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Atari Classics: Swordquest
For the first time ever, the classic "Swordquest" mini-comics -- created by comic book industry legends Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, George Perez, Dick Giordano, and originally packaged with the Atari cartridges of their namesake -- are gloriously remastered and collected in a trade paperback for long-waiting fans to enjoy!
Adventurous siblings Torr and Tarra, raised as thieves after the murder of their noble parents, set forth on a quest across four worlds to recover the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery... a prize that sets them one step closer to overthrowing King Tyrannus and his sinister ally, the wizard Konjuro. Can the twins gain mastery over the four elements and deliver justice to the despot?
As an added bonus, this collection includes the "Yars' Revenge" mini-comic, introducing the heroic insect aliens that dare to defy the evil Qotile empire!
Adventurous siblings Torr and Tarra, raised as thieves after the murder of their noble parents, set forth on a quest across four worlds to recover the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery... a prize that sets them one step closer to overthrowing King Tyrannus and his sinister ally, the wizard Konjuro. Can the twins gain mastery over the four elements and deliver justice to the despot?
As an added bonus, this collection includes the "Yars' Revenge" mini-comic, introducing the heroic insect aliens that dare to defy the evil Qotile empire!
- GenresGraphic NovelsComics
171 pages, ebook
Published September 13, 2017
7 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Roy Thomas
4,479 books270 followersRoy Thomas was the FIRST Editor-in-Chief at Marvel--After Stan Lee stepped down from the position. Roy is a longtime comic book writer and editor. Thomas has written comics for Archie, Charlton, DC, Heroic Publishing, Marvel, and Topps over the years. Thomas currently edits the fanzine Alter Ego for Twomorrow's Publishing. He was Editor for Marvel comics from 1972-1974. He wrote for several titles at Marvel, such as Avengers, Thor, Invaders, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and notably Conan the Barbarian. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes — particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America — and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
Also a legendary creator. Creations include Wolverine, Carol Danvers, Ghost Rider, Vision, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Valkyrie, Morbius, Doc Samson, and Ultron. Roy has also worked for Archie, Charlton, and DC among others over the years.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 19, 2017
3.5 stars.
Ok, I'm dating myself here, but I remember the Atari 2600 (mostly) fondly, and I remember the game Swordquest and the massive amount of hype that preceded it at the time. (Of course there was no Internet at the time, so I'm sure some of the younger are reading that statement and LOL'ing to theselves!)
Flashfoward 30-odd years later, and I found this in my local comics store. And since I'm a nostalgia whore and horrific impulse buyer....
This is a quick but enjoyable read that is quintessentially 80's, even if the comics really had little (if anything) to do with the actual game.
As an aside, I'm also reading the CURRENT, monthly Swordquest title, which I'll review later.
Ok, I'm dating myself here, but I remember the Atari 2600 (mostly) fondly, and I remember the game Swordquest and the massive amount of hype that preceded it at the time. (Of course there was no Internet at the time, so I'm sure some of the younger are reading that statement and LOL'ing to theselves!)
Flashfoward 30-odd years later, and I found this in my local comics store. And since I'm a nostalgia whore and horrific impulse buyer....
This is a quick but enjoyable read that is quintessentially 80's, even if the comics really had little (if anything) to do with the actual game.
As an aside, I'm also reading the CURRENT, monthly Swordquest title, which I'll review later.
March 31, 2025
George Perez is always a great artist and if you are a fan of his work you will enjoy this but the storyline is lame and boring
January 16, 2018
2.5 stars if you have access to Wikipedia to make sense of what you’re reading. The awesome George Pérez designs and art are better than you would expect with the free promotional comic gimmick (admittedly, it’s a low bar). The plot and writing are pretty adolescent sword & sorcery fair. I can be a bit forgiving there because they had to fit it to the “story” of the video game source material, and having played some Atari games it’s kind of remarkable that they built this much narrative at all. It works if you can be nostalgic for this type of thing (which I often can). But it requires a real dedication to the “rule of cool” (i.e. it doesn’t have to make sense as long as it’s cool), specifically for the definitions of “cool” that appeal to a 10-year-old, or at least someone in touch with their inner 10-year-old. Again, sometimes that can hang together for me but your mileage may vary.
