A/N: This is a unique fanfic that explores the possibilities of a long-running comic book series based on the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise. I have selected November 1989 as the month of the first issue's release.

Similar to how Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog was founded on AoStH and SatAM, this fanfic is founded on TSMBSS. There will be a few, but not too many, OCs and other custom elements in this fanfic.

There will be an Ask The Mario Characters section at the end of each chapter to make up for the lack of fan mail, fan art, and Off-Panels. Rules are stated there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Mario Bros. or any element in this fan fiction aside from any original content that I create. This fan fiction is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo.

Without further ado, let us begin...

The Return of Robo Koopa

"Plumber's Log, Number 1.5. We are on our way back from a shopping trip at the Mushroom Land Shopping Center. Little did we know that an all-too-familiar alter-ego of King Koopa would return…"

"Wow, I didn't know we'd find mushrooms for that low a price!" exclaimed Luigi.

"You never know what you'll find when you keep an eye open for good bargains," replied Mario.

"You should see the princess when she goes shopping," Toad piped up. "Sure, she may take a while sometimes, but she gets a lot of great stuff for even greater prices!"

"Speaking of the princess," reminded Luigi, "didn't she invite us over to her house for a party tonight?"

"You're right," Mario said. "We'd best head on home and get ready; we don't want to be late."

The three turned down the road and headed for their house to prepare for Princess Toadstool's party.

Meanwhile, on a hill overlooking the village, Mario's arch-enemy King Koopa was spying on the princess' house through a pair of binoculars.

"Perfect! She's alone!" he exclaimed. "Now I can put my latest plan into action! Koopas, do you have my Robo Suit?"

"Right here, your Koop-ness!" answered one of King Koopa's Koopa Troopas, who was standing next to what looked like a new-and-improved Robo Suit.

"Soon, Mushroom Land's princess will be in my hands! And better yet, those pesky plumbers aren't here to stop me! This will be the greatest princess kidnapping in Mushroom Land history!"

Mario knocked on the princess' door and called:

"It's-a me, Mario!"

The door was opened to reveal Princess Toadstool, who smiled when she saw them.

"Mario! Luigi! Toad! I'm glad you could make it to my party. Come on in!"

"I can almost smell the pasta and the cake!" exclaimed Luigi as he and his older brother stepped through the doorway and hung their caps on the hat rack.

"That's because you can, Luigi," Toad pointed out.

"Oh. Right," Luigi nervously chuckled. "I knew that."

"I'll just need a few more minutes, then everything will be ready." the princess said as she headed into the kitchen.

"As long as Koopa doesn't come," said Mario, "this party will be perfect."

"What's taking you blockheads so long?" fumed King Koopa as his minions were making upgrades to his Robo Suit.

"Sorry, boss," said a Koopa, "but some of these adjustments are taking longer than expected. Maybe we should hire a mechanic."

"There's no time for that!" shouted the Koopa king as he peered through his binoculars. "Just as I thought! When the princess hosts a party, those Mario Brothers are bound to show up. I can still get four for the price of one!" he laughed evilly.

"I must say, Princess, you really overdid yourself on this cake."

"Nonsense, Mario, I always want my cakes to look and taste the best."

"And they do, Princess."

"What are we celebrating, Princess?" asked Toad.

"We are celebrating the anniversary of when the Mario Brothers first rescued me from King Koopa."

"It's too bad I couldn't help out," sighed Toad. "In captivity, all I knew was that you were in another castle."

Luigi was distracted by something outside the window. It wasn't a something. No, it was a someone. And it was getting closer. Luigi's eyes widened when he recognized the figure.

"Looks like we have an uninvited guest!" Luigi warned everyone.

Everyone ducked just in time as King Koopa crashed through the princess' window, sending glass everywhere. Fortunately, the glass didn't hit anyone.

"Do you have room for one more guest, Princess?" he guffawed, turning his Robo Suit to face the gang.

"King Koopa!" challenged Mario.

"How... How did you get your Robo Suit back?" questioned Toad.

"I thought it was converted into a pizza oven," wondered Princess Toadstool.

