Nintendo Comics System
Encyclopedia
The Nintendo Comics System was a series of comic book
s published by Valiant Comics
in 1990 and 1991. It was part of a licensing deal with Nintendo
, featuring characters from their video games and the cartoon
s based on them.
's Nintendo Comics System series of comic books was published between 1990 and 1991. The comics are based upon Nintendo video game and television intellectual property
from Super Mario Bros.
, Game Boy
, The Legend of Zelda
, Captain N: The Game Master
, Metroid
, and Punch-Out!!
.
Valiant's Super Mario Bros. comic books were based on the three main Mario games on the Nintendo Entertainment System
, as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. It featured the five main characters from the games and cartoon - Mario
, Luigi
, Princess Toadstool
(as the name Peach was not known in America at the time), Toad, and Bowser. Wart (the main villain from Super Mario Bros. 2
), the Koopalings
, and the Viruses from Dr. Mario
also made appearances infrequently. New characters were also made for these comics. One of these was Stanley the Talking Fish, an annoying fish who often pestered Mario about his dating problems. Also among the new characters in the comic was King Toadstool, the Princess' brainless father who did stupid things frequently. Then there was his advisor, Wooster, who knew the king's disposition. One particular character created for the comics was Dirk Drain-Head, a comic book superhero
favored by Mario and all of Bowser's minions, and disliked by most other characters. Mario's line was renewed for 1991, when he had two different books - Super Mario Bros. and Adventures of the Super Mario Bros.
The stand-alone Game Boy comic books, despite having that title, were based on just Super Mario Land, since it was the only Game Boy adventure game around at the time. It ended at four issues. The stories featured an exclusive character named Herman Smirch, who was a quasi-hero of the storyline. He was an ill-willed character whom Tatanga—the villain of source game—could easily hypnotize into doing his bidding, due to the bitterness in the man's cynical soul. In each episode Smirch would release Tatanga and his minions into the real world and a child would then release a tiny Mario to battle them.
The Legend of Zelda was based on the two Zelda games released on the NES, as well as the animated segments featured on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
Captain N: The Game Master
was based on the animated series of the same name, but with some major differences. All third-party characters were dropped due to Valiant not applying for licenses from Capcom
and Konami
as the animated series had done, but the characters made for the show (Kevin Keene, Princess Lana, Duke, and King Charles), as well as Pit
, remained. Simon Belmont and Mega Man
were appropriately replaced by Samus Aran
, the Metroid heroine who had not appeared in the cartoon, and Mother Brain's second-in-command became Uranos, the demigod from Kid Icarus
. For unexplained reasons, Pit's toga was bleached yellow, and in most of the stories, Lana's dress was purple. However, she has a weapon - the scepter she had in concept art, but never featured on the show. However, some of the game-relation inconsistencies on the show (i.e., Metroid being a place, King Hippo
being blue, Mother Brain's appearance) remained in the comics.
Metroid and Punch-Out!! appeared as stories in the graphic novel-like issues, and never had their own books. Samus
was portrayed as self-serving and interested in Captain N.
Long stories
Long stories
Short stories
Long stories
Long stories
Long stories
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s published by Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
in 1990 and 1991. It was part of a licensing deal with Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, featuring characters from their video games and the cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s based on them.
The comics
Valiant ComicsValiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
's Nintendo Comics System series of comic books was published between 1990 and 1991. The comics are based upon Nintendo video game and television intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
from Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
, Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
, The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
, Captain N: The Game Master
Captain N: The Game Master
Captain N: The Game Master was an American animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show incorporated elements from many of the most popular Nintendo games of the time...
, Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
, and Punch-Out!!
Punch-Out!!
is a 1983–1984 boxing arcade game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of successful Punch-Out!! games that produced an arcade sequel known as Super Punch-Out!!, a spin-off of the series titled Arm Wrestling, a highly popular version for the NES originally known as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!,...
.
Valiant's Super Mario Bros. comic books were based on the three main Mario games on the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. It featured the five main characters from the games and cartoon - Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
, Princess Toadstool
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
(as the name Peach was not known in America at the time), Toad, and Bowser. Wart (the main villain from Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
), the Koopalings
Koopalings
The , also called the Koopa Kids, are a group of seven fictional characters in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. Their names are Ludwig von Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. and Larry Koopa. They first appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, and...
, and the Viruses from Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario (video game)
is an action puzzle game designed by Gunpei Yokoi and produced by Takahiro Harada. It was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy consoles and released in 1990 and 1991....
also made appearances infrequently. New characters were also made for these comics. One of these was Stanley the Talking Fish, an annoying fish who often pestered Mario about his dating problems. Also among the new characters in the comic was King Toadstool, the Princess' brainless father who did stupid things frequently. Then there was his advisor, Wooster, who knew the king's disposition. One particular character created for the comics was Dirk Drain-Head, a comic book superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
favored by Mario and all of Bowser's minions, and disliked by most other characters. Mario's line was renewed for 1991, when he had two different books - Super Mario Bros. and Adventures of the Super Mario Bros.
The stand-alone Game Boy comic books, despite having that title, were based on just Super Mario Land, since it was the only Game Boy adventure game around at the time. It ended at four issues. The stories featured an exclusive character named Herman Smirch, who was a quasi-hero of the storyline. He was an ill-willed character whom Tatanga—the villain of source game—could easily hypnotize into doing his bidding, due to the bitterness in the man's cynical soul. In each episode Smirch would release Tatanga and his minions into the real world and a child would then release a tiny Mario to battle them.
The Legend of Zelda was based on the two Zelda games released on the NES, as well as the animated segments featured on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.
