Archive for July, 2006

Retro Scan Special Edition: Atari Force #1 In-Depth Extravaganza!

Monday, July 31st, 2006
Atari Force
WANTED: People of ethnicity to fill out pandering, tangentially video-game-related comic book “superhero” team. Must be comfortable wearing skin-tight crotch-grabbing uniforms and fixing ridiculously unrealistic spaceships. Extremely perky breasts and indelible toothy smiles a big plus.

Today we’ll be looking at Atari Force #1, which is a mini comic book (5″x7″) that came as a free pack-in with the game Defender for the Atari 2600 in 1982. Much more after the jump!

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Retro Scan of the Week: “Student’s Guide to Computer Language”

Monday, July 24th, 2006
Student's Guide to Computer Language
Here we have a handy BASIC-slanted guide to computer terminology (circa 1983) from an “educational” comic book titled Electronics, compliments of Tandy-Radio Shack (the “TRS” in “TRS-80″). Considering the source of this publication, I have a strange feeling that the definition for “Information Retrieval System” might be a little suspect…

If you use this image on your site, please support “Retro Scan of the Week” by giving us obvious credit for the original scan and entry. Thanks.

This Week’s Game Ads A-Go-Go: “A Serious, Frank Discussion on Overcomplicated Ads”

Thursday, July 20th, 2006
Crazy Complicated Mommas on Motorcycles
The world’s most obscene gaming column is back, but this time with a deadly serious discussion about overcomplicated, over-flashy, headache-inducing game ads.

Check out the latest Game Ads A-Go-Go column here.

Retro Scan of the Week: Freaky Caterpillar Ships, 12 O’Clock!

Monday, July 17th, 2006
Galaxian 2600
Sure, you’ve probably seen this picture before — it’s the cover of the Atari 2600 version of Galaxian.

But look again. Have you really seen this picture? Have you ever stopped and thought about what’s actually going on here?

No, I’m not going to tell you, because I have no idea either. But the commenter with the best description wins a free chocolate donut.

If you use this image in a blog post, please support “Retro Scan of the Week” by giving us obvious credit for the original scan and entry. Thanks.

The Land of 10,000 Plastic Marios

Wednesday, July 12th, 2006

Land of 10,000 MariosIt’s official: Brett Martin has a metric buttload of video game memorabilia. By Mr. Martin’s own estimation, his collection clocks in at about ten to fifteen thousand individual pieces. But not all of those trinkets of molded plastic, cast metal, and fluffed polyester are depictions of Nintendo’s famous Italian plumber. His gaming nicknack collection actually spans a diverse range of characters from different franchises, companies, and eras.

That's-a-lotta Marios!Martin is married to a loving wife that is tolerant of his collection. But in the process of settling down and moving on to a new phase of his life, he recently realized that some things have to go. So Brett set up a new website to help him thin out his massive collection, while also sharing it with the world. The site, called the “Video Game Memorabilia Museum,” is a virtual museum of Martin’s pieces, which he is always updating with new photos and entries when he gets the chance.

VGMM LogoThe main gallery area of the VGMM site is divided into sections dedicated to specific video game franchises like Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Kirby, Mega Man, and Crash Bandicoot. Each main franchise section has sub-categories based on characters from within the franchise. Within those are further sub-categories based on the type of item (keychains, plushies, figures, and pins usually among them). Further probing reveals individual items from his collection, complete with pictures. He also has a section with a number of items for sale, as well as a community forum. It’s a lot of fun looking through all the stuff he has up there — I definitely recommend taking a stroll through the museum at least once yourself.

Brett recently sent me a new batch of photos his collection, which are splashed throughout this article, and agreed to an email interview, which is reproduced below.

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