#Atari Force
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Atari Force by Howard Chaykin
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House-ad for Atari Force (1984), a series featuring characters and stories loosely based on trademarks of Atari, Inc.
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August 1985. José Luis García López illustration from the WHO'S WHO entry for Dart (Erin Bia O'Rourke-Singh), a precognitive interstellar mercenary from the DC ATARI FORCE series.
#comics#who's who#atari force#dart#erin bia o'rourke singh#josé luis garcía lópez#the 1986 atari force special strongly implies she's bisexual#(she has a boyfriend in the ongoing series but her previous partner was a woman)
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José Luis García-López
Atari Force #6
1984
Follow Rhade-Zapan for more visual treats
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Back in 2011, I was asked "So, what old DC comic would YOU like to reboot, and what's the angle, and can you draw a cover for this theoretical comic relaunch?" I was not asked this by a professional editor at DC, but by my friend Jon who was doing a themed blog thingie. Look, it was before the world we live in now—we had time to imagine a better world and fool around! Anyway, I am reposting the "pitch" I wrote, as well as the illo I did back in 2011 (below), just to have it here. Above is a more recent posca drawing/painting of Dart (as you will see if you read the wall of text below, she's my favorite 😂)
ATARI FORCE #1 (of 12)
2063: A.T.A.R.I. (Advanced Technology And Research Institute) combs an infinite number of realities in order to find a suitable new world for the population of a dying Earth. In their travels through the Multiverse, one of the expeditionary forces does battle with and ultimately kills the ultimate evil - a lovecraftian devourer of dimensions they dub the DARK DESTROYER. In the course of this battle, they find a perfect, empty world in a universe teeming with advanced civilizations. After some false starts both the recolonization of New Earth and the socialization of the New Earthlings with the rest of their new neighbors is a success.
2088: THE ATARI FOUNDATION, now the de facto governing party of New Earth, has ushered in a new era of utopian prosperity. After the Old Earth was brought to the brink of destruction by gross negligence and mismanagement, the people of New Earth are only too happy to put themselves in the guiding hands of ATARI. All live in relative prosperity and happiness..
Except for MARTIN CHAMPION, brilliant Multiversal scientist and the leader of the original expedition that battled the Destroyer. Martin is haunted by the death of his wife in childbirth, and is convinced that the Dark Destroyer somehow caused it. Instead of going about his life and picking up the pieces, Martin sits in his lab sending probes out in to the Multiverse, in hopes of finding proof of the existence of the Dark Destroyer. Martin has, over the years, become a laughingstock of ATARI, as well as driven his now adult son out of his life, due to misplaced anger about the death of his wife. All he has left is his obsession..
Until one of his probes goes missing after sending back readings of energy very similar to the kind the Destroyer radiates. Worried that he's given the Dark Destroyer a direct route back to New Earth in the lost probe, Martin hijacks his now antique Multiversal scout ship
SCANNER ONE and heads out to stop the Destroyer once and for all. To help him on this mission, he enlists:
ERIN BIA O'ROURKE-SINGH, aka DART - A telepathic mercenary, as well as his goddaughter. She's one of the deadliest, sexiest beings in the universe, and she has a precognitive "second sight" that comes in handy.
MORPHEA - An alien empath, forced on Champion by the ATARI FOUNDATION to serve as his psychiatrist. Ostensibly she's there to help him with his "delusions", but her connection to Martin's deepest convictions gives her reason to think he's actually right about the danger facing the Multiverse.
CHRIS CHAMPION, aka TEMPEST - Martin's estranged son. A professional fighting champion who's anger management issues and freakish teleportation abilities have made him a star in the Mega-Brawl circuit.
Wanted by the government of New Earth, and pursued by the ATARI Security Squad, Champion has to outwit them all and defeat the ultimate expression of evil all over again. Luckily this time he has the new, improved, ATARI FORCE!
Over the course of their adventure, their rag tag team grows in size as they pick up new members:
BABE - The hulking, freakishly strong infant from a world of rock-like creatures.
TUKLA OLY, aka PAKRAT - An impish, self-absorbed master thief who goes into berserker rages when cornered.
TAZ - A master soldier, last of her race, who carries deep anger and sadness within her.
