The Atari 2600’s Yars’ Revenge is having a pop-cultural resurgence with its upcoming video game and comic book: Yars Rising. The sequels to a 40-year-old video game, these sci-fi tales about aliens and fly people are positively abuzz with good reception during the summer gamefest previews despite arriving 40 years after the release of the original.
A sequel to the Atari classic created by video game legend turned psychotherapist Howard Scott Warshaw (whose work on Yars, E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark revolutionized gaming before the “Atari Shock” recession of 1983), this brand new iteration of the video game developed in partnership with WayForward and Atari is, much like its predecessor, releasing a companion comic series to go with it.
The game will be out on PC and consoles starting on September 10th of this year. The comic, available both via digitally and in traditional comics via retail stores, will be available shortly after in November. It’ll also be sold as a single-issue 32-page prequel.
Here’s the official Yars Rising description:
Yars Rising is the latest offering in a 40-year-old video game franchise that began in 1982 with the release of Yars’ Revenge for the Atari 2600 home console. In an industry first, Atari paired the game cartridge at retail with a comic book. The comic gave players a view into the expansive backstory behind the 8-bit game and set the stage for their on-screen campaign.
Yars Rising is created by artists Ele Bruni (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tea Time, Space Opera), Ashleigh Hetrick (Art Director, WayForward), and Aurora Maeno. It is written by Wayforward Game Director Adam Tierney and will be written a a prequel to the video gme. The comic follows the story of the lead character, professional hacker Emi Kimura, as she and her friends try to navigate the ramifications of a job gone horribly wrong.
