The Three Stooges
Breygent Marketing    Inc
3580 Poirier Boulevard
Saint Laurent,
Quebec Canada H4R 2J5

With only 3000 numbered boxes and a couple of million Stooge fans, don't sit on your hands waiting around on these cards. You will probably be wondering how you let them slip through your hands.
As the world is well aware, the Three Stooges are a usually male entertainment icon. For some reason, not a lot of women understand their humor. I don't know what it is, but women don't seem to like watching two men hit each other with wrenches and still be friends.
According to my wife, they are obnoxious and she does not like practical jokes anyway. Well, unless she plays them on me that is.
For me, they were wonderful to watch as a kid and I still get a kick out of them when I get a chance to see them on TV. Now, Breygent Marketing has brought out a new card set collecting images from their history, including their professional work and some of their private moments as well.
Looking at the cards brought back a lot of great memories. I remember watching the Stooges on Channel 3 every afternoon when I was a kid. Yes, children back before reality TV, Doctor Phil, Ophra and unrelenting talk shows we used to get to watch cartoons or even repeats of classic shows on television.
So here I was, watching this stuff and I never, Ever tried to hit someone with a wrench to hear a 'bonk' sound. I never poked someone in the eyes to hear 'boink'. And when I watched Road Runner I never thought you could really push someone off a cliff and they would stand in the air, or take a 10,000-foot drop and show up later ready for more punishment.
That was what the 'grown up's' thought we would all do. Sure, now kids watch violent video games, go out and shoot up a school and some whack job attorney says, "Well, we all watched the Three Stooges or violent cartoons," which I have never understood.
So, what is the real reason we grew up with a respect for others and kids today think it is all right to do whatever they want, to whomever they want?
Hmmp. Sorry, I was editorializing again. Back to the cards. These are beautiful and have lots of history on them. Starting with card one, we get a look at a very early Stooge short with Ted Healy.
Also shown are many of the very attractive leading ladies the Stooges always worked with them. Plus one or two men who did a number of films and shorts with them. Notice how I keep coming back to women? Think that means something? Oh well.
About the cards themselves:
Each box contains one sketch art card, costume or prop card. And there are also randomly inserted "Cut Signature Cards" of Moe Howard, but with only 9 numbered cards these will be harder then hen's teeth to find. The Curly Joe might be easier to find, with 28 cards but it will still be a search.
The base set has 72 colorized cards and the chase sets are:

* 12 card chase set - " Shemp, the Original 3rd Stooge" (1 per box)
* 9 card chase set - "The Curly Years" (1 per box)
* 4 card chase set - "Stooge Milestones" (1 every 4 boxes)
* A Film Card Case Topper (2 different)
* A 2-case incentive Sketch Art Card
* A 6-case incentive Prop Card featuring Curly Joe's desk name plate
* 6 different Curly Joe Costume Cards to collect
* Moe Howard gold chain Prop Card (very rare)
* Larry Fine residual check Prop Card (very rare)
* Curly Joe stationary Prop Card (very rare)
* Sketch Art Cards ® from these exciting artists:
o Chris Henderson
o Cynthia Cummens
o Darren Auck
o Warren Martineck
The chase sets are amazing, with the chain, signatures and sketch cards and will be a sought after item on both Ebay and trading sites. And yes, I will be there trying to fill mine as well. I got a die-cut card, one of Curly Joes costume cards and one Shemp card. Man, do I have my work cut out for me.
If I had any problems with the card set, it was the fact that all of them have been colorized, and while there is a certain quality to a colorized film or image, there are some things that really don't need 'fixing'.
Coca-cola, the pre-Crisis DC universe, the Silver Age Superman, Casablanca and the Three Stooges are some of them. I would have preferred in many cases to see the original black and white images, un-restored. Yes, these are beautiful and yes, they are very prone to pull great memories out of your head.
But seeing them colorized sort of takes some of the emotion away. You almost expect to see actual bruises or injuries where in b/w you never had to worry about that.
Does that take away from the quality or beauty of the set or the cards? Not at all, it is just an opinion on my part.
I will love going back through there cards now and then. One thing that is fun is watching TV and when an episode of the Stooges comes on, try to match the card with the scene. Ok, so I live a boring life and seek excitement where I can get it.
At least I ain't pushing people off a cliff to see if they bounce back up to me.