
The original F-Zero is special for a whole host of reasons, but one of the most unique things about its Japanese release is that it bucked a trend by including cover artwork created not in Japan but in North America.
Valiant Comics, founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and businessman Steven Massarsky, was responsible for the cover image, which was drawn by Arthur Nichols and inked by Bob Layton.
A short comic was also created for the game by Nichols, Layton and Shooter, and was included in the instruction manual in all regions.
Shooter had this to say about the process a few years ago:
The most impressive custom job we ever did at VALIANT was for Nintendo of Japan for their F-ZERO game. We did an in-pack custom comic book for the game.
Why is this impressive? Because this work was done for a product to be sold only in Japan.
The Japanese were and are very proud of their comics industry. As a rule, at least at that time, they didn’t think American comics were anywhere near as good as theirs. The consensus opinion was that they were the pros and we were quirky, amateurish second-stringers.
But, on the basis of our licensed Nintendo comics for America, Nintendo of Japan picked us, Americans, to do their custom comic in-pack and box cover art. An honor.
I wrote it, Art Nichols penciled it and Bob Layton inked it.
We're sad to report that Arthur Nichols, whose skill with the pen made the cover so memorable, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 63 years old.
According to Bleeding Cool, during his career, Nichols would work on comic book properties such as Star Wars, Sleepwalker, Leonard Nimoy's Primortals, The Ray, Mecha, Conan, Justice League Of America, Night Thrasher, Team Titans, Magnus Robot Fighter, Deathstroke Neil Gaiman's Mr Hero, Punisher, Spider-Man, X-Men, New Mutants and Robocop III.
He would also work in other fields, such as storyboarding, and worked on the 2012 Oscar-winning animated short film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore; other credits include Ultimate Spider-Man and Transformers Prime. He was also a character designer on the 1998 Dreamworks movie Small Soldiers.
Takaya Imamura, who co-created the game with Shigeru Miyamoto, paid tribute to Nichols:
Arthur Nichols, who was involved in the production of the F-ZERO box art, has passed away.
He has beautifully elevated the worldview created by a young man in his second year at the company, and transformed it into a wonderful piece of art. At that time, there was no e-mail and most communication was by fax, so it felt like I was working with people in faraway countries.
Thank you very much. We sincerely pray for the repose of your soul.
[source x.com]
Comments 10
Sad to lose more and more of these guys that defined 20th century comics. Imamura’s own stylization certainly reflects that now vintage illustration of western graphic fiction
How this cover made me fantasize when I was a child, along with the box of "Super Mario World", as I was staring at the shelves of an imported games shop in Paris !
I could only play F-Zero (the PAL version...) a few years later.
F**k cancer ! F**k death ! Viva la vida !
I thought Imamura-sensei was solely to thank for all the classic Ame-comi -styled F-Zero art. How interesting to learn that Valiant Comics pros collaborated!
I’m sure I encountered Mr. Nichol’s art in the many comics I read back in the 80s and 90s. I hope he left this world feeling proud of sharing his talent and imagination with so many young readers. May he rest in peace.
Sad to hear it, rest in peace Nichols and condolences to his family and friends!
I love the Japanese F-Zero box art and was just thinking about it recently. The art Mr. Nichols provided for it was very well executed. I don't know if I came across his work when I was heavily into comics as it looks like his main work was for companies and books that weren't what I was buying. But just seeing some of his work, his talent and skill was undeniable. On the bleedingcool website referenced here, there's an inked Team Titans splash page with no color showing some kind of dragon creature, and it's excellent. Sad to hear of this loss.
RIP. I hope they make a new F-Zero game for the Switch 2 in his honour
Given all this... Why was it changed for the US release?
If you actually look at Takaya Imamura's sketches before the final art for that F-Zero comic that came with the SNES version, it was way better in his original sketches than what the artist it was passed onto actually achieved. The character proportions and poses and their positions in the frame and the angle of the shots and such were much stronger in his sketched version. Maybe not even that noticeable to a layman, but very obvious to an artist's eye. Takaya Imamura was the real artistic talent there, at least in this F-Zero example. Kind of wish he'd done the final version. Don't really understand why he didn't to be honest.
@RetroGames I agree and understand your point of view. Imamura's work is subtle for sure.
Maybe, back in the days, Nintendo chose to hire an american artist for a genuine "US comic look".
Whatever, that cover will remain in memories.
Thank you, Arthur Nichols, for your part in the artwork that made enjoying F-Zero that much better. May you rest in peace.
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