We all have trade paperback (TPB) collections we'd like to see. Here's one of mine:

*also found in DC Comics Presents #89 (5/23/19: I will add the cover for the preview issue later. Real life is preventing me from spending too much time on this at the moment)

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This one is pure nostalgia for me. Atari Force started off as five DC mini-comics that came with Atari 2600 games from 1982-1983. I had at least a couple of those, so I was pretty excited when Atari Force became an ongoing series from DC Comics in 1984.

That probably had largely to do with one of the main characters- Tempest- having the same first name as me: Christopher. I wanted to be Tempest- reaching through portals- so bad it hurt. Remember: Atari 2600 was it for gaming at the time, so kids relied largely on their imaginations for entertainment. I wanted to be Tempest.

Another draw was probably that the team had some close parallels to Star Wars, character-wise. Close, but not quite, just to be clear. If I had to equate them, I'd say: Martin Champion is kind of a grumpy Obi Wan; Tempest is Luke Skywalker; Blackjak is an untrustworthy Han Solo; Pakrat, Taz, and Babe all have qualities of Chewbacca; Morphea is somewhat like Yoda; and Dark Destroyer definitely reminds me of Darth Vader (but also of Baron Karza, but maybe that's because I was reading the end of the Micronauts series at the time as well). I don't think I'd quite equate Dart with Leia. I always thought she was pretty unique with her tattoos on one side of her body- I'd say she's one of the first badass women characters I recall in my comics reading.

As I recall, I was a little frustrated reading this series, because it seemed like the characters were never a hundred percent realized. I don't really think that was the fault of the creative team though. It seems that licensed products at the time could only be messed with but so much. Kind of the way Eighties cartoons had to stay tame for the kiddies. I do remember that I still really liked this series though. A good space opera title is something I'm always down for.

For the collection, I have in the past suggested this many issues as multiple trades, but I think that the Dark Horse Omnibus collections, and the Marvel Epic collections, have both shown that bigger books can now be bound without the contents coming away from the spine. So I think this book would sell better as one volume. For the cover, I'd simply go with Atari Force (1984) #1- a nice group shot. The alternate title is suggested simply to keep it consistent with the 2017 Swordquest TPB that was produced by Dynamite.

There's precedent for this TPB in that Dynamite has already reprinted the Swordquest (and Yars' Revenge) mini-comics in a 2017 TPB. They also produced a six-issue Swordquest mini-series the same year. If those can be done, Atari Force seems like a no-brainer.

5/23/19: A little more than precedent apparently, as Dynamite has also announced a reprint of the five mini-comics from the games as Atari Classics: Atari Force. Wikipedia lists that trade as November, 2017, but Amazon shows it as January, 2019. It is not yet listed on Comic Vine. When I can determine which is correct, I'll correct the info here. 11/10/20: Unfortunately, this one was cancelled. All the more reason to do the full TPB!

Thanks again!

"Atari Force" sounds kinda like an early version of Smash Bros

I'm honestly not familiar with Smash Bros. Looking at the official website though, I'd say no. Although I'd thought of the parallels before, I hadn't really considered how similar to Star Wars it was until I wrote this blog. Not as good as Star Wars, obviously, but it had its charm.

I remember seeing these when I was a kid but never reading one.

Maybe I should go check it out now.

@blueecho: I thought they were fun. I started rebuilding my Atari Force collection awhile back, but I haven't finished it yet. I'd like to read it again at some point.