''Skateman'' was a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

produced by

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

, and published by

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...

in November 1983. It is primarily known as an industry curiosity, a widely derided comic produced by one of comics' most highly regarded and influential creators.

Publication history

One issue of ''Skateman'' was published,

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d November 1983. Its 19-page lead story was written and drawn by

. Accompanying it were two five-page backup features: "Korlack of Futureworld" by writer and penciler Jack Arata, and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a penc ...

Andy Kubert; and "Rock Warrior" by writer-artist Paul S. Power.''Skateman''
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

Fictional character biography

Billy Moon is a martial arts enthusiast and

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and o ...

who has found a career in

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (j ...

. In the wake of the murder of his best friend by biker gangs, Moon sinks into depression, only to meet a young

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

boy named Paco. Paco's comic-book collection inspires Moon to wrap a scarf around his face and fight crime with his roller skates.

Critical reception

''Skateman'' is primarily known for its artistic failings, despite being the product of the highly regarded and influential comics creator

. Historian Don Markstein called its protagonist "one (of) the least-acclaimed heroes of all time".Skateman
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia; published 2009, retrieved June 2, 2014
Archived
from the original on May 6, 2015. The ''Slings & Arrows Comic Guide'' rhetorically asked, "What was Neal Adams thinking?"; and in January 1991,

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hard ...

's ''World's Worst Comics Awards'' listed ''Skateman'' #1 as the worst comic of the previous 25 years. Similarly, Tom Orzechowski has stated that ''Skateman'' is "known in the industry as the World's Worst Comic Book". Other criticism came from sources such as cartoonist Francesco Marciuliano, who stated that Skateman could have only fought crime when he wasn't "being hauled in by police for emergency psychiatric evaluations"; Heavy.com, which listed Skateman as among the "20 Worst Superheroes"; ''

SFX SFX may refer to: Entertainment * Special effects (usually visual), illusions used in film, television, and entertainment * Sound effects, sounds that are artificially created or enhanced * SFX (magazine), ''SFX'' (magazine), a British magazine c ...

'', which listed Skateman's

roller skates Roller skates, are shoes or bindings that fit onto shoes that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad sk ...

as among the "most ludicrous" weapons in comic books; the Huffington Post, which stated that a film adaptation of ''Skateman'' "should never get made"; and Comics Alliance, which called Adams' effort "legendarily terrible". The ''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With ...

'' said that ''Skateman'' made '' Dazzler'' "seem like

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous En ...

by comparison", and partially attributes the fall of Pacific Comics to "(s)everal palletloads of unsold ''Skateman'' comics".The History Of Comic Books In San Diego: The '80s
by Jay Allen Sanford; at the ''

''; published September 14, 2008; retrieved June 2, 2014

References

{{reflist

External links

Gone and Forgotten
a sardonic summary of the issue's contents Pacific Comics titles Comics by Neal Adams Comics characters introduced in 1983 1983 comics debuts Fictional Vietnam War veterans Superhero comics