Fish Police

Last updated
Fish Police
Fishpolicecomic.jpg
Cover of Fish Police Fishwrap issue #2, illustrated by Steve Moncuse.
Publication information
Publisher Fishwrap Productions
Comico
Apple Press
Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
GenreCrime, comedy, funny animal
Publication dateJune 1985 - 1991
No. of issues26
Main character(s)Inspector Gill, Angel Jones
Creative team
Created bySteve Moncuse
Written bySteve Moncuse
Artist(s)Steve Moncuse
Inker(s) Sam Kieth
Colorist(s) Tom Vincent, Matt Webb (Comico only)
Editor(s)Paul Nagy

Fish Police is a comic book series by American cartoonist Steve Moncuse. The plot centers on law and crime in a fictional underwater metropolis with the protagonist, Inspector Gill, trying to solve various crimes, often Mafia-related, while avoiding being seduced by the buxom Angel Jones. The comic featured several marine species as its characters, while the plots and dialogue were reminiscent of film noir. [1]

Contents

Original Fish Police stories were published from 1985 to 1991. Sam Kieth ( The Maxx ) inked "a single panel and drew a 'Next Issue' pin-up". [2]

Story

The story centers Inspector Gill, a fish detective who, it is hinted at, had once been a human. [3] He is met by a female fish named Angel, who tells him that her uncle has developed a drug called Hairballs. The uncle, Calamari, meets Gill and tells him that he will trade Hairballs for his niece. [4]

Publication history

Fish Police started in 1985 as a self-published black-and-white title by Moncuse through his own Fishwrap Productions. After 11 issues, the title was picked up by Comico in 1987, which reprinted issues #1–4 in a trade titled Hairballs, followed by color reprints of the publication's remaining issues. [5] Comico also printed a special prequel issue, and continued the series with number #12.

After issue #17, Comico went bankrupt. Fish Police was then acquired by Apple Press, [6] The new series continued the numbering begun by Comico, but the comic reverted to black-and-white. Apple published the title until early 1991, when the run ended with number #26. [5] Apart from the main series, Apple Press printed an Issue 0 which featured an early draft of the stories seen in issues #1–5. In 1992–1993, Marvel Comics reprinted the first six issues in color. [5]

Apple published a six-issue spin-off, Fish Shticks, written by Moncuse and drawn by Steve Hauk, between 1992 and 1993. This series was more gag-based than the original. [5] In 2010, Moncuse began the work on a new Fish Police title, set 20 years after the end of the original. [1] IDW Publishing reprinted the first four Fishwrap issues in a trade in February 2011. [1] A new story written and drawn by Moncuse, titled "F.P.B.C.", appeared in Dark Horse Presents issue #22, March 2013. [7]

Issues

Critical reception

Slings and Arrows Comics Guide called the characters "pleasing" and the art a "clean, open style", but criticized the writing for being "like a glossy dramatisation of a blockbuster, specially designed not to be too upsetting or too taxing". The same publication called Fish Shticks "fresh, funny, and wonderfully human". [5] Harlan Ellison describes it as a series that "turns to gibberish when one attempts to codify it", praising Moncuse's writing style. [3] D. Aviva Rothschild, in Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics, called it "all idea and little execution", saying that "there are too many characters and too many threads of plot", although she praised Moncuse's art. [4]

Animated series

Hanna-Barbera Productions adapted Fish Police into an animated television series that was first broadcast on CBS in 1992, [8] lasting only six episodes over one season. The show was cancelled after only three episodes; the remaining three episodes have never been shown in the US. Fish Police had a decidedly more mature tone than most other animated Hanna-Barbera series, with episodes often filled with innuendo and cases of mild language. It also featured several stars' voices, including Ed Asner, John Ritter, Tim Curry, Hector Elizondo, Buddy Hackett, Megan Mullally, Robert Guillaume and JoBeth Williams.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Purcell</span> American cartoonist and video game designer

Steven Ross Purcell is an American cartoonist, animator, game designer and voice actor. He is the creator of the media franchise Sam & Max, for which Purcell received an Eisner Award in 2007. The series has grown to incorporate an animated television series and several video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Isabella</span> American comic book creator and critic (born 1951)

Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comico: The Comic Company</span> Defunct American comic book publisher

Comico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel. Once considered a major contender on the American market, Comico went into bankruptcy in 1990, although it continued to sporadically publish books until 1997. In 2009, two of Comico's original founders launched an original webcomics site called CO2 Comics, which they explained was the reincarnation of Comico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WaRP Graphics</span> American alternative comics publishing company

WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the Elfquest comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The company title is an acronym formed from the founding couple's name: Wendy and Richard Pini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Wildey</span>

Douglas Samuel Wildey was an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for originally conceptualizing and co-creating the classic 1964 American animated television series, Jonny Quest for Hanna-Barbera Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Rogers</span> American artist

William Marshall Rogers III, known professionally as Marshall Rogers, was an American comics artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Steacy</span> Canadian comics artist and writer (born 1955)

Ken Steacy is a Canadian comics artist and writer best known for his work on the NOW Comics comic book series of Astro Boy and of the Comico comic series of Jonny Quest, as well as his graphic novel collaborations with Harlan Ellison and Dean Motter. Steacy was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets 386 Comox Squadron.

<i>Robotech</i> (comics)

Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrow (character)</span> Comics character

The Arrow is a fictional superhero created during the Golden Age of Comic Books. He was the first superhero published by Centaur Publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John K. Snyder III</span>

John K. Snyder III is a writer and illustrator of comic books and graphic novels. His work has been published in the pages of the underground press, most notably The Duckberg Times, and by independent comic book publishers, including Grendel for Dark Horse Comics. At DC Comics, Snyder has worked on titles such as Suicide Squad, Doctor Mid-Nite, Green Lantern, and Mister E. Snyder's latest project is as adapter/artist of the graphic novel adaptation of Lawrence Block's detective noir novel, 8 Million Ways to Die.

"The Discarded" is a science fiction short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the April 1959 issue of Fantastic and was later included in the 1965 short story collection Paingod and Other Delusions and the third volume of the audiobook collection The Voice From The Edge.

<i>The Trouble with Girls</i> (comics) Comic book series written by Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones

The Trouble with Girls is an American comic book published serially from 1987–1993 by Malibu Comics/Eternity Comics, Comico, and Epic Comics. It was written by Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones, and drawn by Tim Hamilton and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Schutz</span> Canadian-born comic book editor

Diana Schutz is a Canadian-born comic book editor, serving as editor in chief of Comico during its peak years, followed by a 25-year tenure at Dark Horse Comics. Some of the best-known works she has edited are Frank Miller's Sin City and 300, Matt Wagner's Grendel, Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, and Paul Chadwick's Concrete. She was known to her letter-column readers as "Auntie Dydie". She was an adjunct instructor of comics history and criticism at Portland Community College.

Notable events of 1987 in comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Publications</span> Defunct American comic book publishing company

Millennium Publications was an American independent comic book publishing company active in the 1990s.

<i>Fish Police</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Fish Police is an American adult animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It is based on the comic book series of the same name created by Steve Moncuse. It first aired in 1992, broadcasting three episodes before being axed for low ratings. A further three episodes never aired in the United States, although the entire series ran in European syndication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Comics</span> Former American comic publisher

Apple Comics, also known as Apple Press, was an American comic book publisher which operated from 1986 to 1994. Founded by Michael Catron, they began by taking over the publishing elements of comic production from WaRP Graphics before expanding into their own titles while WaRP resumed publishing its own titles. Apple was known for publishing war comics, particularly its long-running title Vietnam Journal.

<i>Somerset Holmes</i> American comic book series

Somerset Holmes is a creator-owned American comic book series created by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. It was initially published as a six-issue limited series by Pacific Comics and then Eclipse Comics between 1983 and 1984.

<i>Star Trek</i> (IDW Publishing) Comic book series

Star Trek is a comic book series by IDW Publishing, based on the Star Trek science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. Since 2007, IDW Publishing has released three Star Trek ongoing series along with many limited series, crossover series and annuals.

This is a list of works by Harlan Ellison (1934–2018). It includes his literary output, screenplays and teleplays, voiceover work, and other fields of endeavor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Moncuse's "Fish Police" Are Back on Patrol". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  2. "Moncuse's "Fish Police" Are Back on Patrol". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ellison, Harlan (1997). Edgeworks: The Harlan Ellison hornbook. White Wolf Publications. p. 354.
  4. 1 2 Rothschild, D. Aviva. Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics. Libraries Unlimited. p. 109.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Frank Plowright, ed. (2003). The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide. Slings & Arrows, Ltd. p. 243.
  6. "Three Former Comico Titles Find New Homes", The Comics Journal 129 (May 1989), pp. 13-14: about Fish Police, Trollords and The Trouble with Girls; and The Maze Agency, which had not yet found a new publisher.
  7. "Dark Horse Comics Solicitations for March, 2013". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  8. Tucker, Ken (28 February 1992). "Fish Police review". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2012.