[Not as long as I usually write, but here is some commentary you don't have to read unless you want to dig deeper into my thoughts about The Sea Hag.]...
Some say that The Sea Hag is Popeye's greatest enemy. Even his arch-enemy. In various comics, she has been portrayed as scary and ultimately an evil force. In others, a buffoon for comedy effect. She's been portrayed with pale skin with a red scarf. In later cartoons she had green hued skin just like the Wicked Witch of the West. She's been portrayed with a hook nose and a single chin by Segar. In later years when Bud Sagendorf took over the comics, he gave her the double-jutting chin that looks exactly the same as Popeye's chin. She's been portray with boils. She's been portrayed as an old maid. She's been a shape shifter. She can use her magic and become a beauty.
With all that said, visually, I always liked the way E.C. Segar illustrated her with the nose and single pointed chin. And ominous when inked like something out of a Goya etching. However, as a kid, I watched the cartoons and to me she was always the silly cackling green sea witch with the purple scarf hood. When I finally got around to reading both Segar's and Sagendorf's comics when I was older, I remember scratching my head at how she was drawn and colored visually different than the later cartoons.
You may have your own favorite version of her. Maybe not the best analogy, but when I think about writing and drawing the Sea Hag, do I play her more like Bond's threatening arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld or more like Austin Power's arch-enemy Dr. Evil for comedy effect? How do I draw her... well... easy, she's a shapeshifter and changes her appearance as she's been shown to do in comics from Segar, Zaboly, and Sagendorf. For me, my instinct is to draw her like Segar but color her like the cartoons making her green with the purple neckerchief and head scarf bandana doodad thingy.
For characterization? Popeye is steeped in comedy and humor geared towards laughs, yet there are times in Popeye's comics by Segar where there could be darker humor and you can have some real menace from time-to-time. And that's how I think I want to portray The Sea Hah in my "Alternate Retro Universe" that she can cause real problems for Popeye and his friends while still making us chuckle.
I'm still keeping my cards close to my chest about the back story of my version of The Sea Hag which I will reveal in future comic stories.
The Sea Hag will return in SEA SHANTY FUNNIES. Soon.
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