Dynamite Announces A Hardcover Collection Of ‘The Art Of Atari’

It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I grew up in the '80s and '90s, but I've always been fascinated by video game box art, especially in the era when the graphics on the screen were a little more than vague pixel shapes. Seeing those concepts translated to those lush, pulp novel paintings that were meant to convey what you were supposed to be seeing and spark your imagination to let you believe that a little triangle was actually a spaceship fighting desperately against hordes of aliens? That's pretty cool.

And now, we're getting a chance to revisit some of the most iconic pieces of art from that generation of games. Today at Emerald City ComiCon, Dynamite announced Robert V. Conte and Tim Lapetino's The Art of Atari, a hardcover collection that comes in at over 350 pages, going deep into the art of an era. Check out more information and a preview below!

Here's how Dynamite's press release describes the book:

"Atari is remembered as the pioneer of video games -- creating fun, innovative classics like Missile Command, Asteroids, Centipede, and more. But the company was much more than that," says Tim Lapetino, co-author and Executive Director of the Museum of Video Game Art. "Atari's creative culture set the standard for Silicon Valley startups, while its art and design-driven approach yielded an amazing body of work in illustration, graphic design, and industrial design."

"Atari spearheaded a transformation of an entire generation's consciousness," says pop-culture consultant, Robert V. Conte. "As comic books changed the face of American entertainment in the 1930s and 1940s, video games did something more in the 1970s and 1980s. Starting with Pong, the company changed our world forever."

"This book collaboration with a recognized giant in the publishing industry is important because it showcases the quality and appeal of our brand and our intellectual property rights worldwide," says Todd Shallbetter, COO of Atari. "We are excited for this book of our rich, iconic history to be added to the collection of our many devoted fans, both new and existing."

The hardcover will be out in October, but in the meantime, you can see a whole lot of art from the book -- including the cover of the infamous ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, at ArtOfAtari.com.