One of the more off-beat arcade brawlers of the ’90s was Ninja Baseball Bat Man, a game from Irem. The game was designed by Drew Maniscalco, who took inspiration from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Batman movies with characters designed by pinball artist Gordon Morison, and based the concept around baseball due to his love of the sport. The game was a hit in Japan but did not do well in America where it fell into obscurity.
One interesting detail is that while Irem retains the video game rights, the non-video game related rights are held by Drew Maniscalco who seems to want to do something with them. Team Beats Comics, a Patreon funded comic imprint, has teased the return of the franchise in comic book form. There will be a formal announcement on Friday May 13th, along with a showcase of the Kickstarter for the comic.
See the details below.
A cult arcade beat ‘em up from the ‘90s returns THIS FRIDAY as an all-new comic series from @TeamBeatsComics
Stay tuned for the cover, synopsis and Kickstarter reveal on 13 May at 12pm UK. pic.twitter.com/EayRAzjvKA
— Dave Cook @ MCM London (May 27-29) (@davescook) May 9, 2022