I couldn't resist doing a followup image as it would give me an excuse to draw Bowser, and I love how Bowser looks and have wanted to draw him for years. I'm not sure why I hadn't. Come to think of it, I've barely drawn any of the Mario characters in spite of wanting to. Why was I depriving myself?
As a kid, the idea of transforming into various things interested me (shocking, I know). Thanks to the media I was interested in, a bizarre amount of time was spent imagining myself as a turtle-like being. Seriously, between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Koopalings, it's surprising that turtle-like beings are so underrepresented in my current drawings and comics.
I'd also say it's odd that I choose Charmander over Squirtle in Pokemon, but dragons win over turtles. That's why Koopas are so cool; they're BOTH. That, and the Koopalings had magic wands in Mario 3, and I think I was simply born thinking magic wands are cool.
Which isn't to say I approve of princess-napping. As a kid, I had this annoying tendency of liking a lot of bad guys and imagining them being friends with the good guys, which would often include the Koopalings (this is how bad fan fictions are born, people). My action figures got along much better than they should have, though there was always some bigger threat they had to work together to beat so at least I had some excuse. It wouldn't hold up now, but dude, I was in elementary school. Cut past me some slack.
Of course, I didn't have Mario toys. There weren't any action figures of them to buy, at least as far as I knew. After learning how to make home-made clay in school, however, I tried to make my own Koopa figures. I made an acceptable Larry Koopa figure, a less acceptable Ludwig, and Bowser... let's not talk about my attempt at making Bowser. It... it did not end well.
Speaking of which, they have Mario figures now. I own some myself, but the only Bowsers I've seen have been stuffed animals. Are his spikes that hazardous? I'll wear mittens, whatever, just let me buy Bowser!
...Okay, wow. I thought I was gonna post the image, maybe have a paragraph and be done, but I guess I'm a Mario Bros fanboy. Who knew. I'm going to go save me some princesses.
Mario three was my first game I have ever beaten. It will live with me in my memory for ever. I always liked the hammer throwing guys.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, The Hammer Bros. I hated them in Mario Bros. 1.
ReplyDeleteAs per Bowser, Peach and Mario being friendly--that is kind of the take Nintendo has on it too. It seems. Bowser is generally a childish griefer, however when a REAL threat appears, Bowser is usually up to protect the kingdom with Peach and Mario (SMRPG, Mario and Luigi series, Super Paper Mario).
Sometimes he will usually chase after Mario, while Mario deals with other villians (Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door).
Usually Bowser only seems to stick to abduction charges, and transforming various people. It is really hard to think of this being a form of friendly play that Bowser goes a little far on.
In the meantime this, have the gods of curling deemed your house a worthy enough temple to start ruling their divine ice field from (not to mention their quest for global domination).
ReplyDeleteAll tough curling is refereed to a chess on ice it looks more like a team-on-ice-using-stones-instead-of-metal-balls version of pétanque
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9tanque
"Which isn't to say I approve of princess-napping. As a kid, I had this annoying tendency of liking a lot of bad guys and imagining them being friends with the good guys, which would often include the Koopalings (this is how bad fan fictions are born, people). My action figures got along much better than they should have, though there was always some bigger threat they had to work together to beat so at least I had some excuse. It wouldn't hold up now, but dude, I was in elementary school. Cut past me some slack."
ReplyDeleteSuper Mario RPG. 'Nuff said.
I've actually had my theories about Bowser and company for a very long time. The constant abduction of Peach is part of an ages-old courtship ritual between the Emperor of the Koopas and his intended bride; likewise, the rescue by an appointed champion is a part of the ritual. Peach originally chose Mario because - hey - he's a plumber. He'll try, he'll fail, my part of this pointless thing is over, and we can get on with life. The only problem is that Mario is from BROOKLYN. Enough said - and for a short guy who might smell vaguely like anchovies, he's pretty charismatic.
ReplyDeleteSo, Mario ended up throwing a four-foot wrench into the works. Bowser's never really forgiven him for that - or for capturing the Princess' attentions - but they're not enemies per se. Just two dudes who happen to like the same woman, and who are otherwise okay with each other - not that it's going to stop Bowser from acting like a jerk every now and then.
And with all that said, I gotta root for Big B here. Say what you will, but he's persistent - and unlike Mario, who spends so much of his time golfing, go-karting, adventuring, and doing cameos in other games, almost all of Bowser's attentions are focused on the Princess.
Have you ever played Super Mario RPG? It was an incredible and underrated game, and Mario actually teams up with bowser. (Eventually)
ReplyDelete