Not from Grant Morrison’s The Filth.

§ February 25th, 2019 § Filed under popeye § 5 Comments

This is a hell of a thing to find as a back-up story in Popeye #108 (June 1971), especially it being the anniversary issue an’ all:


I feel like the funny animal potential for whales hasn’t been fully exploited. I mean, sure, there’s this, and I’m probably not remembering comic strip characters and such. But I think we can agree “whales” are far behind “dogs,” “cats” and probably “anteaters” in the Humorous Representation of Animals catalog.

And just to confirm, yes, I’m pretty sure those are supposed to be whales. Just look at this:


WHALE ANATOMY: 100% NAILED

5 Responses to “Not from Grant Morrison’s The Filth.”

  • Thelonious_Nick says:

    As far as whale anatomy, they actually did a good job differentiating the horizontal tail fins of whales from the vertical tail fin of the shark. I was a little skeptical about the teeth in that second panel as I thought whales had brush-like teeth to filter krill or whatever. But it turns out those are just Baleen-family whales–most whales are actually toothed! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothed_whale)

    As far as blowholes, I don’t see any, but they may just blend in with the skin.

    This has been the latest exciting installment from the Whale Comic Fact Checker.

  • ArghSims says:

    Obviously got their whale expertise from watching Disney’s Pinnochio.

  • Thom H. says:

    What about whale eyebrows? Are they usually that expressive?

  • M.A. Masterson says:

    “For all these reasons, then, any way you may look at it, you must needs conclude that the great Leviathan is that one creature in the world which must remain unpainted to the last. True, one portrait may hit the mark much nearer than another, but none can hit it with any very considerable degree of exactness. So there is no earthly way of finding out precisely what the whale really looks like. And the only mode in which you can derive even a tolerable idea of his living contour, is by going a whaling yourself; but by so doing, you run no small risk of being eternally stove and sunk by him. Wherefore, it seems to me you had best not be too fastidious in your curiosity touching this Leviathan.”

    – Herman Melville, in guess which book.

  • Mikester says:

    “Herman Melville, in guess which book.”

    I would prefer not to.