The Three Stooges have been eliciting laughs with their painful brand of slapstick comedy since 1922. Theatrical short subjects, television syndication, and full-length feature films have made the legendary comedy trio one of the most recognizable acts in the United States, if not the world. Yet, in the midst of all their media ventures, the vaudevillians-turned-television-stars have been quietly staking a claim in the underappreciated world of comedic comic books. American Mythology Publishing’s recently released The Three Stooges Thru the Ages #1 is a time-traveling farce that builds upon the Stooges’ seventy-two year history of illustrated shenanigans.
The “three” in the Three Stooges’ stage name may be somewhat misleading. Line-up changes were an unfortunate fact in long-running acts of the period, and the Stooges had their fair share. Moses (Moe) Howard and Larry Fine appeared in every iteration of the trio and were joined at different times by Moe’s brother Jerome (Curly) or Samuel (Shemp) Howard. After Curly and Shemp’s untimely deaths, Moe and Larry added comedy veteran Joe Besser, and later, Joe DeRita. American Mythology Publishing’s The Three Stooges Thru the Ages #1 touches on each of the violent vaudevillian’s three distinct eras.
The Three Stooges Thru the Ages #1 consists of three separate segments featuring the three best known Stooge configurations. The first tale, entitled "For Doody & Humanity", casts Moe, Larry, and Shemp as conservationists out to stop poachers from nabbing the egg of an endangered species. The second story, “Stooges on Set!”, finds Moe, Larry, and Joe DeRita hogging the spotlight as slap-happy stage actors. Last but not least, “Rubes in the Ring!” captures the spirit of the classic 1934 theatrical short, Punch Drunks, by returning the Three Stooges to the boxing ring. Punch Drunks is the only Stooge film to be preserved by the National Film Registry and is the perfect candidate for a comic book follow-up.
American Mythology Publishing is celebrating its 5th anniversary as the premiere producer of comic books based on classic properties such as Laurel and Hardy and Zorro. Founded in 2014, American Mythology obtained the license to the Three Stooges in 2015 and published their first comic book featuring Moe, Larry, and Curly in 2016. The Three Stooges Thru the Ages #1 is written by S.A. Check, Jordan Gershowitz, and Todd Clark, with art by Jorge Pacheco, Diego Tapie, Brendon Fraim, Brian Fraim, and Eric Shanower. Thru the Ages is American Mythology’s first Stooge installment since 2019.
The Three Stooges made their comic book debut in 1949 and would later enjoy their own long-running forty-six issue series published by Gold Key. For the next several decades, the Kings of Slapstick Comedy would languish in relative comic book obscurity. American Mythology Publishing has returned the legendary trio to their former glory by producing comics with the Stooges’ actual likenesses versus cartoony representations of the past. The Three Stooges mark their 100th birthday next year, and here’s hoping they continue to provide eye-pokes and nyuk-nyuks in comic book form for generations to come.
Source: American Mythology Publishing
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