Nintendo has a rich history of producing something for a short time period, and then abandoning it for the next project. I get it, move onto the next thing to make that paper. The problem is their fan-base is thirsty for more merchandise than their grubby little paws can get a hold of. However every once in awhile there will be some bone that big Nintendo tosses their fans, and I am happy to say that day is today. Super Mario Adventures was a comic series within Nintendo Power that spanned 12 issues, focusing predominantly on the Super Mario World universe, and one issue in the Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins universe. A beautifully hand drawn comic, this 12-part series was collected into a graphic novel in 1993 that saw a limited release. Recently this graphic novel has been fetching in upwards of $100 on eBay and Amazon as it is officially licensed and terribly hard to acquire in decent condition. However, this now will be reprinted and released this October for almost 1/10th of what the going rate of the original is. This is great, because being a parent, I want my kids to experience this comic and not worry about ruining a collector's piece.

Even though I am really excited to share this graphic novel with my kids, I really wish they would reprint more of the books that were geared towards kids. The Nintendo Comics System by Valiant is a great example, featuring classic franchises like Captain N, Metroid, Punch-out!, Game Boy, and more. Another series that is excellent are the Nintendo Adventure Books. These books are designed just like the Choose Your Own Adventure books, with multiple paths to dozens of different endings. Finally, there were a few Nintendo stories published in the Golden Books series written by Jack C. Harris, gearing towards children at an early age. But alas, none of these are in print, and some have not been for decades. The only way to acquire these currently is to save up your gold coins and purchase these classics on the second hand market. But make sure you check them out, they are entertaining reads for all children (and dads.)