''Atari Force'' is the name of two

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

from

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

to 1986. Both were loosely based on trademarks of Atari, Inc.

Publication history

The first ''Atari Force'' title was a series of minicomics created in 1982 to be packed in with certain

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...

video game titles from fellow

Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

subsidiary Atari, Inc. The five games that include the comics are '' Defender'', '' Berzerk'', '' Star Raiders'', '' Phoenix'', and ''

Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who ...

''. The comics were written by Gerry Conway and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

and the artists included

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

, Gil Kane, Dick Giordano, and Mike DeCarlo. An ''Atari Force'' special insert appeared in two comic books cover dated January 1983 and served as a prequel to the ongoing series launched a year later. The insert was the story previously published in the ''Phoenix'' minicomic, but the story title was changed to "Code Name: Liberator" and the featured ship's name became ''Liberator''. In addition, the art for the aliens showed them as more frog-like. Atari released a ''

Liberator Liberator or The Liberators or ''variation'', may refer to: Literature * ''Liberators'' (novel), a 2009 novel by James Wesley Rawles * ''The Liberators'' (Suvorov book), a 1981 book by Victor Suvorov * ''The Liberators'' (comic book), a Britis ...

'' arcade game featuring Commander Martin Champion and the Atari Force name. In 1983,

published a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

based on ''Star Raiders'' that tied into the mini-comics. It was the first title of the '' DC Graphic Novel'' series. It was written by Elliot S! Maggin and illustrated by José Luis García-López. The graphic novel was a larger format than normal comic books, and reached a much larger market (via comic book specialty stores) than the small subset of persons who bought the 2600 cartridge. The second series (Jan. 1984 - Aug. 1985) was released monthly, in conventional comic-book format, and lasted for 20 issues. Gerry Conway returned as writer while José Luis García-López became the main pencil artist. However, original series concept artist Ross Andru did draw issues #4–5. In issue #13, Eduardo Barreto took over as penciler and, in #14, Mike Baron became the regular writer through the final issue, #20. Issues #12-20 also featured backup stories by different writers and artists. In 1986, a "Special" issue was released with work by different creators, some of whom had done backup stories for volume 2. The backup story of issue #20, "Hukka vs. the Bob!" by Keith Giffen, Robert Loren Fleming, and

Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (born January 7, 1959, Victor, New York) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is best known for his collaborations with fellow ar ...

, was reprinted in the Best of DC #71 digest, containing the Year's Best Comics Stories, in April 1986, and was voted as one of the best comic book stories of the year in Comics Buyers Guide magazine, among others. In 2015, Dynamite Entertainment announced plans to reprint the original comic book and release new comics based on Atari properties: '' Asteroids'', '' Centipede'', '' Crystal Castles'', '' Missile Command'', '' Tempest'', and '' Yars' Revenge''. The reprinted Atari Force comics were solicited in 2017, but never materialized.

Plot

The original Atari Force was a team of humans from different nations using the multi-dimensional starship ''Scanner One'' to search for a new planet for humanity to inhabit as the Earth was facing ecological devastation. The team was handpicked by A.T.A.R.I. (Advanced Technology and Research Institute), and consisted of Martin Champion as mission commander, Lydia Perez as pilot and executive officer, Li-San O'Rourke as security officer, Mohandas Singh as flight engineer, and Dr. Lucas Orion as medical officer. A semi-sentient alien creature, named Hukka because of the noise he made, later joined as team

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

. The second team, formed approximately 25 years after the first, was also led by Martin Champion. He was convinced that the original team's nemesis, the Dark Destroyer, still existed. Although he was correct, most of the rest of humanity did not believe it, but humored him due to his heroic status in successfully leading the original Atari Force to find New Earth. Other team members included Christopher "Tempest" Champion, son of Martin Champion and Lydia Perez; Erin "Dart" Bia O'Rourke-Singh, daughter of Mohandas Singh and Li-San O'Rourke; Hukka; Morphea, an insectoid empath; Babe, an alien

toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...

of immense size and strength; and Pakrat, a humanoid rodent thief. Later additions to the team were Blackjak, Dart's human lover; Taz, a short alien warrior; and Kargg, the Dark Destroyer's former chief underling.

Collected editions

* ''Atari Force Trade Paperback'' (November 15, 2017, ) Solicited, but not published.

References

External links

Atari Force Headquarters
- a fan site that offers far more information on the series. {{Roy Thomas 1982 comics debuts 1986 comics endings Comics based on video games DC Comics titles Science fiction comics Characters created by Roy Thomas Characters created by Gerry Conway Comics by Paul Kupperberg Dynamite Entertainment titles Space opera comics