It was named after the ANTIC chip in the 8-bit line which, in concert with CTIA or GTIA, generates the display.

[1]Antic printed type-in programs (usually in Atari BASIC), reviews, and tutorials, among other articles.

[2] Its main rival in the United States was ANALOG Computing, another long-lived magazine devoted to the Atari 8-bit line.

On-Line Systems, Broderbund, and Synapse Software agreed to purchase advertising in the new publication, and Capparell's staff distributed the first issue of 30 pages at the March 1982 West Coast Computer Faire.

A utility called TYPO ("Type Your Program Once," a play on typographical error) was used to verify that programs were typed in correctly that generated set of check-sums for different portions of the lines of code, but it didn't help users find exactly which line had the error.

ANALOG Computing also used a two-letter checksum code for their type-in programs they offered and was interoperable with Antic's TYPO II.