MOSES FISK, aka BLACKJAK - Dart's lover, a roguish mercenary once thought dead, secretly brainwashed to do the Dark Destroyer's bidding.
---
I loved AF as a kid, so when Jon asked me what book I'd reboot if I got the chance, it was one of a handful of titles I considered. I especially loved Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez' designs and storytelling, and Gerry Conway did a really good job weaving all these plot threads together in an exciting way.
My reboot of the book would reprise it as a 12 issue mini series (or maxi series, as it would have been called back then), and really play up some of the hard sci fi elements at the fringes of the concept, as well as inject a sort of European sense of storytelling to the character bits, while still remaining true to the general arc of the original.
The only character I would really change that much is Chris, who in the original is pretty lame/bland/whiney and was quickly overshadowed by Dart. I thought giving him the MMA-style fighting league to be a part of would be something interesting for him to use to try and cope with being crapped on by his dad all his life, as well as ground him more than in the original series, where he's really sort of a cypher-brat.
Another wrinkle I would explore is the sexual tension between him and his "sister", Dart. It's hinted at in the original series, but I think that I'd have it bloom fully in my version on these long weeks and months stuck on Scanner One - Chris always having had a thing for Dart since they were kids, and Dart being rather depressed and lovesick because of Blackjak's apparent death early in the series. Things would, of course get rather sticky when Blackjak reappears.
Needless to say, the ATARI FORCE gang eventually wins out against the new iteration of the Dark Destroyer, but not without some serious losses, and they limp off still wanted by the ATARI FOUNDATION and use the failing Multiversal drive on Scanner One to take them into unknown space..
Atari Force was created by Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas. (Read more)
#atari force#zack soto#comics#illustration#drawing#poscapaintmarkers#dc comics#fanart#gerry conway#jose luis garcia lopez
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Eduardo Barreto “Atari Force” Who's Who The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe (1985) #1 pages 24-25
Source, source
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Who's Who In The DC Universe #1: Arkham Asylum, Atari Force, Atlantis
Arkham Asylum by Steve Bissette & John Totleben
Located on a wooded acre of land just north of Gotham City
Founded in 1921 by Dr. Amadeus Arkham, a vigorous social reformer, on land left to him by his mother
Amadeus’s mother suffered from mental illness
The asylum was the first facility of its kind in Gotham
Amadeus transformed his ancestral home into an asylum and staffed it with some of the most prominent psychologists and physicians of the time.
One of Arkham’s first inmates was “Mad Dog” Martin Hawkins, who had been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the murders of Arkham’s wife and infant daughters.
Dr. Arkham treated Hawkins with “great concern and compassion”, right up to Hawkin’s accidental electrocution two months after his incarceration.
In 1929, 6 days after the legendary stock crash, Dr. Arkham went berserk and was arrested when he attempted to electrocute his stockbroker. Amadeus wasn’t happy over losing his entire fortune in the crash.
Amadeus was committed to Arkham Asylum. He spent the remainder of his days carving indecipherable inscriptions on the floor of his cell while singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.
Amadeus passed away in his sleep on April 7, 1963.
The Asylum wen through a series of state-appointed administrators after Amadeus’s incarceration.
The most recent was Dr. Byron Blaine, who has held the position since his predecessor was taken captive and replaced by Professor Achilles Milo, one of the Asylum’s inmates.
Other notable inmates include Two-Face, the Floronic Man, the Mad Hatter, Clayface III, Maxie Zeus, and the Joker.
Arkham Asylum debuted in the Batman comics in 1974 but has quickly become a foundational aspect of the Batman mythos. Hugo Strange, Harley Quinn, and Scarecrow all worked at Arkham Asylum in the various continuities. Numerous important storylines have taken place at Arkham, including the kickoff of Knightfall when Bane released the inmates to exhaust Batman.
I haven’t read Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum since it came out in 1989 but I think I remember the writer referencing Amadeus’s backstory. I seem to remember Mad Dog’s electrocution wasn’t so accidental after all. The Who’s Who entry (which pre-dates Morrison’s story by 4/5 years hints about the true nature of Mad Dog’s death when Amadeus attempts to electrocute his stockbroker). I don’t blame Amadeus, no one should be tasked to care for his wife and infant daughter’s murderer.
