Popeye question answered

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Response A:
In my "Animated Tarot"---nothing physically manifest, mind you, 
just Major Arcana as filtered through Saturday Morning Cartoons 
on the Tube---the Devil card (15) is rendered in the style of Max 
Fleischer's cartoons, with Bluto's black aura looming over the 
chained pair of Popeye and Olive Oyl.

Response B;
Gawd, I love Bobby London's stuff:

http://www.dirtyduck.com/

http://lambiek.net/artists/l/london_bobby.htm

http://www.comic-art.com/intervws/londart.htm


            mikebailey:
            Popeye question: in the 60s, the big,
            unshaven villainous guy who altercated with
            our bulging-forearmed spinach-loving mariner
            was called "Brutus" -- I specifically remember
            Popeye's pronunciation as "Brutusk"

            However, in my adult life, starting with the
            movie "Animal House", I keep hearing references
            to this character as "Bluto" - it has caused
            me much cognitive dissonance.

            What gives? Did They change his name for a reason?

            Wikipedia has the scoop:
            After the theatrical Popeye cartoon series 
            went out of production in 1957, Bluto's name 
            was changed to Brutus because it was believed 
            that Paramount Pictures, distributors of the 
            Fleischer Studios (later Famous Studios) cartoons, 
            owned the rights to the name "Bluto"[1]. 
            "Brutus" appears in the 1960-1962 Popeye television 
            cartoons, but he is again "Bluto" in the 1978 
            Hanna-Barbera Popeye series and the 1980 Popeye
            movie. Brutus was also the name Nintendo used for 
            their arcade game based on the property.

            Prior to the name change to Brutus, the bearded 
            strongman was known as "The Big Guy Who Hates 
            Popeye", "Mean Man" and "Sonny Boy" in the comic 
            strip and comic books. The name "Brutus" was first 
            used on Popeye related products in 1960 and in print 
            in 1962. It is generally accepted that Bluto and 
            Brutus are one and the same. However, Ocean Comics 
            published a one-shot "Popeye" comic book where Bluto 
            and Brutus were twin brothers. Bobby London, who drew 
            the "Popeye" daily strip for six years, wrote and 
            illustrated "The Return of Bluto" story where the 
            1932 version of Bluto returns and discovers a number 
            of fat, bearded bullies have taken his place,
             calling themselves "Brutus" (each one being 
            a different version of Popeye's rival).

            Oh.  Ah.