Team Nippon

Barry Blair’s Team Nippon launched with Malibu Comics in 1989, a seven-issue series that blended martial arts action with a distinctly Western take on Japanese superhero tropes. Blair wrote and illustrated the entire run, crafting a self-contained story of a costumed team facing threats both mystical and technological. Though short-lived, the series stands as a curious artifact of the late-80s independent comics boom, showcasing Blair’s dynamic, manga-influenced art style before it became more common in American comics.