Nintendo release dates and Link/Zelda first appearance question

[seekbus]

I'm trying to pin down a first appearance of Zelda in comics.

It's my understanding that the Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview was released in February/March 1990. After that, the first issue of the Super Mario Bros. comic as well as Super Mario Bros. Special Edition and Nintendo Comics System TPB 1 were all released in April 1990. The Legend of Zelda V1 issue 1 didn't come out until May 1990. Is this correct?

If so, outside of the preview of Zelda in Nintendo Comics System Sneak Preview, wouldn't that make Nintendo Comics System TPB 1 the first appearance of Zelda instead of The Legend of Zelda 1? I ask since the TPB has an ad for the first issue of The Legend of Zelda V1 and a Zelda short story included. I feel like a lot of people aren't aware of the Nintendo Comics System TPB and assume that it came out after the Nintendo Comics System comic series when in actuality it came out almost a full year before the NCS comic series debuted.

Thanks in advance for humoring this nitpick of a question.

[nycjadie]

I don't have an answer for you, but what a great first post!

[Sunlight on Snow]

Sounds about right!

The Preview is from FEB and "Link: The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" was launched in MAY.

The series that is simply called "The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" is the reprint (12/1990 - 04/1991). Same covers, different title in indicia.

[seekbus]

I don't have an answer for you, but what a great first post!

Ha! Thanks!

[seekbus]

Sounds about right!

The Preview is from FEB and "Link: The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" was launched in MAY.

The series that is simply called "The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" is the reprint (12/1990 - 04/1991). Same covers, different title in indicia.

Thank you! Do you happen to know how many reprints there were of Legend of Zelda V1 #1? According to mycomicshop.com, there are at least three slightly different covers, but they don't specify which is associated with the various release dates. The three cover differences they show are:

1. $1.95 cover price in top right with barcode in bottom right.
2. No cover price with barcode in bottom right.
3. $1.50 cover price in top right with barcode in bottom left.

[Sunlight on Snow]

Sounds about right!

The Preview is from FEB and "Link: The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" was launched in MAY.

The series that is simply called "The Legend of Zelda Vol. 1" is the reprint (12/1990 - 04/1991). Same covers, different title in indicia.

Thank you! Do you happen to know how many reprints there were of Legend of Zelda V1 #1? According to mycomicshop.com, there are at least three slightly different covers, but they don't specify which is associated with the various release dates. The three cover differences they show are:

1. $1.95 cover price in top right with barcode in bottom right.
2. No cover price with barcode in bottom right.
3. $1.50 cover price in top right with barcode in bottom left.

#1 is the first printing
#2 is the no-price variant of the first printing
#3 is the reprinted version from DEC 1990

Mycomicshop.com doesn't list the "Link: The Legend of Zelda" reprint separately, but it's the #3 (or "1C") with the $1.50 cover price.

When I said same cover, I was more thinking about the general artwork, and ignoring everything else (barcode, price tag).
(It was already late at night over here.)

There are no-price variants of:

- Captain N #1
- Legend of Zelda #1
- Nintendo Comics System (TPB) #1
Maybe, just maybe, these were made available in packs. No pics/source available whatsoever!

- Super Mario Bros. (Random House variant edition)
No price. And no issue number either. Cover very similar to the regular #3.
Contains stories from Super Mario Bros. #1-3 and was packaged with a cassette. Never seen a complete package either.
This one probably had the lowest print run of all pre-Valiant Heroes floppies (not counting the hardcovers).

[ckb]

This is a great post and thread! I wanted to add a few clarifications to the information shared so far.

There are no-price variants of:

- Captain N #1
- Legend of Zelda #1
- Nintendo Comics System (TPB) #1
Maybe, just maybe, these were made available in packs. No pics/source available whatsoever!

The no-price variants of the first two were certainly printed for 3 packs. I have owned them and there are photos around. The TPB is a little more of a mystery since I don't think anyone has found where that one came from. It certainly was not sold on its own without a price.

