Three's Company comic book & obscure stuff - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

thejasoomian · 12-02-2023, 03:24 PM

I know there are/has been some obscure stuff out there regarding Three's Company. For instance there were several theater plays. The New York one got a lawsuit filed on them by DLT but DLT lost. It was a dark satire that DLT didn't approve of. After they lost the suit others followed , one called 3C and one called Three's Company Lives. Both were parodies and not very funny from what I hear. Also one in Chicago and one in Dallas that ran briefly. Did anybody here see any of them? I was just curious.

Also some other obscure stuff like some erotic Amazon kindle Three's Company stories like " A Night With Chrissy" by Greyson Lorde and "Janet's Menage Trois" (Larry and Jack) by Sandi Stone. And some Three's Company books that never get talked about like Donald Sander's book "The Star's of Three's Company". And a few others.

But what I want to know is has anybody ever seen these Three's Company Gold Key comics that writer Mark Evanier is talking about? And do they really exist? Mark is legit and a former employee of Gold Key. He also had a column in Comics Buyers Guide for years.

So do they really exist?

https://www.newsfromme.com/2004/04/0...unnies-part-3/

JumpSteady · 12-03-2023, 08:54 PM

Those comic books are cool if they do indeed exist. I have never seen one. I would guess they would have some value because they are rare.

Mace Dolex · 12-21-2023, 01:43 AM

Image search on Google doesn't bring up anything except for the MAD and Cracked magazine satires.

TJ · 12-21-2023, 01:03 PM

If those Gold Key comics really exist, they must be very rare. I don't see any copies on eBay. They might be mockups.

I couldn't find any other mention of them on our forums. There's a TV Comic Books thread which lists quite a few others. https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=234631

I have the Collector's Guide to TV Memorabilia 1960s & 1970s: Identification and Values book which was published in 1996. They released a second edition in 1998. They have two pages of Three's Company related memorabilia listed in each of them with photos and values (as of 1998).

Doll, Chrissy, Mego, 1978

Jigsaw Puzzle, Chrissy, APC, 1978

Jigsaw Puzzle, Cast with The Ropers, APC, 1978

Poster, Suzanne Somers as Chrissy, Dargis Associates, Inc., 1977

Poster, John Ritter as Jack, Dargis Associates, Inc., 1977

Posters, Dargis Associates Inc., 1977. The Ropers or Mr. Furley

Posters, Pro Arts, Inc. 1978-1980 - 20" x 28" Suzanne Somers 1978, 20" x 28" Ms. Suzanne, wearing all white, and 20" x 28" Joyce DeWitt

Poster Put-On, Suzanne Somers as Chrissy, Bi-Rite, 1977

Trading Cards, Topps, 1978. 44 stickers and 16 puzzle cards.

TV Guides - 05/20/78 Cast illustrated, 08/04/79 Joyce DeWitt, 03/14/81 Suzanne Somers, 03/13/82 Cast, 11/20/82 Cast illustrated, 09/24/83 Cast illustrated

Sheet Music, Theme, Jonico Music, Inc., 1979. Cast photo.

Iron-Ons, Factors Etc., Inc. 1978. Several different.

Beach Towel, Suzanne Somers, 1978

Mirror, Mechanical Mirror Works, Inc. 1977. 12" x 16", same photo as Jack poster by Dargis

biffbronson · 12-21-2023, 03:25 PM

Any proposed Three's Company comic book series went unpublished. Publishers however sometimes produced single-copy "ashcan" issues for a proposed series to secure a copyright. Typically there would be a front cover mockup, usually stapled to an existing comic (a published issue, unrelated in a case like this) to make a dummy of sorts.

These ashcans commonly ended up in the publisher's files. Sometime after Western (Gold Key) stopped publishing, their former File Copy comic books began entering the market. Those were primarily "office copies" of ordinary comics, but in a trove like that there could be foreign market editions, original artwork, bound volumes, and ashcan editions. An ashcan can be extremely pricey, only collectors with deep pockets can afford to get their hands on ones produced by the major publishers.

As there were Western Publ. comic books for ABC's Happy Days, it's not surprising that Three's Company was under consideration. Under the Gold Key and Whitman brands, Western continued publishing until distribution problems really took a toll in the early 1980s. TV used to be fertile ground for U.S. comic books, everything from Adam-12 (GK/Whitman) to Welcome Back, Kotter (DC)...!

thejasoomian · 12-24-2023, 12:48 AM

It's interesting that Mark said that there were two issues and a proposed 3rd issue in the works.

TJ - thank you for that list, that beach towel must be rare.

