This is Richie Rich #163 published in February of 1978 by Harvey Publications. As a child, I never understood the appeal of Richie Rich. Why would anyone want to read about a kid who was absurdly rich unless he was also Batman? In 1978, Richie is on the forefront of the novelty skateboard trend with this dollar sign shaped deck. He’s got bling too – that looks like some sort of gem covered mounting hardware. “With a model like this, I’ll never be skate-bored!” Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk…

Gold Cup Skateboards comes to you from the mind of Lance Mountain. The boards are all made in U.S.A. and distributed by NHS. The product looks fully flushed out, right down to the “Power Slider” tail blocks. It’s not all retro nostalgia. Well maybe it is actually, but they do seem to be built with functionality in mind, as long as you are OK with a bizarro Streets of Fire ( Note “of” not “on” fire ) scenario where the technology of the future is wildly available in the past. It’s as if somebody forked a parallel universe on GitHub where certain niche technologies and fashions remained the same while the rest of the world advanced. Maybe they can get a young William Dafoe on the team. It’s a strange but interesting time in skateboarding. You can basically buy skateboard technology form any past generation right now. I can’t think of a similar scenario in any other sport. Imagine a football team where everyone decided to wear the old leather style helmets. I suppose you can still buy a basic wooden tennis racket. Maybe it’s just that skateboard styles and technology are more distinct through the ages.

Hey kids, the weekend’s almost here, so I want all you S&A readers to stay safe. We all know that wiping out is no fun, so you have to be prepared just in case. To that end, please watch this Aetna Insurance TV commercial on safety that dates back to 1978. A good helmet and a snazzy set of gloves and pads never goes out of style. Video courtesy of the miraculously-still-allowed-on-youtube Scott Starr. Remember, there’s a key to staying safe and having fun: Never ride in the street, and always whistle a catchy tune.

Catawiki has a collection of covers from the Jinty comic book that contain the Concrete Surfer stories. Jinty ran from the mid 70’s to early 80’s. It was written fro girls, and most of the issues had a Sci-fi or supernatural theme. Somehow, skateboarding fits in that theme too. Several Jintys with skateboard covers after the jump. – Thanks to David ODK for the tip.

The Cheeky Weekly was sort o the English equivalent of the Weekly Reader found here in the U.S., although maybe less education oriented. It merged with another publication in 1980. There’s a blog devoted to documenting those old issues, which is where these 1977 skateboard pull-out issue images were found. They go into quite a bit of detail about everything they post. That Cheeky sure is a handsome fella. – Thanks to Boy from Skate Malasia for the tip.

Skateboarding gangs were a recurring theme in 70’s comic books. I would cite the temporal proximity of the Warriors, but that wasn’t released until 1979. Teen Titans Volume 12, No. 49 was published in August 1977. The bad guys look like they escaped from the set of Devo’s Freedom of Choice, but that album didn’t come out until 1980. DC comic’s bad guys, AKA Rocket Rollers, clown on the Teen Titans and rob a disco. Far out man. Also of historical importance, comic book evience of the first ever wall (and ceiling) ride. I’m not sure why Wonder Girl didn’t let go of her lariat instead of slamming into the wall…

Straight out of 1977, Dynamite #36 with the cast of What’s Happening posing a skateboard shot for the cover. No other skateboarding to be found in this issue. I did name my cat after Rerun though. It ran away after 8 seasons at the Kilwag home. Those were sad days.

Captain America and the Falcon, Volume 1 #196 dates to 1976. In issue 195 the Captain somehow lost his shield and now must enter in the Kill-Derby in order to win it back. Marvel Comics has posted some digital versions of old comics online. They require a subscription fee to read beyond a few pages. I thought this issue was in there, but it isn’t. You can view the skateboard related excerpts here on S&A – he said, until Mickey mouse’s lawyers crushed him… I was going to the refrain from Captain Sensible’s Wot as the title, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already used that joke at least once. Instead, the title comes from one of the panels in the story.

Dynamite Magazine Volume 2, Number 9 has some a slight skateboard running through it. The cover story is on Kristy McNichols’s and Leif Garrett’s onscreen breakup in the TV show “Family.” It mentions Leif’s appearance in Skateboard: the Movie. There’s a groovy 3D pull out poster inside and a small cartoon with a skateboard in the “Bummers” section. Dynamite Magazine #58 was published in 1979.

Woodsy Owl was/is the mascot of the US Forest Service. He had his own comic book from 1973-1976. Here he is getting down with some 8 wheeled action in issue #4 from 1973. There are no other skateboard stores inn this issue. [Source: Retrogasm]