- Super Mario Bros. (Random House variant edition)
No price. And no issue number either. Cover very similar to the regular #3.
Contains stories from Super Mario Bros. #1-3 and was packaged with a cassette. Never seen a complete package either.
This one probably had the lowest print run of all pre-Valiant Heroes floppies (not counting the hardcovers).

There are a few of us that have owned the full blister pack and the cassette with this book. It's very hard to make a solid statement about print runs for something like this. It probably wasn't sold into comic shops or the collector's market at all, but rather to Wal-Mart and such. You have to believe there were LOTS OF THEM. The print runs on all the regular run Nintendo books are likely really high. That being said, I would agree it is the one we see in the wild the least. In the package - well, we can count those on one hand.

As far as the general question of the first appearance of Zelda in a comic... You have to define that question. If you limit the conversation to "mass market US comic", you are in the right place because that is very likely a Valiant book. With that as a premise, I have always found the publication dates on the two NCS TPBs a little suspect. Valiant was doing strange things at that time to be sure, but a collected edition before the comics were created? The answer is likely they were made for different markets using the same source material. Who knows when they actually were available for sale.

Anyway, if you go by the date in the fine print on the first page, NCS TPB #1 is it.

A side note that the Zelda page printed in the NCS preview was never printed anywhere else. It was almost certainly part of the story in Zelda 1 but did not make the cut. And while we think this is the first time Valiant printed a product using Zelda, it is certainly not a "mass market US comic".

The archive of Quinton's old site is a great resource: http://valiantarchive.com/valiant/ninte ... tendo.html

[greg]

The Mario book with cassette recently sold on eBay for $125.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384376715029

It clearly says 1991 on the back of the package.

[ckb]

The Mario book with cassette recently sold on eBay for $125.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384376715029

It clearly says 1991 on the back of the package.

The condition kept the price down on that one. It's pretty jacked. Great pictures though.

[Sunlight on Snow]

The Mario book with cassette recently sold on eBay for $125.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384376715029

It clearly says 1991 on the back of the package.

WTF! Only $125?!? Only US!!!

[seekbus]

A side note that the Zelda page printed in the NCS preview was never printed anywhere else. It was almost certainly part of the story in Zelda 1 but did not make the cut. And while we think is a the first time we think Valiant printed a product using Zelda, it is certainly not a "mass market US comic".

The archive of Quinton's old site is a great resource: http://valiantarchive.com/valiant/ninte ... tendo.html

I want to start by saying thanks to everyone for being so welcoming and sharing your knowledge. It's greatly appreciated.

I've been poking around the Valiant Archive site and noticed this page: http://valiantarchive.com/valiant/ninte ... html#PAGE8. If this is accurate and the page from NCS Preview was part of the 'Trust Me' story, that story appeared in Legend of Zelda #1's first printing but on the second run was moved to issue #2. (It may have appeared in other places as well.) It would be nice to verify if any of the printings of 'Trust Me' include the page from NCS Preview.

From https://www.cbr.com/zelda-trivia-facts- ... cs-series/

Despite having been published on paper, the Valiant version of The Legend of Zelda was not set in stone. There were times when the order of stories was moved around, from one issue to another, and other times when stories thought to be on the verge of being published, were rejected at a crucial moment.

Issue 1, for example, contained "Missing in Action" and "Trust Me" in 1990, but for its second run the "Trust Me" was moved to issue 2 while "Missing in Action" stayed on in the first issue. Of the rejected stories, "The Fortress" was about Link looking for a healer in a fortress; "Kiss Me, Princess!" was about Link undertaking a task to win a kiss from Zelda in the end; "Point of View and Another Point of View" was about an uncontrollable spell; and "Small Problem" was about Zelda getting shrunk by Ganon.

[ckb]

A side note that the Zelda page printed in the NCS preview was never printed anywhere else. It was almost certainly part of the story in Zelda 1 but did not make the cut. And while we think is a the first time we think Valiant printed a product using Zelda, it is certainly not a "mass market US comic".

