Unexpectedly, the backup–John Sappo and Prof. O.G. Wotasnozzle and Sappo’s Wife Myrtle–is stronger than the lead Popeye story.
While the lead story is quite good, it’s a small story about Popeye getting into it with one of Olive Oyl’s latest suitors. The backup is even smaller, but Langridge excels with the constraint. In Popeye, he’s at play in Sweethaven but it’s reduced because his story centers around the Oyl’s new house.
The Sappo story has an even smaller setting and Langridge uses the constraint creatively.
He’s also dealing less with characters in the backup; in Popeye, one wonders if Langridge is dealing with the characters as typically portrayed–Olive’s a bit of a bitch, Popeye’s an idiot, Wimpy stumbles into things. Langridge is able to establish the backup’s simple characters in its teaser.
The Popeye story is still good, it just doesn’t excel like the Sappo story does.
CREDITS
The Worm Returns; writer, Roger Langridge; artist and letterer, Ken Wheaton; colorist, Luke McDonnell. John Sappo and Prof. O.G. Wotasnozzle and Sappo’s Wife Myrtle; writer, Langridge; artist and letterer, Tom Neely; colorist, McDonnell. Editors, Ted Adams, Craig You and Clizia Gussoni; publisher, IDW Publishing.
If I’d been paying more attention to the title page cast list, I suppose the story might have been ruined. Not having ever read Popeye (in memory… I may have read the comic strip as a kid), I was only familiar with the characters who were in the movie.