When Games Become Comics

rorita writes "1UP.com has posted an entertaining overview of comic books derived from video games, spanning from Valiant's Nintendo Comics System to current-day projects like Studio Udon's Street Fighter. It's not quite comprehensive, but it should still inspire a nostalgic tear for anyone who remembers those old Nintendo Power comics." I have very fond recollections of the adventures of Nester and Howard in particular.

One NOT to read

[Apreche]

There are plenty of good comics out there based on video games. But one that you should specifically avoid is the Mega Man comics from Dreamwave. They are the most terrible things ever.

However, you definitely should check out Dreamwave's Transformers comics. Most of them are high quality.

Re:One NOT to read

[hai.uchida]

Must I be the geek who points out that the Transformers were a line of toys long before they were a video game? Or even a cartoon, for that matter?

Re:One NOT to read

[British]

I remember seeing the comic book advertisements for the Transformers for a while before any TF toys hit shelves.

DYNAMITE!

[RotJ]

Let's not forget the Doom comic book [doomworld.com]. It's a good thing Doom guy is silent in the games and not treating us to his insanely lame brand of Duke Nukem style commentary.

Re:DYNAMITE!

[My name isn't Tim]

A quote from the DOOM comic;


"I'm cooking with gas! I've gotta handful of vertebrae and a headful of mad! Yeah, that's your spinal cord baby! Dig it! Who's the man? I'm the man! I'm a bad man! How bad? Real bad? I'm a 12.0 on the 10.0 scale of badness! Don't need a gun.... guns are for wusses!"


Wow, just Wow

Re:DYNAMITE!

[chromaphobic]

Okay, there's one positive point for the supposedly forthcoming Doom movie: It couldn't possibly be as bad as the comic.

Or could it? Various rumour mills were casting The Rock as the lead, so yeah... maybe it could be that bad. :)

Fond memories

[evslin]

I had a few of those comics back in the day. That Captain N comic where Samus turns out to be a chick is unforgettable.

I'm surprised the article didn't touch on some of the online offerings like 8-Bit Theater [nuklearpower.com].

Re:Fond memories

[Spleener12]

Well, 8-bit theater is a fan work, not an official one, so it probably wouldn't count.

Most recent entry...

[tm2b]

And don't forget the comic book based on the MMORPG based on comic books...

City of Heroes

It's too bad that it isn't very good. What works in the game, hunting mobs of bad guys for fairly simplistic plots, doesn't work very well in a comic book.

These are things I've disowned

[MilenCent]

Yeah, I'll admit it, though only grudgingly, I used to sorta enjoy the comics Nintendo Power published. I mean, they got actual manga artists to do them. They took a lot of liberties with the game stories, but then again, it's a different medium.

That doesn't stop me from sincerely wishing I never enjoyed them these days. Perhaps I've drunk one too many potions of Gain Level since then.

Wait a second, was that a Nethack reference?! My god, I'm still a geek.

Atari Comics

[servognome]

I remember Atari comics that came with selected games. Oooh I must buy Bezerk because it has the next episode!

These guys are obviously young'uns.

[hai.uchida]

They missed the original video game comic books--

"Atari Force", as well as the comics that came with the misguided and impossible to solve "Swordquest" series... [atariage.com]

Johnny Turbo

[Dwedit]

Let's hear it for comics that advertise a system! Great stuff here!
The Johnny Turbo Story! [fefea.org]

How far we've come!

[BollocksToThis]

It's amusing to see how tame gaming comics were only 15 years ago. That Nester comic almost makes me cringe at how restrained and non-offensive it is. But today, we have Fruit Fucker 2000! Now THAT'S progress.

Links?

[XellDx]

Does anyone have links to ye ol' Nintendo power comics?

I remember reading those things back in grade school and would love to wax nostalgic again.

Re:Links?

[WindFish]

The Super Metroid comics are available on the Metroid Database [classicgaming.com], and I Googled to find the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past series over at Zelda Central [zeldacentral.net].