Super Mario Adventures by Kentaro Takekuma (story/author) and Tamakichi Sakura (art/illustrator) is a graphic novel/anthology of comics that were originally published in Nintendo Power Magazine during the early ‘90s. Before VIZ Media LLC published this book during October 2016, these comics were out of print. Reading these comics will give you the hefty dose of Nintendo nostalgia you’ve been craving!
Coronavirus has the world on lockdown, which means it’s a great time to read comics! As you know, I love old school anime and the same goes for manga. Therefore, it’s no surprise that I’ve been using some of my time at home to read some old school classics. I’m specifically interested in reprints of books and comics that are no longer running or serialized. I eventually found Super Mario Adventures when I was looking for Nintendo manga and thought, “Jackpot!”
Nintendo Power Magazine published these comics between 1992 and 1993. Let me give you an idea of how old these comics are: According to Wikipedia, the first issue of Nintendo Power was published during July of 1988. Nintendo announced that they would not be renewing Nintendo Power’s licensing agreement with Future Publishing on August 21, 2012. That’s when they stopped the publication after 24 years of releasing print game content. On December 20, 2017, Nintendo Power returned as podcast with the same logo.
If Nintendo Power started in 1988, then that means they published these comics only 4 to 5 years into Nintendo Power’s career. That’s part of what makes this anthology such a blast from the past.
Super Mario Adventures features comics that contain all kinds of characters from the Mushroom Kingdom and the Super Mario Bros. universe. I’ve always been interested in seeing how side characters interact with the main characters. These comics give readers a chance to experience more of characters like Toad, Koopa Kids, Wiggler (the caterpillar creature I haven’t seen since Yoshi’s Story), Bullet Bill, and others. I’ve always been really fond of the enemy characters in the Super Mario universe, so it’s fun for me to see more of them.
Princess Peach is my favorite character in this anthology. I know there are valid feminist gripes about Nintendo, but in these comics, Peach is a feminist shero! She’s direct, clever, and brave as she uses her power for the good of herself and the Mushroom Kingdom she presides over. I like how the comics actually depict Peach’s resistance, something I’ve wondered about for a while after seeing her sprite locked away in Bowser’s castle so many times. These comics show off Peach’s smart and sassy side very well. These strong portrayals of Peach make me happy I read this book.
However, since we’re on the subject of feminism, something else stood out to me about this book I want others to know about. Towards the end, Luigi starts getting in touch with his feminine side, which I loved. This leads to him crossdressing in order to trick his enemies. Although I’m very happy that Crossdressing Luigi is a thing, this could play into a harmful stereotype about transgender people. This stereotype functions based on a bigoted assumptiont that trans people use their gender presentation to deceive people. That perpetuates transphobia, so I completely understand why knowing this info would dissuade someone from reading this. That’s why I wanted to give you a heads-up about it. Honestly, that is my only complaint about the series.
Other than that, I really enjoyed reading Super Mario Adventures. I’d like to read the Super Mario Encyclopedia at some point in the future as well. I recommend this book if you’re a gamer who’s big on Mario and interested in reading some classic comics. I also think we should bring back Crossdressing Luigi in a more progressive context.
Thanks for reading!
