Phasing through the Multiverse
When I was a kid, one of my favorite comic books was the short-lived but, to me, fabulous Atari Force, published by DC Comics.
Atari Force first appeared as a series of mini-comics bundled with a number of Atari 2600 cartridges, including Defender, Berzerk, Galaxian, and a few other space-related games, one issue in each of the different titles. In 1983, co-creator Gerry Conway teamed with penciler José Luis García Lopez to release an overhauled new full-length series set a generation after events in the mini-comics.
I don’t recall the mini-comics but I sure as hell remember the full series, which made a huge impact on my impressionable, video game-addled mind, and the few issues I managed to find were read probably near to the point of destruction.
A few months ago, probably with nothing more constructive to do, I poked around and found a complete set of the series in near-mint for less than ten bucks from some dealer selling through ebay. And, like a fine wine, I’ve been savoring them slowly, an issue here, an issue there, letting both the wonderful memories of reading them as a kid — and the intrinsic fun of the stories for their own sake — sink in.
The series really doesn’t have anything specifically to do with Atari, the game company. Instead, what the creators did was invent a science fiction setting that was inspired by the whole sort of science fiction vibe surrounding those classic video games of the early Eighties, one they probably hoped would appeal to the people pumping quarters into, yeah, Berzerk, Galaxian, or Defender (or buying the cartridges). Once the science fiction setting was whipped together, they simply cross-pollinated two big brands in two media companies both owned by the same conglomerate (Warner). Presto.
Regardless of the motives, the result is very classic adventurish sci-fi, like something C.J. Cherryh or David Brin might write, with more than a passing reference to films like Star Wars.
Anyone for whom the name “Atari” conjures up a swooning mystique would probably have as much fun with these funny, forgotten old comics as I have.
Now to trawl through those old 25-cent bins for Rocket Raccoon …