I would like to commend you on your decision to continue publishing Antic Magazine. Like many others you are probably feeling a tremendous amount of economic pressure to stop supporting the 8-bit Atari computers -- just as I am feeling pressure to move to a 16-bit computer. As long as you continue to publish Antic, I feel I can continue to resist.

I have been using an 8-bit Atari since the early 1980s. I bought it for its entertainment value as well as for its more practical capabilities. I feel that my personal and family computer demands will never be too much for the Atari. And I hope that both Antic and my 8-bit will age gracefully into the distant future.
Joseph Chiko
Darien, IL

This much-appreciated letter from Mr. Chiko is fairly typical of many reader communications Antic has received in recent months. We have gotten used to hesitant phone voices saying breathlessly, "Oh, you're still here! Is Antic going to continue? I've been hearing these rumors..."

Well, despite any confusing rumors while readers got used to Antic's new every-second-month publishing schedule, we are still hard at work supporting the great classic Atari 8-bit personal computers.

You see, unlike the big corporations and publishing conglomerates that shut down their Atari publications, Antic Publishing Inc. is not run by beancounters who don't really care about individual readers. Because we don't have a huge corporate overhead to pay for, we are willing and able to keep putting out Antic Magazine plus Disk even if it only makes a small profit.

There will be an Antic just as long as enough enthusiastic Atari 8-bit users are still out there to support the magazine. And recently there have been some encouraging surprises. For example, in this issue you'll even find some new advertisers offering 8-bit products. Also, the Antic Software Grab-Bag discount offer has also been a big success and will continue.

Our Super Disk Bonus software is becoming more complex and ambitious too. The Antic Disk remains your best regular source of new 8-bit programs. Some of the exciting, powerful 8-bit software you'll find on upcoming Antic Disks includes -- Minature Golf Plus (a former commercial release), a new desktop publishing program and fancy fonts, a vast sequel to the original Text Adventure game, new programs from the author of Antic Music processor, an exclusive add-on module for Atari BASIC, a player design editor in fast machine language, and much more.

There's no doubt that Antic must move towards becoming primarily a magazine for disk subscribers. So don't risk not finding your Antic at a convenient newsstand -- subscribe now and tell your Atarian friends to subscribe too. Support Antic advertisers and be sure to tell them you're buying because you saw it in Antic. If you want the many more years of use that your 8-bit Atari is capable of, it's up to you to help Antic keep up the good work.

Nat Friedland
Editor, Antic