Captain N: The Game Master
Captain N: The Game Master
Captain N: The Game Master was an American animated television series that aired on television from 1989 to 1991 as part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup on NBC. The show incorporated elements from many of the most popular Nintendo games of the time...
was based on the animated series of the same name, but with some major differences. All third-party characters were dropped due to Valiant not applying for licenses from Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
and Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
as the animated series had done, but the characters made for the show (Kevin Keene, Princess Lana, Duke, and King Charles), as well as Pit
Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus, known as in Japan, is an action platform video game for the Famicom Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. The first entry in Nintendo's Kid Icarus series, it was published in Japan in December 1986, and in Europe and North America in...
, remained. Simon Belmont and Mega Man
Mega Man (character)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a cybernetic video game character, and the main protagonist of what has been referred to as the original Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for the character was created by the designer of the original game in the series, credited under...
were appropriately replaced by Samus Aran
Samus Aran
is the protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles...
, the Metroid heroine who had not appeared in the cartoon, and Mother Brain's second-in-command became Uranos, the demigod from Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus, known as in Japan, is an action platform video game for the Famicom Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. The first entry in Nintendo's Kid Icarus series, it was published in Japan in December 1986, and in Europe and North America in...
. For unexplained reasons, Pit's toga was bleached yellow, and in most of the stories, Lana's dress was purple. However, she has a weapon - the scepter she had in concept art, but never featured on the show. However, some of the game-relation inconsistencies on the show (i.e., Metroid being a place, King Hippo
King Hippo
is a fictional boxer from Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series. King Hippo first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, as the second competitor in the Major Circuit. Hippo also garnered huge fame on the NBC Saturday morning cartoon Captain N: The Game Master, which...
being blue, Mother Brain's appearance) remained in the comics.
Metroid and Punch-Out!! appeared as stories in the graphic novel-like issues, and never had their own books. Samus
Samus
Samus Aran is the protagonist of Nintendo's Metroid video game series.Samus may also refer to:*Samus, female variant of the Celtic first name Séamus*Samus, the Latin name of the Someş River...
was portrayed as self-serving and interested in Captain N.
Story lists
Note: Short stories are 1 or 2 pages. Long stories are 4 pages or longer.Captain N: The Game Master
Short stories- Welcome to VideoLand
- Every Dog Has His Day
- Villains' Do's And Don'ts
- The Item
- The Fabulous Powers of Captain N
- Video-Town
- Secrets of the Warp Zones
- VideoLand Guidebook: Prisonworld
Long stories
- All's Well That Ends Swell
- The Fruit and Vegetable War
- Money Changes Everything
- The Happy Zone
- Just a Dog
- The Master Machine
- Nervous Meltdown
- A Dog's Life
- The Real Game Master
- Breakout
- A King of Shreds and Patches
- When Friends Fall Out
Game Boy
Short stories- International Enquisitor (A)
- International Enquisitor (B)
- International Enquisitor (C)
Long stories
- In the Palm of Your Hand...
- It's A Small World After All
- Team Play
- Pipes is Pipes
The Legend of Zelda
Two 5-Issue Volumes, published in 1990 and 1991. Some stories are printed in both volumes.Short stories
- [Prologue]
- Map of Hyrule
- Map of North Castle
- Zelda's Consumer Tips
- Secrets of the Triforce
- The Perfect Date
- Impa's Info
- The Adventurer Link
- The Complete Hero
- The Legendary Zelda
Long stories
- Missing in Action (No.1, 1991)
- He Also Serves (No.2, 1990 and No.1, 1991)
- Trust Me (No.2, 1991)
- To the First Power (No.4, 1990 and No.2, 1991)
- The Power / The Price (No.3, 1991)
- Thief in the Night (No.2, 1990 and No.4, 1991)
- Queen of Hearts (No.4, 1991)
- It's Good to be King (No.4, 1990)
- The Day of the Triforce (No.5, 1990 and No.5, 1991)
- Coming Home (No.5, 1990 and No.5, 1991)
- Assault / Choices ("Special Issue" No.7, 1991)
Metroid
Short stories- The Coming of a Hero
- Metroid
- Return of Samus (only the third of six.)
Long stories
- Deciet Du Jour
Super Mario Bros.
Short stories- The Legend
- Koopa's Health & Beauty Tips
- Dear Princess Toadstool (A)
- Public Service Announcement
- The Mario Bros. Guide To Grooming Your Moustache
- Dear Princess Toadstool (B)
- Koopa's Believe It Or Else!
- Dear Princess Toadstool (C)
- Mario Bros. Museum Of Plumbing (A)
- Koopa's High School Yearbook
- Fryguy High Yearbook - Activity Page!
- Mario Bros. Museum Of Plumbing (B)
- Family Album: The Early Years
- Advertisement: Koopa Kola
- In The Swim! Fun And Sun Fashions
- Advertisement: Klub Koopa
- Advertisement: Koopatone
- Family Album: Summer Camp
- Throne Out
- Weight Up
- Kitchen Kraziness
- Toad's House
Long stories
- The Fish That Should've Gotten Away
- Mutiny on the Fungi
- A Mouser in the Houser
- Just Deserts
- The Adventures of Dirk Drain-Head
- You Again?
- Piranha Round-Sue
- Cloud Nine
- Magic Carpet Madness
- The Kingdom Enquirer
- Bedtime For Drain-Head
- Love Flounders
- Betrayal Most Proper
- Beauty and the Beach
- Fins and Roses
- Duh Stoopid Bomb!
- Cloud Burst
- The Buddy System
- It's Always Fair Weather
- Elect Mario For Man of the Year
- The Revenge of Pipe Ooze!
- Minor Defects
- The Doctor Is In... Over His Head
- Bowser Knows Best!
- Tanooki Suits Me