Tiny Wheels Of Justice!

What a strange, strange world we live in where such a comic book actually exists. I have no earthly idea what prompted Neal Adams to create the notorious Skateman but he did and then he used his sway with Pacific Comics to get them to publish it. I'm sure they were eager enough to put more Adams on the stands with their brand on it, but really.

Actually the story of Skateman is pretty straightforward if overwrought. He's has enough motivations for a good half dozen vigilantes but Adams keeps adding in the angst. Our hero is named Billy Moon and he's a nice enough fellow, motivated by a need to serve, he took martial arts lessons young and went to Vietnam. Saddened by what he saw he returned home and sought some release but found work difficult to keep until he became a roller derby wonder. But the suspicious death of his best friend Jack caused him to move away with his lovely girlfriend Angel who worked with migrant workers. But those migrant workers are being exploited by a motorcycle gang and Angel gets killed by them and all this might have something to do with Jack's death too, but that's left open.

He has been hanging out and helping a youngster named Paco who likes comics and inspired by those Billy becomes a roller-skate hero named...ta da..."Skateman". Skateman then takes off after the cycle gang and other villains and gains a small rep. But he gets his butt kicked as our story opens and we see him recuperating and remembering all of his origin while a new girl named Jill tends to his injuries. Then she gets kidnapped and he's off again to save her which of course he does as the story abruptly ends.

A lot of stuff is jammed into a short space and there's no small dose of action, so why don't folks like this book better. Well the premise is pretty lame, a guy uses roller skates to gain an edge on drug pushers and has a costume which would look lame at Halloween. "Skateman" is arguably the stupidest name in the annals of comics, though it's brutal directness is admirable in a strange way.

To my knowledge there's never been more Skateman adventures and after reading this story again after all these decades, I'm good with that. Looking at some prime Neal Adams art though is always nifty.

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