Joan Howard Maurer, me, Joe Kubert... 2009 Three Stooges Fan Club MeetingDC Comics legend Joe Kubert died this morning, August 12, at age 85.
Joe and Norman Maurer were childhood friends, and entered the comic book industry together. In 1949, they teamed up to produce comic books for St. John Publishing (then using Jubilee as its comic book line's imprint). They would co-edit their line of comics, and Joe would provide some backup stories with his characters in Norm's books, while Norm would do likewise for Joe's books. Only 2 issues of The Three Stooges were published (with Curly as the 3rd stooge) before circumstances interrupted their partnership (Joe on east coast, Norm on west coast, Kubert went into the service, etc.)
In 1953, the two relaunched their partnership and for two years created a line of comics for St. John, including 7 issues of The Three Stooges featuring Shemp.
After 1955, Norm's efforts were directed more at managing the Stooges' projects, while Joe Kubert began a legendary career at DC Comics.
Kubert had done work for DC during the late 1940s, but he became one of its leading artists and editors from the late 1950s on. The Silver Age relaunch of Hawkman, DC's line of war comics (i.e., Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace), Tarzan, ocassional work on the superhero titles like some great covers for "Detective Comics," "Justice League of America" and "Superman," and much, much more.
In 1976, Joe and his wife Muriel founded the Joe Kubert School for art education in Dover NJ. It's become a leading institution in the country, not just for aspiring comic book artists, but for numerous popular art applications including advertising. Among the school's scholarship programs is the Norman Maurer Memorial Scholarship.
Joining his good friend Joan Howard Maurer, Joe Kubert attended several of our Fan Club events... a 1990s convention, and most recently the 2009 Fan Club Meeting.
The Three Stooges Journal # 90 (Summer 1990) includes my interview with Mr. Kubert, focusing on his friendship and work with Norman Maurer. At his
blog NewsFromME today, Mark Evanier pays tribute to his friend.
Cover & splash page from
The Three Stooges # 1 (Sept. 1953)
