Fish Police (comics)

A black and white comic series created by Steven Moncuse in The Eighties. The story centers on Inspector Gill solving crimes. The big one involves a drug called Hairballs, an organization called S.Q.U.I.D. and someone's niece being held captive. After that, things get kinda complicated.

Originally issued independently, Fish Police was picked up by Comico in 1987, then acquired by Apple Press. Marvel Comics also reprinted it in color.

The comic was loosely adapted into a cartoon for CBS in 1992, with John Ritter voicing Inspector Gill. It lasted six episodes.

Tropes present:
"Gill: Ever since I arrived in this dreamland of the incredibly obvious, I've seen nothing but clichés! Of course Goldie's your niece, it couldn't be any other way!"
 * The Alcoholic: Inspector Gill is constantly drinking. This is even mentioned in one letters section, where a reader points out that Gill went a whole issue without drinking. Moncuse counters that by saying that the violence and sex in that issue make up for it.
 * All Just a Dream: Subverted in issue 5, where Gill wakes up, believing he just dreamed that he was a fish — only to find that yes, he really is one. He didn't dream up a single thing that happened so far in the plot; he was just drunk when a lot of it happened. Cue the "What Did I Do Last Night?" from Gill.
 * Anti-Hero: Inspector Gill. He drinks, swears, gets into fights, lusts after women, you name it.
 * Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: "I've got no friends, no family and probably no job. Angelfish and Goldie are *gulp* probably dead, and I can't find my rubber snail."
 * Art Evolution: Moncuse's art gets more "shiny" in appearance over time. He started making subtle changes to make the line art more compatible with color while at Comico, but kept the "shiny" style of inking when it reverted to black-and-white under Apple.
 * Atlantis Is Boring: If they even are truly underwater, that is.
 * Author Avatar: According to Moncuse himself, Inspector Gill is pretty much him as a fish.
 * Cool Sword: At S.Q.U.I.D., Gill acquires one which he dubs Suds-Guzzler.
 * Face Heel Turn:.
 * Four-Fingered Hands: Lampshaded in the special issue.
 * Fun with Acronyms: S.Q.U.I.D.
 * Genre Savvy:


 * Guest Strip: The Comico run had "Fish Shticks", little one-offs set in Riverfront Joe's Bar, written by Moncuse and drawn by guest artists.
 * Lampshade Hanging: Water Is Air and the characters being fish are both lampshaded frequently.
 * Lighter and Softer: Fish Shticks, which (as mentioned above) started off as a special section of the Comico issues. They were eventually spun off into a six-issue series upon moving to Apple Comics.
 * No Cartoon Fish: Averted.
 * Non-Mammal Mammaries: Angel and nearly every other female.
 * Non-Mammalian Hair: The Chief's Badass Mustache.
 * Pantsless Males, Fully-Dressed Females: Played straight. The females are often wearing swimsuits.
 * Prequel: A special issue, also the first for Comico, gives a backstory on Gill and S.Q.U.I.D.
 * Something Completely Different: Issue 5 briefly breaks away to give instructions for a Drinking Game between Gill and one of S.Q.U.I.D.'s prawns.
 * Tailfin Walking: Subverted. They are always in a standing position with their tailfins at the bottom, but tend to float moreso than swim.
 * Take That: In the letters section to issue #10, Moncuse tells a story of an art teacher who tried to convince him that there was no future in doing comics. The entire last page is Inspector Gill yelling "EAT ME!"
 * Water Is Air: Zig-zagged to hell and back, with plenty of lampshading.