"It was, Princess. But I ordered another one from Dr. Nerdnick. He made it surprisingly easy to get, through a little method known as encouragement.

"However, in addition to my enhanced Super Strength, Super Vision, Super Hearing, and Super Toes, I now have… Super Speed!"

He suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the princess with one of his Robo Suit's large hands.

"Help me!" cried Princess Toadstool.

"Let her go, Koopa!" demanded Mario as he and his friends closed in.

"What makes you think I will?" crowed King Koopa as he reached down for his chest buttons. Pressing one, he pointed at the heroes. They were instantly trapped in force fields.

"This will be one kidnapping that you won't interfere with! I hope you don't get bored in there… Hahahahaha!" With that, he activated his jetpack and crashed through the roof. The heroes could only watch through the broken window as King Koopa became a speck in the distance.

"King Koopa is going to pay for kidnapping the princess," said Mario.

"And for the roof," added Luigi.

"Hey, look on the bright side," said Toad. "At least there's no glass in the food."

As they flew, the Koopa king pressed another chest button, and he tore through the sky at nearly record-breaking speeds.

"Can't you slow down, you Koopa creep? You know this is bad for my hair!"

"You'll have plenty of time to do your hair once you're in my prison!"

Escape was hopeless. They were flying at nearly two hundred miles per hour, and if Princess Toadstool managed to slip out of his grasp now, she could get hurt... or worse. Then she saw her opportunity. One of her hands was free, and King Koopa's chest buttons were right in front of her.

"Say, King Koopa, I've always been interested in your Robo Suits. What does this button do?"

"No! Not that one!"

But it was too late. Princess Toadstool pressed the button that caused King Koopa's Robo Suit to eject him. But now she was in an even bigger predicament. The only thing worse than being captured by King Koopa is in a Robo Suit is removing King Koopa from the equation. She was falling with an abandoned Robo Suit.

"Now or never..." breathed the princess as she slipped from the suit's grasp.

Now she was free-falling. Fortunately King Koopa had landed below her. As he was getting up, Toadstool landing on him, thus breaking her fall, and sending him sprawling on the ground. The Robo Suit tumbled down a steep embankment and into a clump of bushes. Immediately the princess got up and took off running. King Koopa sat up, dazed.

"Koopa Pack, attack!" he shouted, but there was no response. His camp was too far away.

"With my Robo Suit out of commission, those pesky wannabe heroes will have been freed from the force fields!" King Koopa said, kicking a stone in frustration. "I guess all's rotten that ends rotten. Back to the Kooping board!"

Home never looked so inviting. Sure, Toadstool had been kidnapped before, but still. When she opened the door, she was astonished to see that her friends were no longer trapped in force fields.

"Princess! You're safe!" Mario exclaimed.

"But how did your force fields disappear?" the princess wondered.

"I think you did something to King Koopa's Robo Suit that caused it to release us. He should know by now to never play with dangerous toys!" At that, everyone laughed.

Car Land Caper

"Plumber's Log, Number 65. It's a lazy day... so far. But the local newspaper would soon present to us our next adventure…"

It was a hot day in Mushroom Land. Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool were reclining in their seats in Mario's house. They didn't feel like doing anything.

"King Koopa hasn't attacked us in a few days," said Luigi.

Princess Toadstool yawned. "That must mean he's up to something."

"Guys! You'll want to take a look at this!" Toad exclaimed as he brought in the morning paper.

"What happened?" asked the princess.

"A new rocket fuel has been invented in Car Land. They say one container of it can carry a rocket to the moon and back twice!"

"Interesting," the princess noted. "I'll have to visit and check it out."

"Think of how much it could benefit the world," said Luigi.

"If there's one person who's more interested in this rocket fuel than you, princess," warned Mario, "it's Koopa."

Sure enough, King Koopa was also reading the paper.

"A new rocket fuel in Car Land? Enough to get a rocket to the moon and back twice? I'm going to use it to power my weapons! You two!" he pointed to two Hammer Bros. "Barricade those goody-goody plumbers and their friends in their house! This will be one evil scheme that they won't interfere in!"

"Uh, boss?" one of the Hammer Bros. said. "You just said something like that in the previous story."

