It's time for our monthly dose of Neal Adams. This is a weird one.
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 Skate Man, 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 Skate Man is pretty straightforward if overwrought. He 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...wait for it..."Skate Man". Skate Man 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. "Skate Man" is arguably the stupidest name in the annals of comics, though its brutal directness is admirable in a strange way.
To my knowledge there's never been more Skate Man 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.
Rip Off
Actually, the story of Skate Man is pretty straightforward if overwrought. He 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...wait for it..."Skate Man". Skate Man 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. "Skate Man" is arguably the stupidest name in the annals of comics, though its brutal directness is admirable in a strange way.
To my knowledge there's never been more Skate Man 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.
Rip Off
Really, what was Neal Adams thinking about in releasing this comic. My initial thoughts at the time was that the comic was tied into some marketing /toy/ game, sadly it was a serious attempt at a "hip" hero by one of comics true greats. Thank goodness there was never a 2nd issue.
ReplyDeleteI remember getting it. At the time Pacific was putting out stuff by Jack Kirby, Mike Grell, among others and it was clear that Adams wanted to make his own mark on the Indy newsstands. Like you, I've thought that Skateman must be tied into something else, but alas not that I've seen.
DeleteI'm going to start dropping Neal Adams' name into all my posts from now on, even if they're not about him. Seems it's the only way of getting a comment from McS. (How are you feeling these days, you old git?)
ReplyDeleteFeeling better thanks Kid, back at work this week. I'm not online that often at the moment concentrating on getting fit and sleepung lol but a wee Adams blog always attracts my attention .
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're on the mend and more than happy to give you a jolt of Neal Adams from time to time. More is on the way.
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