F is for.......
Atari Force
Wouldn't it be cool if Atari had its very own comic book stuffed full of characters from the Atari video games and published by DC Comics.....
Well, it actually exists.
Atari Force was a thing and it started in 1982...
The first run of Atari Force comics were published in 1982 and amounted to 5 issues.
The comics were created to bring to life story lines for Atari console video games releases.
The comics themselves were actually sold / packed in with:
Defender
Berzerk
Star Raiders
Phoenix
Galaxian
The comics were written by:
Gerry Conway - Who created Punisher
Roy Thomas - Famously editor in chief at Marvel Comics
The artists included:
Ross Andru - Who worked on Amazing Spider Man, Wonder Woman and Metal Men
Gil Kane — Who co-created the Green Lantern and The Atom
Dick Giordano - Executive Editor of DC Comics
Mike Decarlo - Fantastic Four and Simpsons Comics
Atari Force appeared as a DC Comics insert , Codename: Liberator, in 1982 and served as an advertorial like comic that led to the release of the Liberator arcade game which featured the Atari Force Characters and story line within it.
Did You Know?
"The Arcade Game Liberator is often described as the opposite of Missile Command The objective of Missile Command was to defend your bases from attack whereas Liberator's objective is to destroy enemy bases"
The second series of Atari Force ran from January 1984 to August 1985 and ran for 20 monthly issues.
Gerry Conway returned as writer and José Luis Garcia-López became the lead artist.
In 1986, an Atari Force 'Special" issue was released with work by different writers, some of whom had done backup stories for volume 2.
The original Atari Force was a team of humans from different nations who used the star ship; Scanner One to search for a new planet for humanity to inhabit as the Earth was facing ecological doom.
The team itself was assembled by ATARI. (Advanced Technology And Research Institute).
The 1st Atari Force team consisted of:
Martin Champion - Commander
Lydia Perez - Pilot & Executive Officer
Li-San O'Rourke - Security Officer
Mohandas Singh - Light engineer
Dr. Lucas Orion - Medical Officer
Hukka (an alien) - Team Mascot
The 2nd Atari Force team consisted of:
Martin Champion - Commander
Christopher "Tempest" Champion - Son of Martin Champion
Lydia Perez - Pilot & Executive Officer
Erin 'Dart' Bia O'Rourke-Singh - Daughter of Mohandas Singh
Li-San ORourke - Security Officer
Hukka - Team Mascot
Morphea - An insectoid
Babe - An alien toddler of great size and strength
Pakrat - A humanoid rodent thief
Blackjak - Darts human lover
Taz - An Alien warrior
Kargg - The Dark Destroyers former chief underling
Atari Force was a pretty cool comic for Video Games Geeks like myself and I for one am looking forward to the Dynamite Entertainment reprints!
The comic books will cover the following Atari Video Games:
Asteroids
Centipede
Crystal Castles
Missile Command
Tempest
Yar's Revenge
Visit www.dynamite.com to find out more about this awesome comic book happening!
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