This year, Mid-Ohio-Con (October 3-4, 2009) will host the only Ohio appearance of Team Popeye, who will be signing copies of what’s billed as “the rarest new Popeye comic ever.”

The Popeye creative team, which consists of Chris Yambar, George Broderick Jr., and Ken Wheaton, will sign copies of Popeye Picnic #1, the first all-new full-length 32-page comic featuring the famous two-fisted sailor icon in over three decades.

To be clear, the Ocean Comics wedding issue is considered a fantasy story featuring the characters from the Popeye movie and not the legit strip character cast. So how rare is this comic? Here’s the lowdown: it is a comic book premium that was created specifically for the town of Chester, Illinios, for their 30th annual Popeye celebration, which coincides with the beloved character’s 80th birthday.

This item will not be available in stores anytime soon. Only Mid-Ohio-Con will have Popeye Picnic #1 and make it possible to have the comic signed by the actual creative team in person. George and Ken will be on deck at Mid-Ohio-Con both days, and Chris will only be at the show on Saturday due to another charity event to which he has committed.