Atari Force Month: Issue #12 Review

Quick preamble: My lady and I are currently in the process of moving from Texas to Massachusetts which means, among other things, that our scanner is no longer accessible. So there will be no scanned images for these Atari Force reviews for the foreseeable future, and indeed there may be no more for the rest of Atari Force Month. Probably a bad call for me to start with scans if I knew I was moving, but obviously I didn't think that through.

Atari Force #12 is interesting more for the external facts of it than the content inside. This is true for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it marks the end of José Luis García-López's run as penciler. He is one of the series' creators and biggest assets, and it's a shame this is his last issue, because a) the section he draws is only sixteen pages long, and b) this is some of his least impressive work on the book. It's still very reliable art. This is not García-López getting sloppy, just getting noticeably looser in his linework. On the largest panels, the splashes and spreads, he is his usual self: heavy detail, smart use of every inch of page space, smart angles, fluid action, strong emotion, etc. But some of the smaller panels seem unfinished, characters with featureless faces and vague backgrounds and the like. And even some of the main fight scene feels less exciting than usual. There isn't as much energy or creativity to it, just a bunch of people fighting a smaller bunch of other people.

García-López is a talented enough storyteller to get a little lax without the issue becoming muddled or dull. This is still fine work, and there are a few truly great moments. A two-page spread of the Dark Destroyer and his amassed forces as they confidently await their foes' arrival is particularly impressive, and the opening splash of Tempest on trial works as a captive introduction. Tempest is still battered and defeated, his head down and his body barely held up with help. In the background, the A.T.A.R.I. members who serve as his judges loom tall, and the room expands high and wide around them, giving the sense that Tempest is more trapped here than he was in his cell. It is the spaces in between these massive, heavy beats that come out a bit weaker here than ever before, and that's too bad. García-López was such a key part of the comic's strength, I hate to see him go out without a bang.

The final page, at least, is García-López on his A game, so he leaves the book with a memorable image. It is another full-page splash, and in essence, this one page is the whole point of issue #12. It features the Dark Destroyer with his enormous horned helmet off for the first time, revealing to Atari Force that, underneath, he is Martin Champion. Considering Martin is the Destroyer's oldest and most passionate foe, and standing right in front of him when this revelation is made, it's a safe assumption that there's going to be some explaining to do next time. For now, though, this works as a narrative bomb, a legitimately unexpected twist that, looking back, has been skillfully hinted at in previous issues. Is this some future Martin? An alternate reality version? An evil twin? Something even more complicated than those? The questions abound, and can be seen clearly on the expressive faces of Atari Force as they try to cope with the image of Martin Champion in the Dark Destroyer's clothes. It's an effective final page, and a fitting farewell from García-López, even if the rest of the issue wasn't fully up to snuff.

This issue is also the beginning of the end of Gerry Conway's time on the title. He plots this issue and the next, but they are scripted by others, with #12 being handled by editor Andy Helfer, who also wrote #8. As with the last time Helfer took the helm, there is no drastic change in writing style here. The cast is strong enough that their voices stay firm, and Helfer obviously has a familiarity with them. It only takes one page for him to handle the fallout of Blackjak's betrayal last issue, and he does a damn fine job of it. Dart visits Blackjak in his holding cell to search for answers, but the best he can offer is that he's always been a coward, but was able to pretend at bravery when she was around. Dart made him better, bolder, stronger-willed than he was, and the Dark Destroyer forced Blackjak to face the truth about his inner weaknesses by saving him. I can't think of a better way to break somebody than to force them to admit that their life is a lie, and that's what the Destroyer has effectively done here. So Blackjak is fully subservient, and though he says it through tears, he is no doubt sincere when he tells Dart that he'd try to kill her again if his master instructed it. Dart, for her part, tries to maintain stoicism, and recovers by going after the Destroyer with everything she's got.

It's not nearly enough, though, and Atari Force get quickly trounced by their enemy and his innumerable henchmen. They fall so quickly that Martin steps in and surrenders for them, not wanting to watch any more of his people die because of the Destroyer. And in the wake of that surrender comes the final reveal of the Destroyer as Martin, and everyone else's jaws hit the floor.

That is the bulk of the primary narrative, with the exception of Tempest's trial scene at the top of the issue. Which is the worst scene by far. It's basically all old hat, but screamed instead of just being heatedly discussed. Nothing is accomplished, since before any actual legal proceedings can be carried out, Tempest has yet another pointless tantrum and is knocked unconscious by Hunter. I'm not sure why the scene is even included, except maybe to fill some space and remind the reader what Tempest is up to. Once he gets carried back to his cell, Professor Venture tries to convince the court that the Dark Destroyer is still a threat, but as always, nobody listens. It's growing fairly tiresome by now.

