Nintendo Comics System: Game Boy Valiant No.1 - "In the Palm of Your Hand..."

Just when a comic book "fortold" what was the likelihood of the real-world happenings that suddenly came true from 1993 and then 2001.

Comics make the world go 'round. If you thought you have seen it all, we hope that this would change that: You're looking at an official comic release by Nintendo! Nintendo doesn't need an introduction as its name is ubiquitous among video gamers all over the world. On a lighter note, to suggest that Nintendo release or remake their classic comic books like this would be an understatement (they have been doing great in the realm of cinema). We're not sure if there's a possibility, but with this review, who knows?

The story starts with Herman Smirch, a middle-aged man, playing the Game Boy then heading to work where he was almost mugged on his way. He happens to work at an electronic store in a shopping mall, and after a bad start to his day, Herman thought keeping the last Game Boy in stock to himself would be a great bonus to have as he never received one at work.

Scene then changes to Rick and Josh, good buddies who are headed to the mall to shop for a copy of Super Mario Bros. 3. However, even though Herman kept a low profile, both boys assumed Herman's store didn't carry any and so they both tried heading to Toy City...only for Josh suggesting the food court to check out girls. As the duo went about their business, a loud sound was heard: It's Tatanga and his army of enemies popping out of the Game Boy coming to life! They immediately hold Herman hostage while asking him about where they were. Alongside Tatanga is Princess Daisy, and the crew are all about to take over the world, or in this case, Wonder World mall. The army then commenced by charging at various areas at the mall, starting at the food court where Rick and Josh are at. Rick recognizes the enemies taking over as the flood of enemies start attacking areas left and right. By "happenstance," Rick thinks a great way to challenge and fight these enemies is to summon Mario via his Game Boy. Mario then comes to life after Rick activates his Game Boy; Mario immediately asks the boys where Daisy is. This wraps up Part 1 of the comic.

It is this part where the comic includes various ads for upcoming comic issues and one for the famous Nintendo Power magazine. This is as retro as you can get, and makes reading them a lot of fun. Afterwards, the story continues with Part 2.

"Life is a game kid. It all depends on how you play!"
— Mario

Truer words have never been spoken.

Josh reminded Mario that it'll be quite a task to eliminate these enemies as Tatangas's army has gone to the outside world around New York City, attacking the subways to taking over a fancy restaurant. Yes, a fancy restaurant suggested by Herman because Tatanga was getting hungry at one point. Meanwhile, even Rick and Josh were getting attacked by the enemies until Josh threw punches knocking some enemies out in the process.

All was well, despite a scene of Tatanga reassuring to Daisy why he's doing this: To get her to marry him. Reluctant, Daisy plays "fallacious logic," if you will, exposing Tatanga's flaws while running his operations. The army continues to fight whilst having to counterattack Mario, until our favorite plumber got hit by Herman who happened to be set free. Why Herman did that, we don't know but it took a wild turn. However, it worked itself out as Mario was able to get an invisible star, thus wiping out enemies in his path. After an "amazing" luncheon, Tatanga couldn't wrap things up with Mario and wanted to settle the score by heading back into the Game Boy via the Warp Zone Vortex. Rick and Josh talked and ran through all the mayhem that happened, only to sum up their adventure to "spread the word" in the moment such occurrence happens again.

The story is fun and simple. However, the twist for us was World Trade Center being mentioned (twin towers). In Part 2, the comic mentioned of "black smoke" being spotted from the towers. Then, being that Tatanga's armies attacking the subways was also very telling. Given that this comic was released in the nineties, so much has happened and occurred in New York from 1993 then 2001. This isn't to say that this comic knew what was going to happen but it sure seemed coincidental looking back. Also, this is not to say that what ever may happen or have planned can be seen and be read in comic books, let alone movies and TV shows, but nowadays, it's becoming normal to have those doubts. Had many people become aware through this comic book, who knows how many lives would've been saved as a result? (Our hearts still go out to those affected by 9/11.)

We also like to add that at the end of the comic, the publisher sums up the story overall and its hidden meaning. We think that's a great treat for readers—to (re)iterate the story's meaning and the purpose of such happenings. Apparently, the publisher spoke about the appearances of the video game characters coming to life, from Tatanga and Mario. They briefly discussed, almost philosophically which we loved, that we, humans, are energy—how this place, here on Earth and in this Universe, is whatever we imagine. Quite a deep take from this very comic!

Besides those additional thoughts, there aren't too much criticisms we have about this issue. The drawings, the font and the story blended well together. Speaking of the drawings, as someone who's an old millennial, the artistic style sure brings back memories; It made me feel like a kid reading this comic. For the ads on this comic, they're something to behold seeing how they'd advertise and market upcoming issues and any events that took place(s) back then. Marketing has developed a lot since, but nevertheless, the ads in these comics are great to look at!

Since this is a retro comic, it doesn't come cheap so be ready to haggle in getting the best, reasonable price you're willing to pay. Other than that, this should appeal to both comic book collectors and/or video game fans who enjoy comics. Again, the story is fun, adventerous and busy, but there's plenty to look at and be entertained by.

Highly recommended! Thank you, Nintendo!

Kris Caballero

Founder of KCU Network and KCU Plus, Kris has been writing since he managed a personal blog made back in late 2005. Officially back to doing computer programming (software development) and video production, Kris enjoys reading books on Mathematics, Quantum Computing, Philosophy, playing old video/DOS games, digital video archiving, and listening to sports, public radio and classical music.

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