was nameless and sexless, but when Wimpy is captured and locked in the deck of the Black Barnacle, the Hag's ship
, the Sea Hag orders, "Keep an eye on him, Alice!". And from this moment on, the characters and the readers realise Alice is a female. Upon arriving at Plunder Island, Popeye and Alice fought violently and Popeye threatened to throw Alice off a cliff
, until Alice's own child (its sex also unspecified) appeared and shouted "Mama!". Realizing that he is fighting a woman, which goes against Popeye's principles, Popeye released Alice and discovered that Alice was an unwilling slave to the Sea Hag (who had threatened Alice's own baby if Alice did not become her servant) then the sailor
helped Alice gain her freedom. In fact, Alice was just one of a race of goons (though apparently their leader) enslaved by the Sea Hag; Popeye and Alice together raised them up in a successful Spartacus
-like slave rebellion
.
At the time, Alice caused controversy with protective mothers who claimed that her "frightening" appearance alarmed their children. Alice was therefore toned down to become a gentler and more motherly apparition.
In later appearances, Alice starts wearing a skirt
and flower
ed hat
. Her tribe live on Goon Island and the Goons are indistinguishable from each other. When Alice spoke, her words would appear as a series of meaningless squiggles. Wimpy is the only one who can understand her language
. After being liberated from the Sea Hag, Alice came to live with Olive Oyl
, and became a nursemaid
to baby Swee'Pea
.
Alice was a main character in the later Private Olive Oyl shorts, where she and Olive join the Army
with humorous results; see The All-New Popeye Hour
.
was a fan of the Popeye cartoons and took the name of The Goon Show
from Alice and her tribe.
Robert Crumb
featured in his later Mr. Natural
comics a character named The Mega Baby, a giantess dressed as a baby, closely resembling Alice.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in E. C. Segar
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of Popeye, a character who first appeared in 1929 in his comic strip Thimble Theatre. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was "SEE-gar". He commonly signed his work simply Segar or E...
's comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Thimble Theatre and in the Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
series derived from it.
History
Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933 Thimble Theatre strip, part of the "Plunder Island" storyline. As yet unnamed (and her sex unspecified), she worked as a guard for the Sea HagSea Hag
The Sea Hag is a fictional character owned by King Features Syndicate. She is a tall, masculine looking witch featured in comics/cartoons as a nemesis to the character Popeye. The Sea Hag was created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 as part of the Thimble Theater comic strip.-Character history:The...
, a vicious pirate and the last sorceress
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. She is portrayed as an Amazonian giantess
Gigantism
Gigantism, also known as giantism , is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average...
(her height is eight feet) bald, with a large nose
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
(reminiscent of a Proboscis Monkey
Proboscis Monkey
The proboscis monkey or long-nosed monkey, known as the bekantan in Malay, is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey that is endemic to the south-east Asian island of Borneo...
, or of Rastapopoulos
Rastapopoulos
Roberto Rastapopoulos is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is the antagonist in many of Tintin's adventures....
from Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
) no visible mouth and extremely hairy forearm
Forearm
-See also:*Forearm flexors*Forearm muscles...
s and legs
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
. Her name and sex were given in the January 14, 1934 strip, after she had captured Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the long-running comic strip Popeye, created by E. C. Segar and originally called Thimble Theatre, and in the Popeye cartoons based upon the strip...
.
Alice first appeared when the Sea Hag returned to Sweethaven searching for a former slave of hers named Cringly, as he is the only one who knows the location of Plunder Island, the Sea Hag's lair. At this time Alice was nameless and sexless, but when Wimpy is captured and locked in the deck of the Black Barnacle, the Hag's ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
, the Sea Hag orders, "Keep an eye on him, Alice!". And from this moment on, the characters and the readers realise Alice is a female. Upon arriving at Plunder Island, Popeye and Alice fought violently and Popeye threatened to throw Alice off a cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
, until Alice's own child (its sex also unspecified) appeared and shouted "Mama!". Realizing that he is fighting a woman, which goes against Popeye's principles, Popeye released Alice and discovered that Alice was an unwilling slave to the Sea Hag (who had threatened Alice's own baby if Alice did not become her servant) then the sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
helped Alice gain her freedom. In fact, Alice was just one of a race of goons (though apparently their leader) enslaved by the Sea Hag; Popeye and Alice together raised them up in a successful Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
-like slave rebellion
Slave rebellion
A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves. Slave rebellions have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery, and are amongst the most feared events for slaveholders...
.
At the time, Alice caused controversy with protective mothers who claimed that her "frightening" appearance alarmed their children. Alice was therefore toned down to become a gentler and more motherly apparition.
In later appearances, Alice starts wearing a skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
ed hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
. Her tribe live on Goon Island and the Goons are indistinguishable from each other. When Alice spoke, her words would appear as a series of meaningless squiggles. Wimpy is the only one who can understand her language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
. After being liberated from the Sea Hag, Alice came to live with Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929...
, and became a nursemaid
Nursemaid
A nursemaid or nursery maid, is mostly a historical term of employment for a female servant in an elite household. In the 21st century, the position is largely defunct, owing to the relatively small number of households who maintain large staffs with the traditional hierarchy.The nursery maid...
to baby Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea is a character in E.C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre/Popeye and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the Sweet Pea...
.
Alice was a main character in the later Private Olive Oyl shorts, where she and Olive join the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
with humorous results; see The All-New Popeye Hour
The All-New Popeye Hour
The All-New Popeye Hour is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Syndicate. Starring the popular comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 on CBS.-Production:...
.
Trivia
Spike MilliganSpike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
was a fan of the Popeye cartoons and took the name of The Goon Show
The Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
from Alice and her tribe.
Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
featured in his later Mr. Natural
Mr. Natural (comics)
Mr. Natural is a comic book character created and drawn by 1960s counterculture and underground comix artist Robert Crumb. The character first appeared in the premiere issue of Yarrowstalks .-Characterization:...
comics a character named The Mega Baby, a giantess dressed as a baby, closely resembling Alice.
External links
- Popeye at Don Markstein's ToonopediaDon Markstein's ToonopediaDon Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...