Nintendo Comics System: Game Boy

Although the Game Boy had not been around very long in 1990, it had already become one of Nintendo's most popular systems of all time. With exciting games that one could play on the go, it is little wonder that it would earn its own comic book line as part of the Nintendo Comics System. Here, however, it would become far more than a mere toy. Instead, it became something that could unleash the forces of good or evil onto the real world. In this, the final article that I shall write about the Nintendo Comics System, I will tell you more about the Game Boy comics, and how they were, in some ways, different from all of the other titles that I wrote about earlier.

One of the main characters of the series was Herman Smirch, a man who initially sought pleasure by playing Super Mario Land on his Game Boy. Most of the time, however, he was a rather bitter man, refusing to help beggars, thinking little about his boss (he worked at an electronics store where in fact he stole his Game Boy), and not even caring very much about children. Little did he suspect that his rather selfish and somewhat evil ways would get him, and the entire world, in trouble. One day, while playing his Game Boy, Herman would unleash an evil army unlike any the world had ever seen.

The army in question consisted of numerous creatures taken straight from Super Mario Land. Their leader was Tatanga, a space alien who had successfully conquered the fantasy world of Sarasaland and wished to take over other lands. When he discovered the existence of Earth (which he initially thought was merely a series of smaller worlds that he could conquer individually), he decided to use the Game Boy as a portal with which to transport himself and his minions to the real world. Herman was selected to unwittingly bring Tatanga to Earth because of all the hatred within him. Among his minions were Pionpi, his second-in-command who would not hesitate to carry out his master's wishes.

Tatanga also wanted to please his prisoner, Princess Daisy, whom he kept on the ship that he always traveled in. He wanted Daisy as his queen, but all she wanted was to be free. Her pleas for Tatanga to release her and to give up his evil ways were always ignored, however, as the alien wanted to please her in his own ways. For example, in one story, Tatanga wanted to take Daisy on a vacation in hopes that it would finally make her happy, and he found out that Walt Disney World (I kid you not...they actually used that name in the comic) was an ideal vacation spot. Whenever Tatanga did find an area to conquer, he would send his minions to destroy everything in sight, causing panic among the humans.

Fortunately, there was someone else in Sarasaland who could come to the real world and stop Tatanga, and that someone was none other than Mario. The plumber could use his many skills to foil the alien's scheme and force him to retreat back to Sarasaland until the next time he would brainwash Herman into releasing him. However, Mario needed help just to get to the real world. Someone would have to play Super Mario Land until they got to the end of a level, where they would find three doors instead of two. By going through the extra door, Mario would arrive to save the day and aid those who released him by putting a stop to Tatanga's wicked plans.

The ones who discovered that Mario could come to Earth were Rick and Josh, two brothers whose day at the mall was disrupted by the arrival of Tatanga. With Mario's help, the brothers managed to track down the alien, who was eating at the Windows of the World restaurant in the World Trade Center. After a long battle, Tatanga retreated back to Sarasaland, and Rick and Josh decided to spread the world to other children in case the evil creatures appeared in another part of the world. Later, a young girl named Tannis Rhodes would release Mario while being held on a space shuttle hijacked by Tatanga, and the alien's plans were stopped once more following a crash landing and Daisy supposedly being injured in the process (she was faking her injuries to save Mario). Despite his failings, Tatanga would keep trying to take complete control of the world.

There are a number of differences between the Game Boy comics and the other titles of the Nintendo Comics System series. First, it is set in the real world as opposed to a fantasy land (though the Punch Out comics likewise took place on Earth). As mentioned above, actual locations were used and were often a major part of the stories' plot. Second, the stories had some more continuity involved, with Herman trying to free himself from being Tatanga's slave and the children having heard that both Tatanga and Mario could come to the real world. With the stories in the other titles, one could read individual tales without having to worry about missing much. Third, the Game Boy tales took an entire issue, with stories split into two 11-page chapters in every issue, instead of having two 10-page self-contained stories. Lastly, in lieu of 1-2 page gag stories, many issues ended with an International Enquisitor article filled mostly with fictitious headlines, but which also briefly explained the main story found in those issues.

To me, the Game Boy comics are unique for the above reasons, and they are actually pretty decent. It is a shame that no other games besides Super Mario Land were featured in the comics, but having game characters in the real world opens up a world of possibilities, more of which could have come along had the series not been canceled after a mere four issues. Valiant did a good job handling the game characters in the real world idea, which is more than can be said for the mishandled Sonic Live comic special from 1996. The idea of having Tatanga invade the World Trade Center can be seen as unsettling nowadays considering what would happen to it a mere eleven years later. As a whole, however, the comics are among Valiant's better Nintendo comics, and they, like the others, were reprinted in other comics and the Best of the Nintendo Comics System hardcover book for a time until the series folded for good.

The Game Boy comics are gone, but hardly forgotten, thanks to scans found on the Internet and back issues available on e-bay. Thus, people can check them out to experience, or relive, the exciting adventures of Mario in the real world. With this, my explanation of the series found in the Nintendo Comics System is finished. It had a nice run while it lasted, and its stories were interesting, whether they were good, bad, or mediocre. People can still check out the comics and see how other people outside of Nintendo envisioned the adventures of Mario, Link, and other beloved characters. These comics are unlikely to ever have a come back, but we can still relive them and remember the fascinating, if all too brief, history behind them.