Car 54, Where Are You? (Gwandanaland Comics #648- The Complete 7-Issue Series)

I know that when I say that I'm a big fan of something it probably sounds trite because I like a lot of things. But when I say that I am a big fan of Car 54, Where Are You?, I'm not lying. 

In the very early 90s, Nick At Nite used to air the series in rerun. I used to stay up late on weekends and during the Summer with my mom watching marathons; laughing my butt off! The show which only ran for 2 seasons, from 1961-1963, starred Joe E. Ross (It's About Time) and Fred Gwynne (TV's Herman Munster) as Big Apple beat officers Toody and Muldoon. Toody is kind of a schlub, having never earned a medal or commendation in his surprisingly long career. Muldoon is a mama's boy, living with his two sisters while eternally swearing off the prospect of marriage.

My favorite episode of the series is titled 'White Elephant.' A gang of criminals have rented an abandoned greasy spoon in hopes of breaking through into the bank vault that sits on the opposite side of the wall. Toody feels bad that 'such nice people' are stuck with such a crummy eatery. So he gets his fellow police cronies to help fix up the place. As hard as they try to fail, the gangsters give up their life of crime and end up becoming successful caterers. 

As the episode ends, an elderly couple has rented the dump next door to the caterers. It's their plan to rip through their wall and break into the safe of the caterers next door. But with the arrival of Toody and Muldoon, those plans are squashed. It appears the elderly crooks are going into the stamp collecting business!

'White Elephant' is the measuring stick to which I judged the 7 issues of the Dell Comics adaptation of Car 54. I even went as far to re-watch that classic episode just to make sure it held up. And what do you know? I laughed so freaking hard. It was great! Even more so when I learned that legendary boxer Jake LaMotta, the real life inspiration for Scorsese' Raging Bull was playing one of the gangster!

The writing of the stories were top notch! One issue has Toody and Muldoon at odds with each other to the point of requesting a transfer! Another has the boys assigned to truancy beat. While on patrol, they keep running into a young lad who in reality is a baby-faced crime lord. Toody's chance to earn a police medal and the issue where the cops of the 53rd Precinct get starry-eyed and ruin a movie shoot were such perfect stories, I wouldn't be surprised if either story were actual plots written by the series writers of my favorite episode. 

Not every issue was perfect. The story where everybody confuses a chimp in a police uniform for Toody was down right goofy. I don't even think the yarn where a cowboy and his pack of Indian colleagues accidentally rob a furniture as way to repay Toody, would be allowed on airwaves today. I could see Netflix or Hulu having to pull this one after complaints of Native American stereotypes or something of the sort.

My biggest complaint has got to be the artwork. The images of Toody and Muldoon are great renderings of Ross and Gwynne. But those are the only two characters who look like their real life counterparts. Al Lewis, who would go on to immortality as Grandpa Munster, played Officer Leo Schnauser. In real life, Lewis had a sharp nose, round face and widow's peak. Yet in these comics, Schnauser looks more like a portly Don Knotts!

Going back to the illustrations of Toody and Muldoon. They get repetitive. I think that the artists were tasked to draw about 25 images of the actor's faces in different poses. Then those sketches were superimposed over and over and over in every issue. I first thought 'Wow! Whomever drew these did an amazing job making great renderings.' But I quickly realized that these was the same drawings as the positioning of the character's heads didn't quite match with the bodies.

If I had only read 1 or 2 issues, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But having read them all in just a couple of days, I noticed. I felt a little gypped. I also understand that publishers like Dell had to fight ways to cut costs in order to compete with DC and up-and-coming Marvel. 

Nits aside, I loved all 7 issues. It was fun getting to see old friends. It's even inspired me to watch all of the episodes of Car 54 again. Feel good reads for sure- if you can find them!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #49 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'That Makes You Smile.'

Car 54 Where Are You? #6

Almost exactly one year ago I wrote up a top 10 list. It was of the 10 comic book series based on TV shows that I wished to own at least 1 book of. It took about 3 months from crafting that wish list that I finally found a copy of this comic I am reviewing today.

I'm in my early 40s. But I can say with certainty that Car 54, Where Are You? is one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. It used to come on Nick at Night back in the 80s or way early 90s and I thought it was such a hoot. It starred New Yorker Joe E. Morris as Officer Gunther Toody and Fred Gwynne (The Munsters) as his partner Muldoon. 

Together, they patrolled the mean streets of New York taking down bad guys, helping old ladies cross the street and more often than not getting the two confused. 

One of my all-time favorite episodes is when the old couple move into a building under the guise of opening a legit business. But in reality, they are thieves who hope to access the vault of the jewelry store on the other side of the wall to their property. But thanks to the help of Toody, Muldoon and the rest of their precinct, the crooks end up going straight thanks to all the business that they're getting. The great end gag was that on the other side of the jewelers, another pair of crooks have 'opened shop' and you know that the process will start all over again.

In this issue, Toody and Muldoon are assigned to fill in for the local truant officer. Meanwhile, a baby-faced bank robber has arrived in New York looking for his next score. But the patrolmen of car 54 mistake the baddie as a kid and they end up chasing the lad back to school!

This book read so very much like an episode of that classic early 60s show. I laughed so many times. And the artwork was very, very good. Quite impressive for the time period when the work was done so fast (and without much research) that you often couldn't tell the difference between Lassie and Timmy. 

The ad on the back cover for a Car 54 board game and a pair of hand puppets was so cool. It was worth a couple of the extra dollars I spent on this book. 

I would have liked more Car 54. No. I am not being ungrateful for owning the one issue. There was a back-up story in this comic but it had nothing to do with the TV show. Instead, it's about this moppet name Marisa and all the mischief she gets her dad into after a recent snowfall. 

Car 54 had an amazing cast of characters. Al Lewis, who would go play Grandpa on The Munsters along with Fred Gwynne. Charlotte Rae who would become Mrs. Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. Plus Nipsy Russell, Ossie Davis and Paul Reed. I had rather that 6 pages of Marisa be changed to a short about one or more of the impressive ensemble.

Man, this was a great read. Brought back a ton of memories. But above all, it provided some laughter and joy during a time in world history where there's very little job to be found.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.