Before Popeye launched, founding member Jiro Ishikawa frequently traveled to the U.S. for projects like the Made in U.S.A. catalog. He would return to Japan with cartoon toys—including Popeye—for his son. While the title was almost “CITY BOY” (a phrase inspired by a story from writer Yoshio Kataoka), the editorial team ultimately kept “Magazine for City Boys” as the subtitle.
Behind POPEYE’s legendary layout density was Art Director Masahiro Shintani, who pioneered the magazine’s signature visual style. In the pre-digital era, Shintani designed custom layout grid sheets and manuscript paper. Editor Takeo Uchisaka created this signature “POPEYE writing style” (Uchisaka-bushi) for packing an overwhelming amount of information and casual, slang-heavy copy into tiny, restricted block spaces.
I learned these things and a lot more in the “Whole City Catalog” of Popeye, a magazine I recommend flipping through. Have you ever read one of these? Let me know what you think in the comments.
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