neil, its not only popeye, they made Lucky Luke quit too.
IMO it's all ridiculously stupid. (the Churchill thing being a bulls-eye perfect proof of this stupidity) why not keep things as they were and add explanations when feeling in need of them - I'd mind if they would put an footnote or something to inform the target audience.
better a footnote in a Luke comic book simply telling the kids that in former times people were not aware of certain effects of smoking than this.
I remember there is a Piece in one of the sherlock holmes stories, about his habits where Watson says that apart from his excessive violine playing sessions and a
cocaine shot from time to time (which Watson himself was applying to him)
Sherlock has had no bad habits.
(As we remember the "drug" of this times which was also socially percieved as such, in regard of negative effects and destruction of the consument was opium)
Things like this are proof to me to have a uncensored copy of the material giving - apart of the stories a brief look on everydays life - why doctor the historical background and props in the story?
what comes next? the hunt and removal of every bottle of kiddo-calming drops from the really old books?
(they 'd been a junkies wet dream today; some containing 25% morphine)
Or the non-chemical way of calming the little ones being said to be a technique "imported" by French kid-cartakers? (yes I mean oral stimulation
)
History censorship? - isn't it kind of braindead poor?