12-02-2023, 03:24 PM	#1
thejasoomian Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 15, 2019 Posts: 329	Three's Company comic book & obscure stuff I know there are/has been some obscure stuff out there regarding Three's Company. For instance there were several theater plays. The New York one got a lawsuit filed on them by DLT but DLT lost. It was a dark satire that DLT didn't approve of. After they lost the suit others followed , one called 3C and one called Three's Company Lives. Both were parodies and not very funny from what I hear. Also one in Chicago and one in Dallas that ran briefly. Did anybody here see any of them? I was just curious. Also some other obscure stuff like some erotic Amazon kindle Three's Company stories like " A Night With Chrissy" by Greyson Lorde and "Janet's Menage Trois" (Larry and Jack) by Sandi Stone. And some Three's Company books that never get talked about like Donald Sander's book "The Star's of Three's Company". And a few others. But what I want to know is has anybody ever seen these Three's Company Gold Key comics that writer Mark Evanier is talking about? And do they really exist? Mark is legit and a former employee of Gold Key. He also had a column in Comics Buyers Guide for years. So do they really exist? https://www.newsfromme.com/2004/04/0...unnies-part-3/
	Last edited by thejasoomian; 12-24-2023 at 12:33 AM. Reason: Spelling

12-03-2023, 08:54 PM	#2
JumpSteady Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 02, 2023 Location: Sevierville, TN Posts: 36	Those comic books are cool if they do indeed exist. I have never seen one. I would guess they would have some value because they are rare.

12-21-2023, 01:43 AM	#3
Mace Dolex Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 12, 2013 Posts: 2,670	Image search on Google doesn't bring up anything except for the MAD and Cracked magazine satires.

12-21-2023, 01:03 PM	#4
TJ Site Owner Administrator Forum Star Join Date: Feb 03, 2000 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 10,718	If those Gold Key comics really exist, they must be very rare. I don't see any copies on eBay. They might be mockups. I couldn't find any other mention of them on our forums. There's a TV Comic Books thread which lists quite a few others. https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=234631 I have the Collector's Guide to TV Memorabilia 1960s & 1970s: Identification and Values book which was published in 1996. They released a second edition in 1998. They have two pages of Three's Company related memorabilia listed in each of them with photos and values (as of 1998). Doll, Chrissy, Mego, 1978 Jigsaw Puzzle, Chrissy, APC, 1978 Jigsaw Puzzle, Cast with The Ropers, APC, 1978 Poster, Suzanne Somers as Chrissy, Dargis Associates, Inc., 1977 Poster, John Ritter as Jack, Dargis Associates, Inc., 1977 Posters, Dargis Associates Inc., 1977. The Ropers or Mr. Furley Posters, Pro Arts, Inc. 1978-1980 - 20" x 28" Suzanne Somers 1978, 20" x 28" Ms. Suzanne, wearing all white, and 20" x 28" Joyce DeWitt Poster Put-On, Suzanne Somers as Chrissy, Bi-Rite, 1977 Trading Cards, Topps, 1978. 44 stickers and 16 puzzle cards. TV Guides - 05/20/78 Cast illustrated, 08/04/79 Joyce DeWitt, 03/14/81 Suzanne Somers, 03/13/82 Cast, 11/20/82 Cast illustrated, 09/24/83 Cast illustrated Sheet Music, Theme, Jonico Music, Inc., 1979. Cast photo. Iron-Ons, Factors Etc., Inc. 1978. Several different. Beach Towel, Suzanne Somers, 1978 Mirror, Mechanical Mirror Works, Inc. 1977. 12" x 16", same photo as Jack poster by Dargis

12-21-2023, 03:25 PM	#5
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,525	Any proposed Three's Company comic book series went unpublished. Publishers however sometimes produced single-copy "ashcan" issues for a proposed series to secure a copyright. Typically there would be a front cover mockup, usually stapled to an existing comic (a published issue, unrelated in a case like this) to make a dummy of sorts. These ashcans commonly ended up in the publisher's files. Sometime after Western (Gold Key) stopped publishing, their former File Copy comic books began entering the market. Those were primarily "office copies" of ordinary comics, but in a trove like that there could be foreign market editions, original artwork, bound volumes, and ashcan editions. An ashcan can be extremely pricey, only collectors with deep pockets can afford to get their hands on ones produced by the major publishers. As there were Western Publ. comic books for ABC's Happy Days, it's not surprising that Three's Company was under consideration. Under the Gold Key and Whitman brands, Western continued publishing until distribution problems really took a toll in the early 1980s. TV used to be fertile ground for U.S. comic books, everything from Adam-12 (GK/Whitman) to Welcome Back, Kotter (DC)...!

12-24-2023, 12:48 AM	#6
thejasoomian Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 15, 2019 Posts: 329	It's interesting that Mark said that there were two issues and a proposed 3rd issue in the works. TJ - thank you for that list, that beach towel must be rare.