Amadeus played a background role in the Batman Arkham games when Quincy Sharpe, the Asylum’s current administrator, becomes convinced he is the reincarnation of Amadeus Arkham.
Arkham Asylum appears in all the various Bat Family titles and crossover media (cartoons, movies, video games). Notable storylines include the Arkham Asylum GN by Grant Morrison and Arkham Asylum: Living Hell. “Living Hell” isn’t as famous as Morrison’s graphic novel, but I enjoyed it. It follows a businessman who pleads insanity to avoid prison. The judge is fed up and sentences the man to Arkham. It doesn’t end well for him.
The Asylum has appeared in various non-Bat titles, including the Justice League, Justice Society, and Sandman. Arkham made appearances in the Justice League cartoon and a Suicide Squad animated movie.
Atari Force by Eduardo Barreto
Earth has been ravaged by war and ecological imbalance. The Atari Technology and Research Institute sent a specially trained crew throughout the multiverse to find a new world for humanity.
The crew found a new world after months of trials and tribulations. It was dubbed New Earth.
Twenty-five years later, the Dark Destroyer returned to menace New Earth.
Martin Chapman, one of the original founders of New Earth, founded the Atari Force to battle the Dark Destroyer.
The team is composed of Martin, his son, and members of various alien recipes.
DC issued digests in the 1980s (the size of the Archie digests you find in the grocery stores). One series of digests was devoted to the Legion of Super-Heroes (it’s how I read most of the Silver Age appearances of the Legion). Another had random reprints of various DC comics. This digest contained the only Atari Force story I have read. If you’re curious, the other stories in the digest were a Blue Devil story, the “Who Is Donna Troy” New Titans story, and the “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” Legion story (the one where Gim introduces Yera to his parents). I don’t recall much of the Atari Force story.
Atari Force was licensed from the actual Atari company which explains why the group isn’t seen/reference anymore.
Atlantis by Marshall Rogers
Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, the continent of Atlantis was one of the first places on Earth where civilization flourished. It was the most sophisticated civilization in the world, establishing twelve scattered settlement cities on other continents.
Magic was the dominant source of power in early Atlantis but science and technology gradually rose to prominence, later Atlantis combined magic with technology
Atlantis launched an exploratory spacecraft in 45,500 BC
King Thorval sent six expeditions in the 9600 BC to find alternate places for Atlanteans to live in the face of an impending natural catastrophe
One of the expeditions founded a colony in a secluded area between the earth’s surface and the hidden land known as Skartaris
Atlantis sank beneath the sea with only two of its cities surviving (Tritonis and Poseidonis)
The Atlanteans constructed protective domes around the cities and developed serums to allow underwater breathing
The citizens of Tritonis had an unexpected reaction to the serum and transformed into merfolk.
The Atlanteans developed telepathic abilities to communicate underwater. (But only Aquaman can command the creatures of the sea).
Tritonis remains secluded but Poseidonis has had more public exposure, including a major exposition held for the air-breathing people.
Remnants of the original Atlantean colony lost beneath the earth have been active again recently, attempting a takeover of Skartaris, which was thwarted by Travis Morgan (the Warlord).
Aquaman, Aquagirl, Aqualad, Arion, and Atlantis itself. Aquaman’s corner of the DC universe was features heavily in the first issue of “Who’s Who In The DC Universe”.
Atlantis has a role in all Aquaman series and other media projects. Power Girl was connected to Atlantis in a unnecessary post-Crisis retcon. Don’t worry, the retcon was also retconned and Power Girl is once again a Kryptonian. Atlantis and its citizens were featured in Infinite Crisis when an unstable Spectre unleashed his wrath on the area (he was on a rampage against magic users). DC’s Atlantis has made appearances in the Justice League cartoon, Young Justice cartoon and comic, and an animated Justice League movie.
