The Three Stooges: Shemptastic Shemptacular

There's 2 stories in this Shemp-tacular; one is an all-new romp. The other is a classic farce. 

The opener answers an age-old question that has plagued Stooges fans for decades: did Shemp and Curly know each other? The answer is: they sure did!

Here, Shemp is sent a package intended for the guys by mistake. When Shemp heads over to Casa Stooge, he finds the house in shambles. A mysterious message scrawled on a notepad leads Shemp to search for his friends while daydreaming he's secret agent, Shemp Suavely. Upon getting mistaken as a G-man by real spies, Shemp does everything in his power to protect the misdelivered mail and save his friends!

The classic story involves the guys getting swindled by  con man Benedict Bogus as they try to raise funds for a family in need. The fellas decide to go diving for sunken treasure. But they're gonna need a diving bell to do it. Tricked into buying a real bell, the guys might not realize that they're sitting on a literal gold mine as their new antique is revealed to be worth millions!

The story where Shemp gets mistaken for a secret agent was pure gold. It was quite different from your typical Three Stooges short. It wasn't formulaic. Plus, despite being a tad aloof about things, the otherwise scaredy cat Shemp was rather heroic in this adventure. He just didn’t know he was ever in danger!

The classic tale was pretty good too. This is the second time I've encountered this con man character. I don't remember him from the shorts. So he must have been just for the comics. He reminds me of Brer Fox, always trying to get Brer Rabbit into becoming the fox's next meal through some kind of swindle. He's really one-note and honestly isn't really needed. In fact, I feel like he detracts from the real stars of the story. But since this was a classic story, I can't fault American Mythology for the baddie's inclusion.

But why did the editors pick this story for this special? While Larry and Moe select Shemp to be the diver for the sunken treasure, this really isn't a Shemp centered comedy. Like I have hinted to prior, I know that other American Mythology specials carry reprints of classic Three Stooges comics. So maybe all of the good Shemp stories had already been republished?

Kinda like when listening to a Queen song. Even the bad ones are good. This wasn't a terrible Shemp tribute. But it didn't seem to be 100% about the greatest Stooge of them all either. But I enjoyed it because it was devoted to my guy! Now here's hoping for a Curly Joe retrospective!!!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Three Stooges: Thru The Ages One-Shot

I'm not able to head over to my favorite LCS every week; what with a partial return to work. Thankfully, the fellas over at Books Do Furnish a Room have been holding stuff for me on my list. And this week was my chance to finally pick up some issues that were collecting dust.

From the cover, it appears that Three Stooges: Thru The Ages would finally address the changing line-up of Shemp, Curly and Curly Joe. One existed in the prehistoric past. Another lives in the time of knights and dragons. The third is from the future. But unfortunately, this is definitely one of those times you shouldn't judge a book from it's cover. 

Thru The Ages marks the 5th anniversary of American Mythology having the licensing rights to produce Stooges comics. We do get 3 stories each starring a rotating member of the trio. Instead, we get a zoo caper with Shemp. Curly is goaded into wrestling a bruiser in hopes of winning some cash. And Curly Joe seems to play third fiddle as Moe and Larry try to persuade a big-wig producer to fund their next project. All 3 stories were rather funny and I don't regret paying full price for this one-shot. But the plots do nothing to reflect the cover with was a big selling point for me.

There were a couple of cool extras. One was a complete rundown of all of the Stooges comics from American Mythology. This has helped me to determine what Halloween and Christmas specials are now on my wish list. But did you know that there was an April Fool's issue?? That plus the revelation of an All-Shemp issue are now on my radar. 

The other extra is an interview with 2 of Larry Fine's great-grandsons and a grandson of Curly's. That was an interesting insight at being the legacy of comedic and cultural icons. And the rare photos of the Boys were really cool.

I enjoyed this read. It didn't turn out how I expected. But it was a much needed read for refreshment and humorous delight.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Three Stooges: Merry Stoogemas

Another American Mythology triumph!

This 2016 Christmas special has the Stooges playing pet shop store owners on Christmas Eve. Their last sale of the holiday shopping season involves a kitten for a little girl. But when the kitty ends up back at the shop, the guys must save Christmas! Taking the term 'cat burglar' to an all-new meaning, Larry, Moe and Curly must break into a house in order to make sure the little girl wakes up to a new cat on Christmas Day!

The second feature is a reprint from a 1950s era Three Stooges comic. Here, my favorite Stooge, Shemp, replaces Curly in a non-Christmas themed story drawn by comics legend Joe Kubert! When a con man hires the boys to play ghost writer for his biography. Hoping to sign a luxurious movie deal, the crook has really padded his resume. Plus the swindler figures he can save a buck hiring the Stooges to do the job. Little does the baddie know that the he should have hired anybody but the Stooges for the job.

American Mythology really do a dynamic job capturing the Stooges perfectly in the all-new tale. They've done such a better job than Papercutz ever did with the license. Plus, I can forgive the back-up tale not being holiday themed. American Mythology loves to print a vintage tale along with an original story. It's very possible that there has probably never been an Christmas-themed Stooge story made during the time the Stooges were alive. Besides, it's got Shemp and I love Shemp!!!

There were several covers to choose from with this special. While I liked the photo covers of the Stooges dressing as Santa, I just had to get the cover penciled by Mark Wheatley. Not a lot of fans know that The Stooges, including Shemp, were Jewish. If you look closely at the ornament at the bottom right corner of the cover, you see that it's got a blue six-sided star on it. A really cool nod to the comedian's Jewish heritage and the Hanukkah holiday.

Lots of nostalgic fun with Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.