And that's essentially all that goes down. Tempest gets nowhere, Blackjak admits what a bastard he is at heart, and then Atari Force gets beaten up by the Destroyer's goons until, WHAMMO!, he takes his helmet off and has Martin's face. His voice, too, in my head. That's a decent amount of material for a sixteen-page story, I suppose, but because this is the first time Atari Force has had such a truncated issue, it feels fluffy and overly brief. Most of the story is just a long build-up to the last page, anyway, and that feels like too little for a whole issue to accomplish. Like with the art, it's not that the writing is terrible or even necessarily bad, but it is certainly disappointing.

My disappointment is mitigated by the seven-page, Hukka-centric backup feature written and penciled by Keith Giffen. It's not astounding, but it's lots of fun, the story of Hukka hunting a tiny lizard-like critter for sport while unknowingly being hunted himself by a much larger beast for food. In the end, Hukka catches his terrified prey, and then notices that he is something else's prey in a hilarious full-page splash that also reveals the monster's full figure to the reader for the first time. And on the opposite page, an even larger monster swoops done from the sky and gobbles up Hukka's hunter in a single bite. Those two pages are hilarious and rich, and the crux of Giffen's entire piece. After them is one last page where Hukka lets his lizardish captive go, demonstrating the lesson of the story's title, "Do Unto Others." A simple little tale that Giffen draws with a tenderness and liveliness that adds a lot.

I do wish Tom Ziuko had colored to two huge beasts differently. They are both all pink, which makes it a tad less clear than it could be what is happening when the second one eats the first. But that lasts for only a second, and Giffen's designs for the creatures overshadow any tiny coloring missteps.

Atari Force #12 is an issue of awkward transitions. José Luis García-López finishes his stint as artist somewhat poorly, Gerry Conway plots but does not write this issue, and there's a backup story for the first time, which for some reason means fewer pages for the main narrative. As the old creative team phases out, the book finds itself stumbling a bit, and it's aggravating. I don't know the history of why the original creators left, if they walked off or were told to leave or what, but no matter the situation, I wish it had been done more smoothly. As Conway's epic story winds down, he doesn't even get to script it; the cast may still sound like themselves, but the book itself feels different here. And not in a good way.

Atari Force Month: Issue #11 Review

I have a working theory that Atari Force the book is at its best whenever Atari Force the team are at their worst. Issue #6 was the best issue until this one (and it may still be, but they're close) and what the two share is that they're both chapters in which the good guys get trampled. And though the overall quality here may be lower than in #6, the trampling is many times more brutal and effective.

Let's start with Tempest, arrested at the end of last issue, and now locked in a dimly-lit cell and kept on a disorienting, disabling drug called scopadrone to keep him from phasing himself to freedom. He appears to slide in and out of awareness, struggling to regain control of his own mind and body so he can warn the world about the Dark Destroyer. The world doesn't want to hear him, though, so he remains a prisoner for now. Only Professor Venture shows Tempest any care or concern, visiting him more as a mother than mentor. She cradles the scared and broken boy in her arms, and fights for his rights and his freedom. It gives Venture as a character a distinct sense of purpose she's been lacking up to now, and underlines the tragedy of what Tempest is going through.

Venture also has a spirited debated with Captain Hunter about following the rules vs. doing what is right, and whether or not those are the same thing. Venture argues that, with so many questions surrounding Tempest and his father's theft of Scanner One, maybe they should find some answers before arresting anybody. Hunter points out that the answers can come out in trial, and until they do, Tempest is a criminal according to the law, and must be treated the same way any criminal would. These are equally valid points that have been made about countless other cases, real and fictional, before and since. But still worth touching upon, and, again, it gives Venture something more active and important to do. It also makes Hunter seem smarter and more reasonable than he was before, which is good for any character always, although I personally prefer to have him be an oaf.

Hunter also brings up Rident in this conversation, wondering where the hell he is, and I have been thinking the same thing for several issues. The time for Rident to make his move was probably somewhere back around #8, after the initial encounter with the Dark Destroyer had wrapped. But it's been longer than that since he's appeared on panel, and Hunter's throwaway line is the only reference to Rident in just as long. He wasn't the strongest member of the cast, and as far as guys with a stick up their ass who are after Atari Force, I'll take Hunter over Rident any day of the week. But no character deserves to be shoved aside and abandoned completely, so fingers crossed that Rident will return.

