How A Link to the Past Manga was Brought Back

As many of you are already aware, Viz Media had taken it upon themselves to share the exclusive Nintendo Power comic of A Link to the Past in the long awaited reprint that it much deserved. Exactly how the highly sought after, overpriced, second-hand Nintendo Power comic made its way onto local bookshelves is another story. Thankfully Viz Media had revealed during their panel at the San Diego Comic Con the time and effort it took to get the comic freshly remastered for new and old fans to behold. Take the jump to find out more!

For those of you who didn’t know, the first printing of the Link to the Past comic was in a 1992 issue of Nintendo Power. What makes the comic more extravagant and sought after is its renowned creator, Shotaro Ishinomori. It only seems fitting that Viz Media, (publisher of other Zelda manga titles) would take it upon themselves to remaster this beloved gem. While fans may have been wishing for a reprint someday or hunting it down on eBay, Viz was had already taken initiative and began working out publishing rights.

According to Jeremy Konrad from the BleedingCool.com:

Since there was ever only one collection of this story, that itself was only available to Nintendo Power subscribers, it has been years and terribly difficult to obtain a copy, with them selling for over $100 on the secondary market. VIZ worked for years to get the publishing rights, even pointing out that the book (which came out about 2 months ago) was given approval to be republished four SDCC ago. They painstakingly remastered all of the art work, and even reworked the cover to feature one of the more iconic panels of the manga of Link’s sword stuck in a stone covered in moss, a very striking image. It is the first time this adaptation has been available in over two decades, and the new edition looks spectacular. They are already on their third printing.

Thanks to Viz Media, fans can purchase a beautifully remastered copy of the manga without having to go through the trouble of hunting down rare second-hand copies on the internet. Do you have yourself a copy of the Link to the Past comic? What do you think of Viz’s work on gaining the rights and reproducing a remastered version? Tell us in the comments below!

Source: Bleeding Cool