"Don't break the fourth wall, you Koopa klutz!" Koopa shouted at him. "Think of how much our ratings will drop if we keep mentioning our reader or the issues we appear in!" He paused as the Hammer Bros. looked at him awkwardly. "Forget I just said all that."

"Yes, boss."

"Now get moving, both of you!"

"Where are you going, boys?" Princess Toadstool asked as the heroic plumbers headed out to their car.

"We're headed to Car Land to make sure King Koopa doesn't get the rocket fuel," Mario replied.

"That's a good idea," said the princess. "Just be careful out there."

"We will," reassured Mario as they got in the car and drove away.

When the plumbers were out of sight, Toad turned to Princess Toadstool.

"So princess, what should we do while Mario and Luigi are away?"

The princess sees something out of the corner of her eye that gives her reason to panic.

"I say we'd better prepare for a kidnapping!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, not quite a kidnapping," said one of the two Hammer Bros. who had just showed up. "Just a little house arrest, that's all. Now get inside."

"This is almost as bad as a kidnapping," mumbled Toad as they were herded into their own home.

"Wait, where are the plumbers?" the other Hammer Bro. asked.

"Uh, you just missed them," replied Princess Toadstool.

"It's just as well," said the first Hammer Bro. "King Koopa will get them anyway."

"Pleasant drive so far, eh Luigi?" said Mario as he and Luigi were driving to Car Land.

"Yeah," agreed Luigi. "We haven't been here since King Koopa tried to steal all of its spaghetti sauce."

"Hopefully he hasn't heard about the rocket fuel, but I'm sure he has," said Mario.

"So far we haven't run into him," replied Luigi. "I hope it stays that way."

"Outta my way, roadhogs!" shouted an all-too-familiar voice as King Koopa roared past them on his Koopcycle. "That rocket fuel is calling my name!"

"I thought as much," said Mario. "Brace yourself, Luigi; I'm gonna put the pedal to the metal!"

"I don't like the sound of this," groaned LuigI, holding onto his cap as Mario floored the gas.

"You'll never catch me in that dated hunk of metal!" yelled Koopa as he picked up speed.

"Oh yeah?" shouted Mario.

"Yeah! The Koopcycle is superior Koopa technology!"

Rummaging through the glove compartment, Mario found a wrench. He carefully aimed at King Koopa's engine and threw it. But Koopa swerved to the right and avoided the wrench.

"Nice try, drain-brain, but I'm not that stupid!" he chuckled. "Here, have some smokescreen!"

With that, he pressed a button, and smokescreen was ejected from his exhaust pipe, blanketing Mario's car.

"I can't see a thing!" shouted Luigi.

"Let's activate the Plumber Periscope!" declared Mario as he pressed the appropriate button on the control panel. A periscope extended above the smokescreen. Soon he could see King Koopa.

"There he is!" Mario exclaimed. "Here, take the periscope; I'll catch up to him faster than you can say "ravioli!"

"Okay… Ravioli!" Luigi said. When he looked up, they were out of the smokescreen and next to the Koopcycle.

"Wait, how did you-" King Koopa stuttered.

"A plumber never reveals his secrets," Mario simply stated.

Luigi suddenly pointed ahead. "Mario, think we can hit that block up there?"

"I don't know," replied Mario. "It's kinda high. Wait, didn't we install ejector seats in both the driver's and passenger's sides?"

"That's right, we did!"

"Are you sure you're up to this, Luigi?" Mario asked seriously.

"Wait, what?" exclaimed a panicked Luigi. He didn't expect Mario to give him this task.

"Luigi, you don't know how to drive. This is our only option."

"All right, then." Luigi felt the sudden responsibility on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the eject button.

Time seemed to stand still as Luigi soared through the air. He raised his fist so that he wouldn't smash his head on the block above him. In a moment, his fist collided with the bottom of the block…

"MARIO! HELP! I'M FALLING!" screamed Luigi as he plummeted back to earth.

In a flash Mario had the car positioned so that Luigi would land harmlessly in the passenger's seat.

"That was close…" breathed Luigi.

Suddenly the Fire Flower that had emerged from the block fell toward their car.

