Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja is a comic book about an American ninja set in an unspecified near future where World War III has started. It was written by Larry Hama between 1989 and 1990, based largely on his success writing the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic, which he wrote concurrently with The Nth Man (and also features a modern ninja as one of the main characters). Nth Man and Alfie O'Meagan first appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #25 (August 1989). The series was meant to last for 24 issues, but was cancelled after 16.[1] In spite of this, Hama was able to resolve the storyline early. Ron Wagner, who penciled the series for its entire run, attributes its commercial failure to its being set in a standalone reality (Earth-8908) instead of the mainstream Marvel Universe, as well as the absence of costumed characters.[2]