http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=94.6.41.216wiki143 - User contributions [en]2026-10-25T23:00:32ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.43.1http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Skyroads_(comics)&diff=2336349Skyroads (comics)2025-06-19T08:56:22Z<p>94.6.41.216: And also correcting spelling {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195}</p>
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<div>{{Short description|American comic strip (1929–1942)}}<br />
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}<br />
{{italic title}}<br />
{{Infobox comic strip<br />
|title = Skyroads<br />
|image = [[File: Skyroadsbook.jpg]]<br />
|caption = ''Skyroads'' Better Little Book<br />
|author = [[Lester J. Maitland]] (1929–1930)<br />[[Dick Calkins]] (1930-1935)<ref name=Holtz/><br />
|illustrator = [[Dick Calkins]] (1929–1930)<br />[[Zack Mosley]] (1930-1932)<br>Russell Keaton (1932–1939)<br />"Leon Gordon" (Leonard Dworkins) (1939–1942)<ref name=Holtz/><br />
|url =<br />
|status = Concluded Daily strip<br />
|first = May 20, 1929<br />
|last = 1942<br />
|syndicate = [[John F. Dille Co.]]<br />
|publisher = [[Whitman Publishing Company]]<br />
|genre = aviation<br />
| altnames = ''Clipper Williams on Courage Island'' (1937–1938)<br />
}}<br />
'''''Skyroads''''', a serialized [[aviation]]-based [[comic strip]], was published from May 20, 1929, to 1942.<ref name=Holtz>{{cite book |last1=Holtz |first1=Allan |title=American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide |date=2012 |publisher=The University of Michigan Press |location=Ann Arbor |isbn=9780472117567 |pages=354–355}}</ref><br />
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After [[Charles Lindbergh]]'s crossing of the [[Atlantic Ocean]], aviation became the focus of several comic strips. ''[[Tailspin Tommy]]'' (debuting in 1928) was the first, but it was soon followed by others, including ''Skyroads''.<ref name=sky>[http://www.toonopedia.com/skyroads.htm ''Skyroads''] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]] [https://archive.today/20240528043550/https://www.webcitation.org/6qyhEJzhc?url=http://toonopedia.com/skyroads.htm Archived] from the original on June 4, 2017.</ref><ref name=scans>[http://rolandanderson.se/comics/skyroads/skyroads.php 18 months of ''Sky Roads'' strips]</ref><br />
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''Skyroads'' was created by aviation pioneer [[Lester J. Maitland]] and [[Dick Calkins|Lt. Dick Calkins]], an ex-[[United States Army Air Service|Army Air Service]] pilot who was already drawing the ''[[Buck Rogers]]'' comic strip. Like ''Buck Rogers'', it was syndicated by the [[John F. Dille Co.]] (later known as the [[National Newspaper Syndicate]]). Maitland and Calkins continued to collaborate on ''Skyroads'' until 1933, when Calkins' assistant, Russell Keaton, took over the writing and artwork. Keaton remained until 1939, when it was taken over by Leonard Dworkins (using the pseudonym "Leon Gordon").<ref name=sky/><br />
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==Characters and story==<br />
[[File:Skyroads, August 1929.jpg|left|thumb|''The Evening News'', Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Wed, Aug 28, 1929 Page 23]]<br />
Unlike other serialized comic strips, ''Skyroads'' did not have a single focal character over the course of its printing run. Instead, it focused on aviation as a whole, telling different stories with a different set of characters every few years. Three distinctive periods appeared over the publication history of ''Skyroads'', each with its own defined set of characters. The first featured were Ace Ames and Buster Evans who owned and operated the Skyroads Unlimited transport company. This duo was followed by Hurricane Hawk and then Speed McCloud.<ref name=sky/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holtz |first=Allan |author-link=Allan Holtz |date=2007-02-28 |title=The Great Skyroads/Speed Spaulding Mystery |url=https://comicstriphistory.com/2007/02/great-skyroadsspeed-spaulding-mystery.html |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Stripper’s Guide to Newspaper Comics History |language=en-US}}</ref><br />
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Clipper Williams, a member of the Flying Legion, soared into air adventures with his kid sidekick, Tommy. Eventually, the Flying Legion became the focus instead of Clipper Williams, a plot situation that remained until the series concluded in 1942.<ref name=sky/><br />
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==Radio and books==<br />
[[Image:Skypin.jpg|left|thumb|Pin promoting both comic strip and newspaper.]]<br />
On February 13, 1939, the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]] began a radio adaptation of ''Skyroads'' that ran four months and came to a conclusion on May 19. Two [[Big Little Book series|Better Little Books]] were published (1936, 1939) with the ''Skyroads'' characters. A brief return occurred in the 1960s with reprints in a saddle-stitched magazine format by publisher Edwin Aprill. However, only one volume was published by April.<ref name=sky/><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:1930s American radio programs]]<br />
[[Category:American comic strips]]<br />
[[Category:1929 comics debuts]]<br />
[[Category:1942 comics endings]]<br />
[[Category:Aviation comics]]<br />
[[Category:Adventure comics]]<br />
[[Category:Aviation radio series]]<br />
[[Category:American radio dramas]]<br />
[[Category:1939 radio programme debuts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics adapted into radio series]]<br />
[[Category:Radio programs based on comic strips]]<br />
[[Category:Mutual Broadcasting System programs]]<br />
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