Before Venture is done this issue, she has one more Tempest-related conversation, this time with Dr. Orion, the man who turned Tempest in. He is racked with guilt about it now, because he's come to realize, in light of some new info, that the Dark Destroyer killed Tempest's mother, not the boy himself as Orion had previously believed. Somewhere in his mind, Orion has blamed Tempest for killing Lydia all these years, which undoubtedly made the decision to hand him to Hunter much easier. Now, though, he feels he made the wrong call, because if the Destroyer really did kill Lydia, that means he's still out there, which means Tempest and his supposedly delusional father Martin are right. What Orion intends to do about it, if anything, is left up in the air, but at least there's one more character on the ride side of things, and an intelligent and resourceful one at that.

Not that it does Tempest any good here. He makes no progress, beginning and ending the issue in his cell and his drug-induced state. It is unquestionably the most broken he's been, including when the Destroyer beat him senseless. But it pales in comparison to what Dart experiences when Blackjak turns on her.

Predictably, Blackjak is working for the Dark Destroyer, but I give Conway credit for getting that out of the way in the first scene. It's not the cliffhanger, it's the opener, not played for surprise because it's not a surprise. What makes that scene buzz is José Luis García-López's art. He kicks off the excellence right on the first page, depicting many members of Atari Force sleeping in their rooms. Some are peaceful, some restless, some alone, and others in groups. It is a quiet, intimate, inviting opening page, establishing a brief calm before the immense storms of the issue's narratives.

Blackjak is the only person awake on Scanner One, and he has a secret meeting with his master where the two sabotage the ship. It's clear Blackjak would rather not participate in this, but the Destroyer has a mental hold over him. Like Blackjak's new allegiance in general, the detail of the Destroyer's mind control is no great shock. But García-López makes it count in a single panel that enters Blackjak's mind and displays in great visual detail the overwhelming pain of the Destroyer's psychic attack. It keeps Blackjak ever so slightly sympathetic even as he officially slides over to the villainous side of things.

The Destroyer and Blackjak's plan is to override Scanner One's navigational computer and force the vessel to go where the Destroyer wants. And they succeed, but doing so forces Blackjak to show his hand. Martin immediately suspects him of sabotaging the navigation, but is hopeful that it can be fixed. So Martin, with Babe by his side for the heavy lifting, gets to work trying to repair his ship. But Blackjak sabotages that as well, almost killing Martin and severely hurting Babe with a powerful electric shock. There is no more hiding for Blackjak after that, no more denying his partin all of this. So Dart confronts him, and the two have one of the best-looking yet hardest-to-read fights in the whole of Atari Force.

Conway and García-López, as well as inker Bob Smith and colorist Tom Ziuko, fire on all cylinders and then some for the length of this battle. It begins with something simple but earth-shattering, and ends in about the most tragic imaginable way (save, perhaps, for one of the two lover/combatants dying). For just a moment after realizing his betrayal, Dart stares at Blackjak, the man she thought she knew, thought she loved, and he stares at her right back. García-López draws out the tension and melancholy of that moment with a series of small close-ups of Dart and Blackjak's faces done in silhouette, with a tiny, shadowy image of them standing before each other in the middle. Then, beneath this small and quiet row, there is a half-page image of Blackjack punching Dart square in the jaw, a blow that hits harder for the weight of its surprise than the actual impact of his fist.

If that page wasn't heart-breaking enough already, García-López outdoes himself on the lower half with three perfectly composed panels. First, a tight, silent panel of Dart's face after being hit, the fear and bottomless sadness pouring from her eyes. She has never been so helpless and scared, but this is the man she loves attacking her, so the change is all too fitting. Then she makes one final attempt to connect to the man she once knew, saying he was never afraid of death and therefore must not be himself. Blackjak's response in the page's final panel is the cruelest, most painful strike he makes against her: "You didn't know me very well." Dart was the only person who knew Blackjak as well as she did, and vice versa, so to have him deny all of that so sternly and callously is more damaging than any physical attack could ever be. García-López knows this, and constructs the panel accordingly. Blackjack towers over Dart, to the point that his head extends beyond the panel border. She is contained by it completely, even though the top of her ponytail could, technically, go past the edge. He has all of the power in that moment, so he is the one who gets to bust through their physical confinement.

