Nintendo Comics System: General Overview

Comic book titles come and go...that is how it has always been. It occurs regardless of whether they feature characters not seen anywhere else or well-known characters from other comic book titles, television, movies, or video games. A lot of video game-based comic books have folded over the years, with only Sonic the Hedgehog enjoying a healthy run, with over 200 issues and many spin off titles published from 1992 to the present. Before that, however, there was a series of comic books featuring beloved characters from various Nintendo games. They were released under the Nintendo Comics System banner by Valiant, but they did not enjoy a long run like Sonic has. I am planning to write a series of articles about this short-lived comic series, with one article for every comic book title. First, however, let us take a look at the series as a whole.

By 1990, Nintendo games were very popular, with such series as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda enchanting players everywhere. It was in that year that the celebrated video game company struck a deal with Valiant in which the latter would publish a series of comic books based on some of Nintendo's most well-known series at the time. The result was a selection of titles that were released between 1990 and 1991. Many of them would be based on just one franchise, but on occasion, there were books that featured stories based on several series.

For the single franchise books, there was a few titles based off of the Super Mario Bros. series, which at the time was hot off the success of Super Mario Bros. 3. Elements of the game and, sometimes, the animated Mario cartoons would be used, and some features would later be carried over to the Nintendo Adventure Books series, which were rather like a choose your own adventure-style series in that Mario's fate would be determined by the actions of the reader. The Legend of Zelda also had its own series, and combined features of the first two Zelda games with those from the animated series to create a dramatic series featuring the continuing struggle to rid Hyrule of Ganon and his army of monsters.

While not a game franchise, the animated cartoon Captain N: The Game Master was also given its own title. Several characters from the cartoons would become comic book superstars for a short time, but a few (namely those from series not owned by Nintendo) were nowhere to be seen. All three of these series would also find their way into special issues based on multiple franchises along with comics based on Metroid and Punch Out. Those two series were never given their own comic books, and thus they were exclusive to the special comics, known as Nintendo Comics System.

The popularity of the Game Boy hand held system inspired a comic book series in which it was used as a means for Tatanga, the space alien from Super Mario Land, to cross over into the real world. Unlike the other series, which had many of there stories being self-contained, the Game Boy Comics had two part, double length series that would start and end in the same issue. Most of the other titles typically had several stories: namely, 2 tales that were each ten pages in length, with some 1-2 page stories (typically gag stories or origin tales) added to the mix. By contrast, the Game Boy comics were 22 pages long; 11 pages for each chapter.

Initially, the comics would be released on a monthly basis, but most of them never got past a fourth or fifth issue. The Nintendo Comics System special comics only saw two issues released. A second run of the comics came along later on, but many of its stories were reprinted from earlier comics. A number of the stories were also reprinted in a pair of hardcover books. The Best of the Super Mario Bros. would publish many stories starring Mario and friends, as the Mario comics had more stories printed than any of the other series. The Best of the Nintendo Comics System, on the other hand, reprinted tales from the remaining franchises. As for the comics themselves, they were canceled for good by late 1991, only to live on in dollar stores for a time and then forever after in e-bay sales and various web sites.

I have read many of the comics in the Nintendo Comics System series, and I will analyze each title individually in future articles. However, it is safe to say that these comics appear to be strictly for children, with little appeal for older fans save for nostalgia in spots. Some stories can be enjoyable, but others can be either bland or written poorly. Even the animated cartoons, for all their flaws, were more entertaining. This should not stop people from looking up the comics, if only to see Valiant's variations of some beloved franchises. It would have also been interesting to see how the comics may have changed had they not have been canceled. With the Super NES having just been released by the time the series folded, elements from such new games as Super Mario World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past could have been featured. Other Nintendo series such as Donkey Kong, Pokemon, and Kirby might have gotten their own stories, as well. Alas, we shall never know what else Valiant would have included in the comics.

The brief, but fascinating, history, of the Nintendo Comics System is something that Nintendo fans should experience. Thanks to e-bay and reprints found all over the Internet, they can do exactly that and see how well (or how badly) some of their favorite Nintendo series have been adapted. If you are wondering what each series was like, wait until I resume this series of articles, in which I will explain each of them in more depth. In the meantime, see if you can track down the comics, and see the adventures of Mario, Zelda, and other characters that will never show up in any of their games.