Skateman
{{Infobox comics character
|image=
|caption=
|character_name= Skateman
|publisher= Pacific Comics
|debut= Skateman #1 (November 1983)
|creators= Neal Adams
|real_name= Billy Moon
|affiliations=
|aliases=
|powers= Excellent physical abilities
Experienced in hand-to-hand combat
}}
Skateman was a comic book produced by Neal Adams, and published by Pacific Comics in November 1983. It is primarily known as an industry curiosity, a widely derided comic produced by one of comics' most highly regarded and influential creators.{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Jon |title=The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half Baked Heroes from Comic Book History |date=2015 |publisher=Quirk Books |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=978-1-59474-763-2 |pages=236–237}}
Publication history
One issue of Skateman was published, cover-dated November 1983. Its 19-page lead story was written and drawn by Neal Adams. Accompanying it were two five-page backup features: "Korlack of Futureworld" by writer and penciler Jack Arata, and inker Andy Kubert; and "Rock Warrior" by writer-artist Paul S. Power.[http://www.comics.org/issue/37980/ Skateman] at the Grand Comics Database.
Fictional character biography
Billy Moon is a martial arts enthusiast and Vietnam veteran who has found a career in roller derby. In the wake of the murder of his best friend by biker gangs, Moon sinks into depression, only to meet a young Hispanic boy named Paco. Paco's comic-book collection inspires Moon to wrap a scarf around his face and fight crime with his roller skates.
Critical reception
Skateman is primarily known for its artistic failings, despite being the product of the highly regarded and influential comics creator Neal Adams. Historian Don Markstein called its protagonist "one (of) the least-acclaimed heroes of all time".[http://www.toonopedia.com/skateman.htm Skateman] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia; published 2009, retrieved June 2, 2014. [https://archive.today/20240527081051/https://www.webcitation.org/6YJSZXkjB?url=http://toonopedia.com/skateman.htm Archived] from the original on May 6, 2015. The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide rhetorically asked, "What was Neal Adams thinking?";[https://books.google.com/books?id=AMEbAQAAIAAJ&q=skateman+%22neal+adams%22 the Slings & Arrows Comics Guide]; edited by Frank Plowright; published by Top Shelf Productions, 2003 (via Google Books) and in January 1991, Kitchen Sink Press's World's Worst Comics Awards listed Skateman #1 as the worst comic of the previous 25 years.[http://www.comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=122204 World's Worst Comics Awards (1990) - no. 2], at comicbookdb.com; retrieved June 2, 2014 Similarly, Tom Orzechowski has stated that Skateman is "known in the industry as the World's Worst Comic Book".[https://books.google.com/books?id=pWNQAAAAMAAJ&q=skateman Fallout: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and the Political Science of the Atomic Bomb], (page 237) by Jim Ottaviani (via Google Books); published 2001 by GT Labs
Other criticism came from sources such as cartoonist Francesco Marciuliano, who stated that Skateman could have only fought crime when he wasn't "being hauled in by police for emergency psychiatric evaluations";[http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/articles/6-superheroes-should-never-have-become-superheroes 6 Superheroes That Should Never Have Become Superheroes], by Francesco Marciuliano, at Smosh.com; published April 16, 2013; retrieved June 2, 2014 Heavy.com, which listed Skateman as among the "20 Worst Superheroes";{{cite web|url=http://heavy.com/comedy/2010/04/the-20-worst-superheroes/|title=The 20 Worst Superheroes|author=K. Thor Jensen|website=heavy.com|date=April 13, 2010|access-date=June 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715040556/http://heavy.com/comedy/2010/04/the-20-worst-superheroes/|archive-date=15 July 2017}} SFX, which listed Skateman's roller skates as among the "most ludicrous" weapons in comic books;[http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/04/25/blog-comics%E2%80%99-most-ludicrous-weapons/#null BLOG Comics’ Most Ludicrous Weapons], by Matt Risley, at SFX; published April 25, 2011; retrieved June 2, 2014 the Huffington Post, which stated that a film adaptation of Skateman "should never get made";[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/15/wonder-twins-movie-ashton-kutcher-mila-kunis_n_4283770.html 5 Superhero Movies That Should Never Get Made], by Ryan Kristobak, at the Huffington Post; published November 15, 2013; retrieved June 2, 2014 and ComicsAlliance, which called Adams' effort "legendarily terrible".[http://comicsalliance.com/batman-odyssey-neal-adams-insane/ Deconstructing the Complete and Utter Insanity of ‘Batman: Odyssey’] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606231833/http://comicsalliance.com/batman-odyssey-neal-adams-insane/ |date=2014-06-06}}, by Laura Hudson; at ComicsAlliance; published March 8, 2011; retrieved June 2, 2014
The San Diego Reader said that Skateman made Dazzler "seem like Proust by comparison", and partially attributes the fall of Pacific Comics to "(s)everal palletloads of unsold Skateman comics".[http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/sep/14/the-history-of-comic-books-in-san-diego-the-80s/# The History Of Comic Books In San Diego: The '80s], by Jay Allen Sanford; at the San Diego Reader; published September 14, 2008; retrieved June 2, 2014
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120723100317/http://gone-and-forgotten.blogspot.com/2007/10/classic-gone-and-forgotten-skateman.html Gone and Forgotten], a sardonic summary of the issue's contents
Category:Pacific Comics titles
Category:Comics characters introduced in 1983