Captain N: The Game Master

Captain N: The Game Master is a comic series published by Valiant Comics in 1990. The series is a licensed adaptation of Nintendo video game properties. It concluded after 5 issues. There was a 6th issue advertised but never published.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Compared to the TV show of the same name it was based on, it was a major improvement.
 * 2) This comic book series is much more faithful to its source material, as the writers have more knowledge of the Nintendo franchises this comic book series shows:
 * 3) * Samus Aran properly appears in this comic book series, which represents the Metroid franchise much better than in the TV show.
 * 4) * Planet Zebes is also called by its correct name and not "Metroid".
 * 5) When Kevin gets sent to video game land in this comic book series, is shown much better than in the TV show. No hideous green CGI monster in sight.
 * 6) The dialogue in this comic book series is much better than the TV show, like how Pit no longer always randomly inserts "-icus" into his sentences, and only does it rarely now.
 * 7) The artstyle in the comic book is good and the characters and locations look much better compared to the TV show.
 * 8) Very hilarious moments, such as when Samus reveals herself to be a girl to the group and Princess Lana is surprised and says "Samus is a…woman?!?!".
 * 9) The relationship between Kevin and Lana is good, romantic and heartwarming, and is much better than in the TV show.
 * 10) * Also, Samus made Lana have an interesting rival for Kevin’s affections.
 * 11) Likable characters, that are more likable than in the TV show, such as Kevin, Lana, Duke, Pit, and Samus.
 * 12) The designs of the characters look good, and are better than the TV show.
 * 13) The endings are either really good or very funny.
 * 14) Very intimidating main antagonists, that are much more entertaining than the TV show, such as Mother Brain, King Hippo, Eggplant Wizard, Uranos, and Ridley.
 * 15) Original and creative stories and plots, such as Kevin, Lana, Duke and Pit having a temporary truce with King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard to get the virus antidote for the computer virus to cure video land’s computers and Mother Brain.
 * 16) Nice cameos of Little Mac, Donkey Kong, and Mario in this comic book series.
 * 17) Great jokes.
 * 18) Intelligent and clever writing.
 * 19) There were 2 more awesome stories made in other Nintendo comics connected to this comic book series, those being:
 * 20) * "All's Well That Ends Swell": which is in the following Nintendo comics: Adventures of the Super Mario Bros. #7, Nintendo Comics System #1, and The Best of the Nintendo Comics System 1990;
 * 21) * "The Master Machine": which is in the following Nintendo comics: Nintendo Comics System #2, and Super Mario Bros. #4.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While this comic book series did fix most of the TV show’s flaws in terms of accuracy to the source material, there are still a few flaws:
 * 2) * The design of Pit is still changed for some reason, making him unrecognizable.
 * 3) ** Mother Brain is still depicted as a face attached to a brain instead of a singular eye in a brain.
 * 4) * King Hippo still has blue skin in the series, which makes no sense since he is a human in the original game.
 * 5) * Pit is still named "Kid Icarus" in this series. This is like calling Link "Zelda" or calling Samus "Metroid".
 * 6) The villain designs are still corny and very ugly, especially King Hippo, Eggplant Wizard, and Mother Brain.
 * 7) The name of the realm Videoland is still stupid, unoriginal, and uninspired.
 * 8) All of the third-party characters that were in the TV show (Simon Belmont, Mega Man, Dr. Light, the Count, and Dr. Wily), are absent in this comic book series without any explanation whatsoever.

Reception
The reception from critics, audiences and Nintendo fans were much more positive in this comic book series, with many enjoying the stories and characters and agreeing that this was a major improvement over the TV show.

Samus’ portrayal in this comic book series has also gotten positive reception. An article at 1UP.COM describes Samus as "rambunctious, reckless, and gets into @#!*% contests with Lana over Kevin's affections, which makes for some of the most entertaining situations in the series". The reviewer added "Not to say that the deadly quiet, contemplative Samus who fights for truth and justice in the more recent Metroid games isn't awesome, but there's something compelling about a Samus who's greedy and conniving – and is proud to admit it."