This is issue #48 of Reggie’s Wise Guy Jokes, published in January of 1979 by the Archie Comics Group. It’s got skateboarding on the cover as well as two single page stories that feature skateboarding, including what just might be the first ever guitar-as-skateboard!

Bugs Bunny #213 is from October, 1979. It was published by Western Publishing under the Gold Key and Whitman labels, the former in newsstands and the latter in poly bags for stores. A disapproving Elmer Fudd looks on as Bugs prepares to go into a double-truck carve grind in the pool he must have drained. That wascally rabbit… There are no other skateboard illustrations in this issue except for the one in an Olympic Sales Club ad that features a California Free Former plastic skateboard.

It’s 1965, a time when seeing your friend on a skateboard is still so exciting that it would make you run after him on the street. This is #43 of the Life With Archie series that started in 1958. November, 1965 was a big month for skateboarding in the Archie Comics Group. There was skateboarding on the cover of Jughead #136 and a cover with a story in Tippy Teen #1, a title drawn by the recently defected former Archie artist Samm Schwartz. Sam is credited with developing the Jughead character into a headliner instead of just a bit character.

Cheryl Blossom #26 was published in 1997 by the Archie Comics group. I figured this would be cheap enough to pick up being it’s relatively new-ish and this era of Archie… who still reads them? Turns out the going price for this is about $30 when they are available. Apparently this issue had shorter print run than the others, go figure. Fortunately the digital version is available for $2. This issue features a story called Skateboarding’ Blossom.

The Real Ghostbusters in this context refers to the UK based Marvel comic series that ran from 1988-1992 for 193 issues. Issue #53 dates to 1989 and features I was going to try and buy one cheaply but I managed to find the entire issue online at a sketchy website that threw up some security warnings so I won’t post the link here. There is no real additional skateboard art other than the cover because the story is a written one that appears in a feature called “Winston’s Journal,” which is kind of a bummer, but’s a cheap way to fill pages. Check out the cover, and the story, plus a bonus shot of a crab on a skateboard from an advertisement for Tom & Jerry comic book in the same issue. And for the heck of it, a bunch of Ghostbusters skateboards from the late 80’s to present day. – Thanks to David Maes for the tip

Longtime astute readers of S&A might remember seeing a previous version of Betty & Veronica in a Wheel Zeal story in a Betty & Veronica comic from 1976. Archie series reuses stories and story titles all over the place. Heck, they even reuse comic book titles. The series from the 1976 issue is called “Archie’s Girls – Betty & Veronica.” This story appeared in issue of just plain old “Betty & Veronica” #138 from 1999. It is indeed a separate series because the numbering sequence is different. I’m not an expert on the Archie series by any means, in fact I’ve always loathed it, even as a kid. Digging into these skateboarding appearances in the Archie series has made me way more informed than I’d like to be. However, just because I hate Archie doesn’t mean I didn’t buy this comic book! In my online archeological dig I also managed to find an expired auction for the “original art” for this story.

I was doing some speculative snooping around online looking for skateboards advertisements in comic books circa 1965 and found another skateboard story and cover instead. The first issue of Tippy Teen has a publication date of November, 1965. This looks like a second rate copy of Archie and the gang, (not that Archie is first rate…) because it’s drawn by the same Samm Schwartz that drew Archie until he left MLJ to join Tower and spearhead… Tippy Teen.

It’s a Pink Panther jumbo post! – Thanks to Cool Steve for 99% of this.

I don’t know if Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath is actually a skateboarder or not. These illustrations come from a collaboration with Dark Horse comics and the Thorns front office designed to sell some t-shirts, scarves, and patches. I suspect it was just an easy way for Dark Horse to conjure a loose (or lazy) association with the Silver Surfer in The illusions and energy manipulation of Tobin. I do know that Tobin has mad soccer skills, and plays for the best women’s team in the world. Both of them, actually. Women’s World Cup is coming this summer.

Two comic book, two different millennium. On the left we have Frank Thorne’s Ribit #1 from 1989. Frank is probably best known for Red Sonja, but what exactly is Ribit? “Ribit was created by a female sorcerer named Sahtee. Ribit was a lizard and a pet of Thong, who is Sahtee’s aide. Thong is a good-natured fat man who constantly wishes for a woman to love.” Well OK then. That (mute?) stinkbug grab can be excused since Ribit appears to be part frog. That board though… Check out that deck; No bushings, no nose, no tail, and nearly symmetrical. Good thing those trucks can’t pivot, or the wheelbase on those giant rails would be deadly. Fun! I didn’t shell out $15 to find out I there are other skateboarding panels inside. On the right is a Ghost Rider comic with a variant cover #1 that might have come out in 2018 even though it references the 80’s too. Marvel released a ton of variant covers, but I can’t find this one anywhere except in a blind link to reddit. From the looks of the other variant covers, they don’t appear to have anything to do with the actual stories inside.…