The big problem with this was that only 3/4 of the planned video games/comic books where ever published, so the story ends on a ridiculous cliffhanger. Now, the problem isn’t that I needed to know what happened. (Obviously the heroes find the magical sword, defeat the evil wizard, and probably ascend to the throne as righteous sovereigns.) This is presented as a collected edition, basically a historical document, but without the context that I would expect in one. There is no possible way to see this as a stand-alone story, but there is no indication of that or explanation of the abrupt end. I actually wondered if the copy I found had been a misprint. Even a one page postscript about what happened (apparently Atari shuttered and the project was abandoned) could have provided a sense of resolution for the reader. As it stands, I was unpleasantly surprised and left to google it on my own. It seems like there are forwards/afterwords/author’s notes in every comics collection these days, it is a real shame not to include one in a collection that really needs it.
The big problem with this was that only 3/4 of the planned video games/comic books where ever published, so the story ends on a ridiculous cliffhanger. Now, the problem isn’t that I needed to know what happened. (Obviously the heroes find the magical sword, defeat the evil wizard, and probably ascend to the throne as righteous sovereigns.) This is presented as a collected edition, basically a historical document, but without the context that I would expect in one. There is no possible way to see this as a stand-alone story, but there is no indication of that or explanation of the abrupt end. I actually wondered if the copy I found had been a misprint. Even a one page postscript about what happened (apparently Atari shuttered and the project was abandoned) could have provided a sense of resolution for the reader. As it stands, I was unpleasantly surprised and left to google it on my own. It seems like there are forwards/afterwords/author’s notes in every comics collection these days, it is a real shame not to include one in a collection that really needs it.
October 5, 2017
In the early 80s, Atari released a series of "Swordquest" contest games for the Atari 2600. These comics accompanied those games.
Three of the planned four games were released: Earthworld (1982), Fireworld (1983), and Waterworld (1984) (no Airworld). The Franklin Mint created a prize for each game: a talisman, a chalice, a crown, and the philosophers stone. Each prize was made from gold and precious stones, and each was worth $25,000 USD (in 80s money). A competition was to be held between the four winners, and that winner would receive a golden sword worth $50,000. Only the first two prizes were awarded before the game market crash that took down Atari.
Performing certain actions in these games would reveal number-pair clues. These clues sent the players back to the comic book that came with the game. The first number in a clue was the page, and the second number was the comic panel on that page. In that panel, the player could find a hidden word.
If you have this book, it's still fun to try to find the hidden words. See if you can find them for the following page/panel clues:
Earthworld:
5-3, 8-4, 13-3, 15-4, 16-4, 17-3, 25-6, 27-2, 47-5
Fireworld:
6-1, 7-2, 13-4, 16-1, 25-1, 27-1, 33-4, 43-4, 48-3 (but misspelled)
Waterworld:
5-5, 8-4, 16-5, 19-5, 21-4, 22-7
Inexplicably, a few of the clues were removed from this reprinting. Specifically,
1) In the opening poem to Earthworld, the color of the words "Prime" and "Number" were changed, so that the player knew to only pay attention to clues that were prime numbers. The color difference has been removed in this reprinting.
2) In the opening poem to Fireworld, the font for the words "add To seven" was changed. This was to indicate that the player should only accept clues for which the digits summed to 7. The font difference has been removed in this reprinting.
Three of the planned four games were released: Earthworld (1982), Fireworld (1983), and Waterworld (1984) (no Airworld). The Franklin Mint created a prize for each game: a talisman, a chalice, a crown, and the philosophers stone. Each prize was made from gold and precious stones, and each was worth $25,000 USD (in 80s money). A competition was to be held between the four winners, and that winner would receive a golden sword worth $50,000. Only the first two prizes were awarded before the game market crash that took down Atari.
