Three Stooges #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThree Stooges #1 (Jubilee/St. John, 1949) holds the distinction of being the first comic book to feature Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard, translating the trio's Columbia Pictures slapstick shorts into the sequential-art medium for the very first time. It established the template — film-to-comics adaptation, broad physical comedy rendered in ink — that every subsequent Stooges publisher, from Dell to Gold Key to Eclipse, would follow across decades. The issue also marks the debut of Norman Maurer as the creative force behind the Stooges in print, a role he would reprise and expand into film production and television long after the comic run ended. Because it is the franchise's inaugural appearance in any comics format, it anchors the entire publishing history that eventually stretched from 1949 to the present day.
In "Uncivil Warriors," Joe Kubert's dynamic art brings to life the tale of Mark and Sandy's daring encounter with the sinister Prince Vila in India, where a secret cult of Thugees plots to seize control. The story unfolds with a mix of adventure and suspense, culminating in a rebellion and a shocking climax tied to a statue of Kali. Norman Maurer's cover captures the story's exotic intrigue, and this 1949 issue stands as a rare early appearance of the Three Stooges in a standalone comic, blending action with a twist that lingers long after the final panel.
When Operators 12, 14, and 15—better known as Moe, Larry, and Curly—are drafted as secret agents to infiltrate enemy lines during wartime, they don't exactly come prepared for espionage. Armed with stolen uniforms and ridiculous assumed names, the Three Stooges must navigate past sentries, gather military intelligence, and somehow rescue a captured ally from the guardhouse—all while their bumbling antics threaten to expose them at every turn. It's a chaotic blend of slapstick comedy and Civil War intrigue that proves these three are far better at causing mayhem than conducting covert operations.
In "The Eyes of Kali!", Mark Montage recounts a harrowing tale from his past: his encounter with the sinister Prince Vila in India, where the prince led a secret cult of Thugees with grand ambitions. As Mark and Sandy Woods unravel the conspiracy, they must rally Vila’s imprisoned followers in a desperate bid to stop him—culminating in a showdown with the deadly statue of Kali. When B. K. Kabat adapts the story into a film, the truth emerges in the most unexpected way—only after the premiere does he notice the telltale tiger claw marks on Mark’s arm.
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Norman Maurer — then in his early twenties and freshly married to Moe Howard's daughter Joan — secured the licensing rights directly from the trio and brought the project to Jubilee Publications, a St. John imprint, through his longtime friend and collaborator Joe Kubert, who had recently joined the company as an editor. Maurer wrote, penciled, and inked the Stooges stories himself, adapting them from actual Columbia short films, while Kubert contributed additional interior art. The book appeared under the Jubilee Publications Inc. indicia (St. John's humor imprint), ran only two issues in 1949, and depicted Curly as the third Stooge even though Curly had already suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946 and had not been an active member of the act for roughly three years — a creative choice that reflected the team's most recognizable screen image rather than their current real-world lineup.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First comic book appearance of The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard) in any comics format.
- Published by Jubilee Publications Inc., the humor imprint of St. John Publishing, with the first issue dated February 1949 (per ThreeStooges.net comicography).
- Written, penciled, and inked entirely by Norman Maurer, who was Moe Howard's son-in-law, having married Joan Howard in June 1947; Joe Kubert contributed additional interior art.
- The cover is a distinctive 'infinity' design by Maurer, noted across multiple reference sources.
- Interior stories adapt actual Three Stooges Columbia Pictures short films, including 'Uncivil Warriors' (14 pages) and 'Hoi Polloi' (5 pages).
- Curly Howard is depicted as the third Stooge throughout, despite having left the act in 1946 after a stroke — the comics drew on the team's most famous film-era lineup rather than their 1949 reality.
- The series ran only two issues (1949) before ending; Maurer and Kubert would later reunite for a new St. John Stooges series in 1953, this time featuring Shemp Howard.
- Stories from this St. John/Jubilee era were reprinted decades later by Eclipse Comics in its Three-D Three Stooges series (3 issues, 1986–1987), confirming the lasting archival importance of the 1949 originals.
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Reprinted in Three-D Three Stooges #3 (1987)
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