There are other, smaller touches, too, that make this panel my favorite single image of the series so far, if not of all time. The gun is the true foreground, amping up the danger of the scene and solidifying that Blackjak is serious about being a bad guy now. And Tom Ziuko adds a lot, with the harsh red background contrastingly so blatantly with the blues Dart is done in. She is a shadow of herself, and wants to be anywhere else, so her colors are darker and more obscured. Blackjak, meanwhile, is done in bold blacks and grays, making him stand out as an even more imposing figure on top of the blank red plane behind him. There has not been so gripping or tragic a moment as this one, and things go downhill from there.

Dart and Blackjak knock each other around for a page, during which Dart says that she doesn't believe Blackjak will shoot her. She is confident that she still knows the man he really is inside, and that that will keep her safe. She is, sadly, wrong, and in another startling half-page image, Blackjak takes his shot right at her heart, psychically and metaphorically.

Of course, Dart's always got her battle armor on, and she survives, tricking Blackjak by staying down until he gets close enough for her to grab. She knocks him out, but takes no joy in it, and indeed comes out of the whole mess with a far more joyless attitude than she's ever had before. Even when fighting insurmountable odds, even after she thought Blackjak had died, Dart was always able to maintain her humor and generally upbeat spirit. But pulling herself from the water in which her former love tried to kill her, Dart is the very picture of depression and gloom. Watching Blackjak die was unthinkably horrific for Dart, but fighting him is truly unbearable.

So yeah, this is a fantastic issue, emotionally bashing the cast and reader alike. The only thing that keeps it from being far and away the best issue yet is the very final page, when the Dark Destroyer makes an annoyingly long-winded and unimpressive speech. The real problem with it is that it isn't information that's new to the reader, only to Atari Force. The Destroyer lays out his plan to bring Atari Force to him so they can witness the destruction of their universe, but he's already told Kargg that's what he was doing. So it's not a new threat, and is thus underwhelming as a cliffhanger. Also, the speech literally includes the phrase, "And, speaking of destruction," to get from one point to the next. Weak.

It is but a moment of weakness, though, at the end of one of the book's strongest issues. Neither Tempest nor Dart have ever been in such dire circumstances, and indeed Atari Force as a team is at a new low. They've lost Tempest, lost control of their ship, and have no idea what's in store for them. These are the worst of times if you're in the comic, but the best if you're a reader.

Atari Force Month: Issue #9 Review

For the first time in this series, José Luis García-López is inked by somebody other than Ricardo Villagrán, but it turns out the difference is minimal. With Bob Smith, the characters' faces are sometimes a bit smoother, but otherwise the linework is just as strong as ever. And García-López proves that his pencils are the core of the book's artistic strength, utilizing many of the tools in his belt. Strange layouts, sharp new character designs, and his usual fluid action are all at work here, helping to liven up an issue that is largely expository.

There are two outright info dumps in this issue, first when Tempest catches Professor Venture up on everything that's happened so far, and then again when Mohandas tell Tempest about the original Atari Force encountering the Dark Destroyer. Gerry Conway stuffs them both full of information, presumably designed to catch new readers up on the series' history, but the scenes still manage not to be boring. In Tempest's speech, Conway finds a few opportunities to clarify things that I wasn't sure of before. Like Tempest's exact reasons for joining his father's mission, or the probe being nothing but bait with which to trap Atari Force. There are some definite problems, such as the never-asked question of how Tempest learned so many of the details of Dart's past with Blackjak. She's been avoiding the topic, so there's no in-story reason I can think of for Tempest to have all that info, particularly the fact that the Dark Destroyer was behind Blackjak's death. Does Dart even know that, and if so, how? I guess the Destroyer said something to Martin about trying and failing to capture Dart before, but still...seems a bit of a stretch that Tempest would be aware of every single thing that's happened to every character in every issue. I understand that the primary goal of his speech is to fill in the audience, and second to that is, you know, portraying the character accurately, but I think that's too bad. It's not impossible to imagine Tempest learning all of this, but it's highly unlikely he would have.

Along the same lines, Tempest's story includes things like an explanation of Dart's precognitive powers, which Professor Venture must be familiar with. Considering she studies Tempest's abilities professionally, if she was ignorant of what Dart can do it would be baffling. That's a small quibble, though it comes up again when Mohandas reminds Tempest who the original Atari Force were, something Tempest has told the reader in previous issues. Obnoxious, but ultimately minor.

