The Nintendo Comics System (Super Mario Bros)

The Nintendo Comics System was a series of comic books 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 cartoons based on them.

The comics
Valiant Comics'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.