It was only a matter of time before these two crazy kids got together. IDW has just announced Mars Attacks Popeye, a special comic written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Terry Beatty that's scheduled for January 2013.

It combines the concepts of two titles that IDW already publishes, Popeye and Mars Attacks.

Martin’s a noted children’s book author and comic book writer and Beatty, a comic book veteran, currently draws and colors the Sunday Phantom comic strip.

It sounds goofy, and it sounds like a lot of fun, too, especially in the hands of two professed lovers of E.C. Segar’s spinach-eating, Sea Hag-punching creation.

Martin posted this on his Facebook page along with the announcement: “Popeye is my all-time favorite character, so this is a tremendous thrill for me. In fact, I confess that my hands are shaking as I am clumsily attempting to type this. In all my long career as a professional writer nothing has excited me as much as this.”

Of course, he won’t reveal much about the story, adding later: “Can't really talk about the story yet, but I will add that this is as close to E.C. Segar's Popeye as Terry and I can make it. If you've seen IDW's new comics of the spinach-eating sailor you can readily see that they also have a genuine affection for the character.”

Artist Beatty acknowledged that they idea seems a bit irregular on his own Facebook page: “Some folks are apoplectic over the concept already -- but let me assure you, nobody loves and respects Segar's Popeye more than Martin and me.”

I always think it’s fun to see character crossovers like this, especially when the concepts don’t quite go together. It’s easy to team-up NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS, or chocolate and peanut butter, but quite another to do Popeye and Mars Attacks.

But I’m in. I like Martin and Terry’s work, and I like IDW's Popeye and Mars Attacks comics so I’m definitely curious to see happens when it all comes together.

[Artwork: Mars Attacks Popeye]