Performing certain actions in these games would reveal number-pair clues. These clues sent the players back to the comic book that came with the game. The first number in a clue was the page, and the second number was the comic panel on that page. In that panel, the player could find a hidden word.
If you have this book, it's still fun to try to find the hidden words. See if you can find them for the following page/panel clues:
Earthworld:
5-3, 8-4, 13-3, 15-4, 16-4, 17-3, 25-6, 27-2, 47-5
Fireworld:
6-1, 7-2, 13-4, 16-1, 25-1, 27-1, 33-4, 43-4, 48-3 (but misspelled)
Waterworld:
5-5, 8-4, 16-5, 19-5, 21-4, 22-7
Inexplicably, a few of the clues were removed from this reprinting. Specifically,
1) In the opening poem to Earthworld, the color of the words "Prime" and "Number" were changed, so that the player knew to only pay attention to clues that were prime numbers. The color difference has been removed in this reprinting.
2) In the opening poem to Fireworld, the font for the words "add To seven" was changed. This was to indicate that the player should only accept clues for which the digits summed to 7. The font difference has been removed in this reprinting.
April 22, 2023
Very much enjoyed this collection of comics that originally accompanied each Atari Game Cartridge for the Swordquest series. Along with enjoying the comics, I also enjoyed learning (through online searching) more about the true story of the Swordquest games, the amazing contest Atari held for the real life prizes from each game:
*Earthworld = “Talisman of Penultimate Truth
*Fireworld = “Chalice of Light”
*Waterworld = “Crown of Life”
*Airworld = “Philosopher’s Stone”
These were to be actual physical treasures, awarded to players, and worth over $150,000!
I missed this during the 80s but, I was disappointed to learn that the game series was never finished, thus the Airworld comic is missing from this collection and the “Philosopher’s Stone” was never awarded.
If you want fun further reading Google the Swordquest contest, very interesting history.
**bonus, this collection includes the Yar's Revenge comic which I do remember reading as a kid (loved that game).
*Earthworld = “Talisman of Penultimate Truth
*Fireworld = “Chalice of Light”
*Waterworld = “Crown of Life”
*Airworld = “Philosopher’s Stone”
These were to be actual physical treasures, awarded to players, and worth over $150,000!
I missed this during the 80s but, I was disappointed to learn that the game series was never finished, thus the Airworld comic is missing from this collection and the “Philosopher’s Stone” was never awarded.
If you want fun further reading Google the Swordquest contest, very interesting history.
**bonus, this collection includes the Yar's Revenge comic which I do remember reading as a kid (loved that game).
October 3, 2017
Overwrought but charming nonetheless. It'd be unlike Roy Thomas not to deliver a saga and that comes in spades. The art is awesome but the storytelling is pretty clunky- in certain peril one minute, saved by laborious exposition the next! I read this as a prelude to reading the new Swordquest comic from dynamite and it set that up nicely- especially the fact that Airworld is missing from the four 'elemental' worlds and leaves the story with a cliffhanger of epic proportions.
May 15, 2018
I remember reading the first two issues of these comics countless times back in the early 80s. I could never figure out how to play the actual Atari 2600 Swordquest cartridges. So I settled for the enclosed comics instead. I never saw the Waterworld one so it was a treat to see what happened to the heroes all these years later. The series was cut short before the final chapter - Airworld - could be told. So I guess we will never know if the twins ever recovered the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery.
January 28, 2019
I own the original digest-sized comics... I had been hoping that the reprint TPB would be a full-size book to show off George Perez's gorgeous art in its full detail, but it's still goddamn digest-size. What the hell?
April 19, 2023
A very fun Sword and Sorcery tale with great artwork (it very reminiscent of Perez's Wonder Woman run). I would have adored this at age 10.
A shame Airworld was not finished at the time so the comics remain unfinished.
A shame Airworld was not finished at the time so the comics remain unfinished.
July 15, 2023
A fun and interesting artefact. Fantastic sword & sorcery artwork by George Perez and Dick Giordano. 4/5 for the art.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews