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In 1986, King Features looked at its stable of unrelated newspaper strip heroes and decided the responsible thing to do was throw them all in a blender. Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, and the Phantom. A spaceman, a stage hypnotist, and a guy who lives in a skull-shaped cave and inherited his job from his dad got drafted into a single Saturday morning cartoon called Defenders of the Earth on the apparent theory that if the Avengers could do a team-up, so could three guys who had never met before that year and shared nothing except a syndicate contract.

Then, because nothing from the ’80s was allowed to stay just a cartoon, Defenders of the Earth became a video game in 1990, courtesy of Enigma Variations, for the exact kind of home computer that made you type a magic incantation and wait: Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Amiga, and, for the three people on Earth who owned one, the SAM Coupé. You play Flash, sneaking through Ming’s castle dodging security cameras, occasionally calling in Mandrake or the Phantom to open doors, because apparently that’s what magic and jungle-honed strength were for in these days.

Helping make sense of this glorious pile of licensed heroes is Ryan Estrada, who’s written comics for Star Trek, Popeye, Garfield, and, fittingly, Flash Gordon itself, having contributed to Papercutz’s newer Flash Gordon Adventures line. Ryan’s also built a reputation for tucking real hidden puzzles and messages directly into his comic pages, in plain sight, daring anyone paying close enough attention to find them. Which feels like exactly the right skillset for an episode about a security system that apparently only a few specific comic strip disciplines can defeat.

So track down a joystick you no longer own, adjust to a universe where Flash Gordon answers to a management structure that includes a professional hypnotist, and let’s find out whether the Defenders of the Earth earned their game, or whether Earth would’ve been just fine handling Ming on its own.
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Grab your canned vegetables and your questionable licensed tie-ins, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving headfirst into Popeye: Rush for Spinach on the Game Boy Advance—the game that looked at a classic comic strip about a gruff sailor punching his problems and said, “Actually, what if everyone just… ran a lot instead?” This is a world where the Sea Hag steals the global spinach supply, the solution is apparently time-traveling track meets, and Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy all agree that the best way to settle things is to sprint through history like someone off-screen yelled “last one there buys lunch.”

Helping us untangle this leafy green disaster is the wonderful Ryan Estrada from the comic-making side of the internet, a man who knows exactly what it looks like when characters escape the page and do something absolutely no one asked them to do. Ryan’s here to help figure out how a comic icon who started life in newspaper strips, got famous selling spinach, and spent decades punching sea monsters somehow wound up in a handheld racing game that feels like it was brainstormed during a very strange lunch break.

So power up that tiny GBA screen, flex those forearms, and get ready for an episode that’s equal parts comic history lesson, adaptation autopsy, and incredulous laughter at the phrase “Popeye racing game.”Continue Reading

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Ahoy, landlubbers! Prepare to set sail on a high-seas adventure through the annals of gaming history, as we dive into the depths of the 1992 Game Boy classic, Popeye 2. This episode we’ve got a special guest aboard – Matt Storm from the podcasts “Fun” and Games and Screen Snark. They’re a veritable treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to all things retro gaming, so batten down the hatches and get ready for a wild ride!

In this episode we’ll explore the pixelated world of Popeye, the legendary sailor man who’s always ready to dish out a can of spinach-fueled justice. From navigating treacherous levels to battling Bluto’s dastardly schemes, we’ll uncover the secrets behind this beloved game that captured the hearts of gamers and comic book fans alike.

But that’s not all, me hearties! We’ll also delve into the rich history of the Popeye comics, tracing their roots back to the early 20th century and exploring how they’ve influenced pop culture over the decades. Prepare to be regaled with tales of Olive Oyl’s escapades, Wimpy’s insatiable hunger for hamburgers, and Popeye’s iconic catchphrases that have become part of the cultural lexicon.

So grab your Game Boy, load up on spinach, and get ready to set sail on an adventure that will have you laughing, reminiscing, and maybe even singing a few sea shanties along the way. Anchors aweigh, mateys!Continue Reading