#dc comics#dcu#batman#arkham asylum#amadeus arkham#mad dog martin hawkins#atari force#atari#atlantis#aquaman#skartaris#who's who in the dc universe
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Atari Force #2 by Jose Garcia Lopez
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Atari Force promo from DC Sampler #2
By Gerry Conway, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez & Ricardo Villagran
#atari force#jose luis garcia lopez#jose luis garcia-lopez#ricardo villagran#Gerry Conway#atari#comics#comic books#comic book art#dc sampler#dc#dc comics
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Atari Force: Dart by José Luis García-López
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Atari Force
Ja, vertaalde comics verzamelen kan soms al eens frustrerend zijn. Niet alle series en uitgaven die gelanceerd worden, houden het vol tot het einde. Het aantal vroegtijdig afgebroken reeksen is dan ook niet op één hand te tellen. Toch loopt het gelukkig ook regelmatig goed af. Zelfs bij minder bekende helden en uitgaven. Een goed voorbeeld is Atari Force, dat van 1985 tot 1987 werd uitgegeven door Baldakijn.
Videogames
Begin jaren ‘80 was er in de Amerikaanse huiskamers nog geen sprake van Nintendo. Dé gaming console van dat moment was de Atari 2600. Als promotiestunt verpakte Atari toen mini-comics over hun personages bij een aantal games. De productie van die strips werd verzorgd door DC en die aarzelden niet om ‘schoon volk’ als Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Gil Kane en Dick Giordano in te schakelen. Uiteindelijk zou er in 1983 nog een aparte graphic novel verschijnen die de verhalen uit de mini-comics samenbracht.
25 jaar later
Het succes van die graphic novel deed DC besluiten om Atari Force een eigen comicreeks te geven. In die reeks neemt een nieuwe groep helden die zijn samengeroepen door A.T.A.R.I. (Advanced Technology And Research Institute) het in het universum op tegen de Dark Destroyer. Dat was ook al zo in de originele mini-comics. De avonturen in deze reeks spelen zich 25 jaar later af met een aantal nieuwe personages.
Kwaliteit
Gerry Conway bleef aan het roer als schrijver. Tekenaar van dienst werd José Luis Garcia-López. Beide vakmannen, en dat is aan de reeks te merken. Atari Force is een zeer leuke en vlotte avonturenstrip. Veel beter dan je van een al bij al commercieel verplicht nummertje zou verwachten.
In de Verenigde Staten zou de reeks het 20 nummers volhouden van 1984 tot 1985. En die comics zijn dus allemaal in het Nederlands verschenen bij Baldakijn. Dat is trouwens niet zo vanzelfsprekend. De reeks verkocht niet echt goed, en aanvankelijk werd ze ook stopgezet na zes nummers. Gelukkig kwam Baldakijn daar een dik jaar later op terug en gaf het alsnog de resterende nummers uit. De moeite waard om op te sporen!
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Important advice for time travellers: If you ever find yourself in a future timeline where Atari is somehow still a successful corporation, get the heck out of there as quickly as possible. For example, look at Soylent Green, set in the far-off year of 2022, where overpopulation has led to horrific conditions and probably doomed mankind to extinction. And look what's in the background in one of the apartments in this bleak future:
That's right, it's Computer Space, Atari's first attempt at an arcade game, which was never much of a success in real life, despite its cool futuristic cabinet design. But in Soylent Green, it's still somehow around and apparently popular in 2022, suggesting that Atari is as well. And then there's Blade Runner, also set in the distant future of 2019, in a dark, dirty dystopia with evil megacorporations and opressed robots. And look, there in the background:
Okay, that's a pretty small sign, maybe Atari isn't that big? Well, look at the sequel, Blade Runner 2049:
Yep, skyscraper-sized billboards for Atari.
But maybe I'm being unfair. Let's see what kind of a future Atari themselves depicted in their licensed comic "Atari Force", set in the distant future of 2005, wherein Atari has become a major research institute:
Okay, that looks pretty nice, but what's this "Break-up" they're talking about?
Okay, so just a short World War III, I'm sure there were no lasting consequences...
Oh dear. Earth is basically dying, and the premise of the comic is that the only solution is for Atari to construct a dimension-travelling spaceship that can locate an alternate universe Earth where humanity can escape from their dying home world.
I know it's just three examples, but it's enough to make me think that while the world is in a pretty bad shape right now, it would be even worse if Atari was anything other than a brand name owned by another company at this point.
#atari#soylent green#blade runner#atari force#dystopia#dc comics#atari force has no business being as good as it is
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