This is Laugh comics #16 from the second Laugh series that ran between 1987-1991. It looks to be a bit of a sendup on the movie 9-5 but that was released in 1980 and the publication date of Laugh #16 is 1989. I suppose that movie could have been lingering in the pop culture zeitgeist almost a decade later. Then again, Archie comics aren’t really known for originality and they frequently re-use story lines. Everyone looks like a super 80’s yuppy in this flying jet powered skateboard story titled “Working Lass” and inexplicably does not take place in the future. Let’s read on and discover the answer to the age old question: What if Pop’s Pizza and Jet Skateboards were involved in a corporate merger?

Pep #331 (November 1977) features a one page story with Archie skateboarding titled “Tide Ride,” as well as a Youth Opportunity Sales Club ad in which you can earn a skateboard by selling 16 boxes of greeting cards.

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!

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.

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.

Got a hot tip from BPA about vintage Kool-aid packets with the Kool-aid man on skateboard, and well, I couldn’t leave well enough alone.

This is mockup of PEP# 326, with notes by the colorist. You know how comic books are drawn by one guy, inked by another, and colored by another? PEP #326 was published in June of 1977, which explains the combination of two massive 70’s fads, the skateboard and the CB Radio. I still hate Archie, if you’re wondering, but I’m also trying to feature him once a week. This colorist’s proof starts at $90 on eBay. There are no other skateboard stories or illustrations in this issue. – Thanks to David Maes for the tip.

Ha ha, suckas! Yes, it’s two days in a row of my arch nemesis Archie! Apparently, Free Comic Book Day works, because after I picked up the free Archie Digest (ugh) I found myself rummaging through a couple crates of old Archie-related titles and actually purchasing a decrepit piece of skateboarding in popular culture for $3, though you know my stance on just how “popular” Archie could possibly be. At the counter I told the young-ish male clerk not to judge me for buying Archie, and he replied he couldn’t possibly judge me because there was a surprising amount of Archie in his life.

Last Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, which is always a good excuse to go to a comic book store, even if you aren’t a regular reader. Last year there was an issue that had some skateboarding in it, but it looked like this year was going to be a bust. Archie comics have a had a lot of skateboarding in them (in small doses) over the years, so I figured an Archie Digest might have something.