Captain Nice is one of those TV shows I remember from my childhood. Seeing it in rerun in the late 80s, Captain Nice was something that aired on Friday nights on WGN or Nick at Nite. I can't remember which. But I do recall that it was something I only would get to watch during the summers as it aired late at night like 10pm or later.
As a kid, I loved Captain Nice. I thought it was goofy fun even though my mother swore that it was a stupid show. (Though why she'd keep watching it if it was so insipid is a mystery to me.) The William Daniels (Kitt from Knight Rider) series aired on NBC for only 15 episodes in 1967. Obviously, the American public thought this attempt to collect on the Batman TV series craze was pretty moronic. But for a 10-year old Madman, it was pretty funny.
Probably 30 years or so passed before I even thought of this show again. With the occasional appearance of Daniels on some TV show, I honestly never gave Captain Nice another thought. But then about 6 months ago, I started seeing people around the country on Facebook posting pics of finding this rare comic and adding it to their collection. With this revelation that there was a Captain Nice comic book, I immediately became intrigued and added the title to my wish list.
Jump to early August. I got a tip on some really affordable Dark Shadows comics. That title was on my top 10 list of TV adaptations to add to my collection, so I went shopping. Needing to spend a few more dollars to achieve free shipping, I took a shot at seeing if I could add Captain Nice to my collection as well. The store had one in stock. The price was right. And in a few days, it was in my possession.
That first night, I gave Captain Nice a read. Immediately, I am struck by a couple of things thanks to the photo cover and a number of stills from the show inside. One, William Daniels looks a heck of a lot older than you would think a young man just out of college would appear. (In reality, Daniels was 40 when the show aired). Second, the actress who played Captain Nice's mother isn't old enough to be a mother. (With that, technically, I am right. Alice Ghostly (Bewitched) was only 4 years older than Daniels in real life.)
As for the comics themselves, what is there to say that wouldn't prove my mother right. There are 4 shorts which are roughly 8 pages apiece. All of them are pretty goofy with Captain Nice bumbling about for 6 pages and then saving the day, mostly by accident, at the end. One story has Nice attempting to stop a rampaging flood. Another has the hero accidentally helping the very arch-villain he's sworn to stop! The best story involves a love triangle with Captain Nice, his sometime girlfriend meter-main Sgt. Kandy Kane and a slinky cat burglar. I cannot for the life of me remember what transpired in the fourth story. But I do know that every story was formulaic.
In every story, Nice as his alter ego Carter Nash is berated by his mother for not trying hard enough to be a better crime fighter. Kandy Kane tries to get Nash to woe her. Then a crime wave occurs. Ma Carter gets even more snarky, prompting Carter to act. Then, Kandy gets romantically frustrated being cast aside by Nash, now acting as Captain Nice, as he tries to save the day. Then the hero goofs frequently. But at least once, he lucks out and saves the day and though things don't turn out ideal, it's good enough for the citizens of whatever town Captain Nice operates out of.
The best story, that love triangle, at least doesn't follow that formula completely. Mom is mostly absent from that yarn and Nice ends up in the dumps. Literally!
This was a fun trip back to the 1980s. Sure, this book was down right goofy. But it was an entertaining goof. I don't feel like I wasted money on a dud. This was a parody of superhero stories. Maybe not perfect. But from the mind of the legendary humorist, Buck Henry (Saturday Night Live), the whole project has a little gravitas to it.
I can't imagine many of these are still out there on the market. Like I said, it's rare. But rare doesn't always mean valuable and the few I've seen online aren't too expensive. So if you are looking to add a book to your Dell/Gold Key collections, this one shouldn't wipe out your bank account.
Now ain't that nice?
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
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