"It's all yours, Luigi!" Mario shouted just before Luigi caught the Fire Flower. Instantly his outfit changed. He was now wearing a white cap, a white shirt, and green overalls. Luigi felt stronger.

"Give him all you've got!" shouted Mario as he resumed the chase.

"You said it!" exclaimed Luigi as he let fly fireball after fireball toward King Koopa.

"Hey! What are you-" Koopa started. But a fireball hit his engine, and he started spinning out of control.

"Whoooooaaaaaa…!"

The Koopcycle crashed into a tree just after King Koopa activated an ejector seat of his own.

"I'll be back, Mario Brothers!" he shouted as he flew to parts unknown.

"He always says that," marveled Luigi.

"And yet he always keeps his word," warned Mario. "We've got to be more careful in the future."

Meanwhile, Princess Toadstool and Toad were just finishing a whispered conversation on how they could get rid of the Hammer Bros. This done, they sneaked over to the door and put their plan into action.

"Excuse me! Guards!" Toadstool called. She didn't know if the plan would work, but it was worth a try.

"You called, Princess?" answered one of the Hammer Bros.

"I just received word that the Mario Bros. are returning soon. You'll catch them if you hurry."

"You sure this isn't just a ruse?" warned the other Hammer Bro.

"It can't be. The Mario Brothers know when their favorite girl is in trouble. We'll go take care of them."

The princess and Toad breathed a sigh of relief as the Hammer Bros. left. A moment later, the Mario Brothers pulled into the driveway. Luigi's Fire Flower power had worn off.

"Did King Koopa try to get the rocket fuel?" Toad inquired.

"Yup. But we drove him out of town, right Luigi?" said Mario.

"That's right!" replied an eager Luigi. "That's what the Mario Brothers are for!"

"By the way, Princess, were those Hammer Bros. we passed coming from your house?" asked Mario.

"Oh, they were nothing we couldn't handle."

"I guess that makes four Mushroom Land Heroes!" deducted Luigi.

"Now let's rocket over to Car Land!" Princess Toadstool exclaimed, as everyone laughed at the pun.

A/N: How's that for the first issue of Super Mario Bros: The Novelized Comic? I did my best to capture the feel of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in both stories. The Return of Robo Koopa pays homage to the aforementioned cartoon's episode Robo Koopa, while Car Land Caper referenced the episode Toad Warriors. Car Land Caper's working title was Chase Through Car Land. As for the Plumber's Log numbers, 1.5 is most likely an update number (it doesn't have a true reference), while 65 is the standard highway speed in the United States. The Koopcycle is an original element; it made an interesting touch to Car Land Caper. Its working title was Koopa Bike.

"Hey, paisanos!" greeted Mario. "It's time for the first-ever edition of Ask the Mario Characters. As stated above, this feature makes up for the lack of fan art, fan letters, and Off-Panels. In this section, you, the readers, get to ask us questions, or even dare us... if you dare!

"Of course, there are a few rules to follow," said Toad.

"That's right," said Luigi. "Rule #1 is keep it clean. That means no profanity. None. We want to keep this fan fiction at a K+ rating maximum."

"Rule #2," called Princess Toadstool, "is do not send us questions through the reviews. The FFN rules clearly state that. Instead, send them to our author via PM."

"Rule #3," said King Koopa, "is that if you ask questions about the story, they will be answered next chapter before the story, and therefore not be featured in this section. Wait, was I losing my evil touch there?"

Everyone laughed.

"And Rule #4," announced Toad, "is you can only send questions to characters that have appeared in the story so far. Starting with this chapter, feel free to shoot questions to me, Mario, Luigi, the princess, or Lizard Lips over there."

"What did you just call me?!" demanded King Koopa.

"Oh, uh, it was nothing, heheh..."

"Now that you know the rules," said Mario, "bring on those questions. We'll be ready."

Next time:

Mario and his friends looked out the window of their dwelling. What they saw was utter chaos.

"What are they doing?!" exclaimed Luigi incredulously.

"They're using chemicals to destroy all the vegetation!" replied Toad.

"This is horrible," said a concerned Mario. "Simply horrible."