"Swordquest" Atari comics revival

[ZMOQ]

Does anyone remember "Swordquest", the video game for the Atari 2600 in the early 80's? I liked "Adventure" and I was intrigued by the advertisements of the upcoming "Swordquest"games in the Atari Age magazines. Since I was working in my first job, I had the disposable income to buy "Swordquest-Earthworld" when it came out. They advertised that there was a contest to win real treasures (made of gold!).

Unfortunately, after buying the game, it was a disappointment. Several of the mini-games were almost unplayable, and the idea of struggling through screens to pick up an object, and then randomly pair them with other objects in other hard-to-reach rooms wasn't fun at all.

I was far more entertained by the comic book included with the game. Written by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway and illustrated by the great George Perez and Dick Giordano! The original Swordquest comics are available online here:

https://atariage.com/comics/index.html

Surprisingly, there's a relaunch of the Swordquest comics. Street date is said to be tomorrow, May 3, with the first issue being 25 cents. Here's a link to more info, and some previews of the artwork.

http://www.cbr.com/swordquest-0/

This could be interesting, but the artwork is nowhere near the caliber of the original George Perez art.

[EMCE Hammer]

I spent many hours playing Swordquest. That being said, when I break out (see what I did there) the Atari every few years it never makes the cut.

[rche]

I recall the Swordquest games fondly. I definitely think the comic enhanced my enjoyment of the game, plus it probably brought a little bit of sense to the grab and object and leave it somewhere gameplay. I also enjoyed sporting the t-shirt they sent to the Atari club members. Mostly I recall being profoundly disappointed when the final game was cancelled and my magazine subscription switched from Atari Club to some other gaming magazine.

[ZMOQ]

Well, I managed to find Swordquest Issue 0 (zero) of the relaunched Swordquest comics in a little, out-of-the-way comics shop in Pacifica, near Highway 1. Yes, it is 25 cents.

I kinda knew what I was getting into based on the previews published on the 'Net. Artwork is not exceptional- these days, seems that comics rely too heavily on computer-generated color and not solid draftsmanship, penciling and inking.

The basic premise is that the protagonist, Peter Case, has terminal lung disease. He's burned out of his apartment, heads to Mom's house, where she stored his Atari 2600. He reminisces about his old Atari and the Swordquest game. His Mom comes in and talks about how, 30 years ago, Peter was disappointed that he didn't win the Atari contest and she was tempted to go and steal the Atari prize sword for him. That plants an idea in current day Peter's head that maybe he wants to track down the actual sword and maybe steal it.

I dunno, it's not lighting my fire. I'll give the actual first issue (#1) a shot when it comes out in 2 weeks. But I probably won't continue. $3.99 is a lot to pay for hokey art, and a story that might drag on for years. I think a better idea would be for Dynamite/Atari publishers to hunt down Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and George Perez (all are still alive and 2 of them are in their early-mid 60's) and have them create an AirWorld comic- the last of the actual Swordquest games. If they'd only produce a resolution for Torr and Tarra vs King Tyrannus. Now that's something I'd pay for!

Also, graphic novel re-publication of the original Thomas/Conway/Perez Swordquest comics is coming up soon.