The archive of Quinton's old site is a great resource: http://valiantarchive.com/valiant/ninte ... tendo.html

I want to start by saying thanks to everyone for being so welcoming and sharing your knowledge. It's greatly appreciated.

I've been poking around the Valiant Archive site and noticed this page: http://valiantarchive.com/valiant/ninte ... html#PAGE8. If this is accurate and the page from NCS Preview was part of the 'Trust Me' story, that story appeared in Legend of Zelda #1's first printing but on the second run was moved to issue #2. (It may have appeared in other places as well.) It would be nice to verify if any of the printings of 'Trust Me' include the page from NCS Preview.

From https://www.cbr.com/zelda-trivia-facts- ... cs-series/

Despite having been published on paper, the Valiant version of The Legend of Zelda was not set in stone. There were times when the order of stories was moved around, from one issue to another, and other times when stories thought to be on the verge of being published, were rejected at a crucial moment.

Issue 1, for example, contained "Missing in Action" and "Trust Me" in 1990, but for its second run the "Trust Me" was moved to issue 2 while "Missing in Action" stayed on in the first issue. Of the rejected stories, "The Fortress" was about Link looking for a healer in a fortress; "Kiss Me, Princess!" was about Link undertaking a task to win a kiss from Zelda in the end; "Point of View and Another Point of View" was about an uncontrollable spell; and "Small Problem" was about Zelda getting shrunk by Ganon.

Quinton was very thorough. He did the index for each book, it would be surprising if he missed that! But not impossible. Buying all the zelda books right now, though...

[Sunlight on Snow]

This is a great post and thread! I wanted to add a few clarifications to the information shared so far.

There are no-price variants of:

- Captain N #1
- Legend of Zelda #1
- Nintendo Comics System (TPB) #1
Maybe, just maybe, these were made available in packs. No pics/source available whatsoever!

The no-price variants of the first two were certainly printed for 3 packs. I have owned them and there are photos around. The TPB is a little more of a mystery since I don't think anyone has found where that one came from. It certainly was not sold on its own without a price.

Ah, so these no-price variants were used as bookends and the issue in the middle didn't need to have a no-price variant.

Makes sense.

[Sunlight on Snow]

A side note that the Zelda page printed in the NCS preview was never printed anywhere else. It was almost certainly part of the story in Zelda 1 but did not make the cut. And while we think this is the first time Valiant printed a product using Zelda, it is certainly not a "mass market US comic".

What about the idea the 1-pager was just some sort of first draft being used for the preview because they still needed another page?

And then someone decided it just didn't look good enough and they needed more background scenery and brighter coloring....because the 1-pager does look quite different from the 10 final pages of "Trust Me." For instance, the bearded man is nowhere to be found, there's more background, better coloring, Link's sword looks slightly different, the villain doesn't have red eyes (anymore), and --last not least-- the 1-pager doesn't fit in anywhere. The 10 pages of "Trust Me" are conclusive, panel-to-panel.

[ckb]

A side note that the Zelda page printed in the NCS preview was never printed anywhere else. It was almost certainly part of the story in Zelda 1 but did not make the cut. And while we think this is the first time Valiant printed a product using Zelda, it is certainly not a "mass market US comic".

What about the idea the 1-pager was just some sort of first draft being used for the preview because they still needed another page?

And then someone decided it just didn't look good enough and they needed more background scenery and brighter coloring....because the 1-pager does look quite different from the 10 final pages of "Trust Me." For instance, the bearded man is nowhere to be found, there's more background, better coloring, Link's sword looks slightly different, the villain doesn't have red eyes (anymore), and --last not least-- the 1-pager doesn't fit in anywhere. The 10 pages of "Trust Me" are conclusive, panel-to-panel.

Given the way Shooter worked, that is certainly possible. He is famous for having artists re-do work. But getting to a finished colored product like that and then starting over? Well he wasn't very popular with the artists in many cases.