Machine Man first appeared in the 1977 series 2001, a Space Odyssey before getting his own short-lived series in 1978 that lasted for 19 issues until it was canceled. It would be resurrected for volume 2 in the 80’s and Volume 3 in the 90’s. He’s the last surviving android unit of a military experiment, and predictably, the military is out to terminate him. He’s able to produce Inspector Gadget type augmentations to his physical body, but you know, in a serious manner. In this first issue he bugs out in a traffic jam and produces a skateboard in two halves from his feet that lock together, allowing him to escape.

So far this is only the second appearance of Woody Woodpecker on Skate and Annoy, but it’s a big one. It started how these things usually start, an innocent glance at an auction item or an old forgotten file saved on a hard drive. Instead of just a puzzle, this time we’ve got PVC figures, plastic fast food toys, alarm clocks, animation cells, skateboards, and a comic book.

Laugh Comics Volume 2, #6 was published in 1988. There’s no skateeboaridn on the cover, unless you count the teaser: “The mighty Archie Art Players star in the suspense thriller ‘Skateboard Scandal’.” And what is that scandal? Someone is sabotaging all the skateboards in Britain in a James Bond parody starring Archie as James Bland and Betty as Miss Henny Penny. Veronica is the Bond-girl (Bland Girl) Lord Cedric’s daughter Pamela. There’s also an ad for Archie posters (he’s on a skateboard in one of them) and an Olympic Sales Club ad where you can earn a Variflex skateboard.

I bought this comic when it originally came out in 1987, but I have no recollection of where I found it. I wasn’t frequenting comic book shops at the time, so it’s a bit of a mystery to me. Skate Slate #1 has a glossy color cover and 32 pages of black and white illustrations inside. There are 3 main stories and a couple random pages that include character profiles, and ad for a Slate Skate t-shirt, and a call to submit your artwork. It was part of (well the entirety of) the Hot Shot Comix imprint out of Lexington, KY. It appears to be the only title or issue ever produced.

Jughead volume 2, number 37 was published in September of 1992. It features two stories with skateboarding in them, Love Connection, and the Things We Do For Love. There’s also a Sales Leadership Club advert in which you can earn a Nash Beach Bum skateboard.

You’re looking at Sharky, Volume 1 #4 published by Image Comics isn 1998. You’d think with a skateboard featured prominently on this glorious cover that one would show up again on the inside pages. Alas, this is not the case. This is puzzling, but the whole comic book is puzzling. It’ shard to read, hard to follow, and feature a zombified (and evil) Captain America and Vampirella. Apparently Vampirella was on loan from another imprint. I’m not sure a how they got around Marvel with the Captain America zombie.

Archie 361 looks a little 90’s but it’s actually dated October 1988. There’s a wind-skating cover and a brief bit of skateboarding in one of the stories. On the inside cover there’s an advert with an illustration of a kid holding a skateboard and wearing an M&Ms shirt you can order. There’s also a “Mini Frog” prize you can earn in an Olympic Sales Club ad. Boss shot of Barney dressed up as a new-wave punker while trying to steal Fred Flintstone’s Pebbles cereal.

Wendy the Good Little Witch #96 was published in 1990 and features skateboarding on the cover, including a “broomboard.” Unfortunately, there are no storylines inside that feature skateboarding.

The cover of Archie #270 (published in April of 1978) features Archie predicting the invention of the Snow Skate, a product that would first be announced in 1979! I’ve seen ads for the 70’s version snow skates before, and I keep looking for them on my hard drive and online like it’s Groundhog Day. I wasted a good 30 minutes just now doing the same until, hold on, what’s this under a pile of crap on my desk? Oh yes, the February 1978 issue of Skateboarder Magazine, complete with an ad for the Snow Skate. That’s the one in the middle. The black and white version comes from Cal Streets. This post is going to cover some of the snow skates over the ages with the exception of the ones that are just a regular board, and those that have one ski mounted to the bottom.

With that title you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a 90’s comic book, but Grrl Scouts Work Sucks v1 #1 was published in 2003 by Image Comics. Grrl Scouts is the creation of Jim Mahfood, and there have been a few volumes with different subtitles such as Girl Scouts: Stone Ghost, Grrl Scouts: Magic Socks, and even a volume 2 of Work Sucks. Near as I can tell the last one was published 2017. The web site listed in the colophon is defunct but now there is jimmahfood.com. I haven’t seen any of the other issues and this one is the only one that showed up with a skateboard key word search. The interior is all black and white, and there is some incidental skateboarding on the inside. During the part that concerns us, the girls are drug dealers and they consider hanging out at the skatepark to get some new customers. It’s never the skateboarders causing trouble, it’s always the hangers-on, usually the girls… amiright? Black and white comics can often be a hard sell, but the artwork in Grrl Scouts is so good that you lose yourself in the illustrations. Love the layouts. One thing that I…