Task: Read “Atari Force” Mini Comic Books
Needed: Web browser
Time: 15-60 mins
Introduction
I have a large stack of Atari 2600 manuals and catalogs that I accumulated over the years. In this stack there are several Atari mini comic books which shipped in boxes of select cartridges. Among these are the first two issues of Atari Force published by DC Comics. Atari Force was published in 1982 and came in five issues. These issues came in the boxes for Defender (Issue 1), Berzerk (Issue 2), Star Raiders (Issue 3), Phoenix (Issue 4), and Galaxian (Issue 5) for the 2600. These are fun to read and I love the futuristic portrayal of Atari as a research institute developing technology to save the world. As a scientist, I think the imagery is pretty cool.
Instructions
The five issues of Atari Force are all available online at Atari Age. The originals can be found on eBay for around $5 each.
Comments
These are not as cheesy as I thought they would be. I love the visuals with the Atari research building shaped like fuji. There were several other similar mini comics including several based on the SwordQuest series of games. I will do future posts on some of these others as I add them to my collection and read them.
There is a compilation volume listed on Amazon but it does not seem to be for sale at the time of this posting.
