The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Paperback – May 5, 2015

Viz handled the 2015 reprint of this classic comic series extremely well. It includes page by page everything that the original bound collection from Nintendo had, and a little extra. While the original comic collection cropped the panels at the edge of the pages, this edition includes every frame and panel in its entirety, including all of the borders. The book's dimensions are the same size as the original book, so the panels have been shrunk slightly in order to fit the extra content on each page, along with a slight margin on the outer page edges.Comparing it further to the original printing of the book, the colors do not appear as bold in the reprint. Black ink appears slightly darker in the original print. Color saturation also appears to be not quite as intense as the original print, but the difference is very subtle. This is not to say that the reprint does no look stunning - because it most certainly does. Colors are all accurately reproduced on each page, and each page is still bursting with color.There are a few changes to note in this version of the comic collection, for those wondering.1) The most obvious difference is the cover. The front features a panel from near the end of the story, with the Master Sword resting on its pedestal. The title text is printed in gold foil, and has a sheen to it. The rear cover features the artwork from the panel used for the majority of the original book's cover.2) The inner cover, featuring artwork of Ganon's Castle, retains its original colors from the panel it is featured in - a brown hue. The original print of the book features the same art with a blue/gray tint. The reprint is more accurate to the original source of the art, found on page 171.3) Page numbers were added to the outer edges at the bottom of each page, except in some instances where it would interfere with panel artwork.4) The title page is slightly different. It includes the same title logo, with different trademarks. Shotaro Ishinomori is listed below that. Everything else from the original book is omitted, although some of it is moved to the next page.5) The next page contains all of the copyright information, credits, and publishing information, including much of the content from the original book's title page.6) The third page includes a newly added table of contents for all twelve chapters, which follow, unchanged, on pages 4-195.7) The final page contains most of the same information included on the final page of the original book, but adds the fact that in 2008 the author of this comic, Shotaro Ishinomori, was awarded a Guinness World Record for "most comics published by one author".I highly recommend this comic for any fan of The Legend of Zelda series, especially the entries from the 1990s. Shotaro Ishinomori offers a wonderful and original take on the story from the Super NES game, with great artwork and storytelling. There is plenty of action, adventure, comedy, and drama to keep you entertained as you follow Link on his quest to save Hyrule. Give this legendary comic a try.

I was really excited to get this Zelda comic!The book turned out to be bigger then I expected, but I'm not complaining. :)The story is loosely based on The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Zelda video game for the Super Nintendo.Like any adaptation, the comic's story deviates from the story of the game. So, it's not canonical, but it does give fans some ideas on how the story would flow and provide some fun interpretation of the game's story.This Link has a personality and you get to connect with Link as he goes through this journey through trials and struggles. The art style is very different and stands out. The illustrations of the comic are beautiful to look at.This comic was originally released for the Nintendo Power magazine. So, it was cool that it was reprinted again for fans who wanted to read this comic again. There were some pacing issues within certain places of the story. Regardless, the story was still enjoyable to read.There is one minor complaint that I have is how the package was delivered. It came in a box with air-bubbled packaging, (see photos above), but that's not the problem. The problem was that the book itself was not covered or protected!There are a few scratches on the front cover, but thankful they were minor, but still...It would have been nice if Amazon could have wrapped the book in bubble wrap to protect it from being scratched or worse case scenario the book becomes damaged.Overall, I would still recommend getting this Zelda Comic because it's a fun read and it's great for any Zelda fan!! :)

I read many of these in my subscription to Nintendo Power back in the day. I wanted to share them with my son who shares my love of the Legend of Zelda and is just learning to read. These comics are even better than I remember them, really enjoyable story and artwork for kids and adults to enjoy. Despite having a fairly dark story (the first chapter includes the murder of a close family member), the comics handle this well without being heavy-handed or making light of difficult subjects. It still manages to inject humor where appropriate in the story. But, make no mistake, these aren't as light-hearted as the NP Mario series. But, expect a great sword-n-sorcery fantasy adventure that gives you a great rendition of the excellent story from the Link to the Past game for the SNES.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is loosely based on the Super Nintendo game of the same name. It was a serialized comic in Nintendo Power magazine during the early '90's. As a kid, I avoided reading it because it looked too serious and I had no context of the original games (although I devoured the Mario Adventures comics that also ran in the same magazine). As an adult with a fair amount of Zelda experience under my belt, I feel like it fits nicely alongside the games and is among the best Zelda media during that period (even moreso than the DiC Zelda cartoons aired during the Super Mario Bros. Super Show). The drawings are gorgeous and the art is beautiful, albeit the story is quick (I read the whole thing in less than an hour). The adaptation of Link in the comic is close to how I'd imagine the character, even if the story in both the SNES game and comic are world's apart. He is simply a youth trying to and succeeding in gaining his wings to conquer Ganon.You should definitely check it out if you love The Legend of Zelda and see some aspects of the SNES game in a new light. At the very least the comic has changed my head canon of the game since it does deepen certain aspects of the game's plot.

Friend recommended this to me and very good series.

Got the soft cover Zelda book. Was just as I remembered it. Great nostalgia buy especially if you have memories of the comics in the Nintendo Power Magazine.