Mohandas' story is, I assume, pulled from the first volume of Atari Force and, therefore, also recap in its own way. If you'd read all of volumes 1 and 2 up to here, then this issue would have very few new developments to offer. It is an informational, educational script above all else. Mohandas describes for Tempest the old Atari Force's first few struggles against the Dark Destroyer, who back then was some kind of awe-inspiring space squid living between dimensions. He also establishes the idea that the Dark Destroyer has mind-control abilities, something not really shown before now. Though he kicked Morphea out of his mind and clearly has a massive intellect, the Destroyer's henchman have, to all appearances, worked for him willingly. Knowing he can also potentially command people through their own minds is a chilling and significant development. Mohandas' tale is not especially interesting beyond that, a standard sci-fi story of an away team dealing with unfriendlies on the ground. But it's only a couple of pages, and provides further insight into the scope of the Destroyer's evil.

What saves these info dumps the most is García-López's art, and specifically his panel layouts. The storytellers, Tempest and then Mohandas, are often depicted as larger than the panels themselves, ignoring the borders, physically possessing their respective narratives. The panels of the stories they're telling are small and stacked, a highlight reel of things that came before. They keep the eye constantly moving and the brain constantly working, so that the long-winded captions don't overwhelm or drag down the pacing.

García-López breaks standard layouts whenever the script grows dry this issue, yet in the moments of action and/or high drama, he opts for more rigid panel borders. Dart's intense training against a randomly-generated laser system is far more contained on the page, and made more impressive because of it. Seeing Dart move so masterfully in a confined setting is a better reflection of her skill level. While I usually praise García-López for his character design above all, in this issue, it is his thoughtful layouts that I like the most. Although, his design for A.T.A.R.I. Security Captain Hunter is great, equal parts hilarious baffoon and serious soldier. The white cape really ties it together.

This issue is fast and light. Because something like a third of it is taken up by exposition, but exposition that moves quickly thanks to its art, the rest of the story feels airier than usual. But truth be told, Conway does a deceptively good job of introducing new threads here, too. Important and entertaining ones. There is, as mentioned, the introduction of Captain Hunter, a classic hunter-soldier character with something to prove. Looking forward to more shoot-first action from him. And for me, at least, all of the material about the old Atari Force's meetings with the Dark Destroyer was new and interesting. I'm sure the mind-control stuff will come into play, and with any luck the Destroyer will revert to his enormous green monster form before the series concludes. To the best of my memory that doesn't happen, but gosh do I hope I'm wrong. Conway provides tasty treats for readers new and old alike, which is a strategy I admire. Taking an issue to explicitly invite new people in through overt recapping of all they've missed is not a bad idea, but if you're going to do it, you've got to give the established fans something, too. And if Hunter and the retro Dark Destroyer weren't enough, there is the bombshell conclusion teased last issue: Blackjak is back from the dead.

It is a welcome return, though the hows and whys of it are left for next issue, and García-López makes the final splash image of the character celebratory. Tom Ziuko adds a nice touch, doing everything on the page besides Blackjak in one shade of red or another so that the man himself stands out even more powerfully against it. Full of his old swagger and natural charisma, Blackjak's entrance makes for quite a cliffhanger. Even if not everything in this issue is brand new, then, the bits that are do a lot to excite me and reenergize this book. After a strange, poorly-paced wrap-up to the previous arc, it's good to see the series find its footing again.

And Conway actually addresses the ill-fitting ending of Atari Force #7, through Martin Champion, the team member who has the most prior experience with the Dark Destroyer. Martin is perturbed that Atari Force managed to escape so easily, and realizes that the Destroyer could have defeated them even in light of Dart's threat to destroy his ship. It makes Martin uneasy to know his enemy did something uncharacteristic, and in that feeling he and I are the same. I was very glad to have Conway at least nod to this, even for only a panel or two, and he also gives a glimpse of what the Destroyer is up to now. Suddenly, the end issue #7 feels not so much like a conclusion but a new plot thread disguised as the end of an old one. That's comforting, and handled intelligently.

Atari Force #9 is another example of how skilled these creators are on a team book. Everyone has something to do, even in this recap-heavy issue, and several of them have their personal stories advanced, too. While the past is revisited, the present trudges forward, putting Tempest on the run from Hunter and reuniting Dart with her lost love. It's no weaker than your average issue of this title, and stronger than some bit a good bit.

I also appreciated how Tempest and Mohandas' stories were related, not just in content but in their connection to the larger narrative. Tempest recounts his recent past while Mohandas remembers times more distant, but for both of them, what matters is how these things effect their lives now. The facts of their histories are explored not for mere nostalgia or even just for new readers, but also because there will be ramifications to these stories down the line. Again, that's the best approach to take to this kind of issue, and Conway strikes a lovely balance between things already known and the new details that will work to enrich the book's future.

As a final thought: Huzzah! A cameo from Lio!