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If you're a fan of of the Mars Attacks trading cards from 1962 like I am, you'll probably love hearing about the resurgence of interest in the old series as it now hits its 50 year anniversary. There are dozens of different products being released that include masks, shirts, and even wall graphics of any of the original 55 cards that you'd like to see displayed. (Yes, card #55, the story summary, is even one of the available options.) There are skins for your phone, bobble heads, holiday ornaments, statutes, and model kits. One of each, please!
What I'm most pleased with is the complete reprinted collection sent to me by Topps of not just the original 55 cards but some new smaller collections as well. I had many of these when I was a kid, but they've long since disappeared – not blaming my mom, but I know that the cards weren't seen in favorable light when I showed them around at school. I know the twenty or so original cards I had weren't in great shape, so the only pang of loss I feel is not financial but just nostalgic. But this crisp new set has healed the pain. The cards are just as I remember them... retro style looking Martian spacecraft, dangerous looking rayguns, and those skull-less Martians showing no mercy to the humans.
In addition to the 55 reprints, Topps has also put out a couple of smaller collections – there's the five-card set of 3D lenticular cards that bring five of the original 55 to life with a slight movement of the hand. My favorite has to be card 4 of 5 with its Martian firing energy beams from the safety of the rolling tank-like robot, a human in two of the three claws. I can just imagine what kids (and adults) must have thought when that card (#32/55) first made an appearance!
Next is the 10-card set called Deleted Scenes. These are new paintings based on the original series artist's sketches that never made it to print. They were deemed too graphic – and if you're familiar with the original 55 cards and the images shown on some of those cards, then you know too graphic really means something. Suffice to say, these Deleted Scenes cards fit right in with the original set.
Then there's the 15-card set called New Universe. The images on these cards are taken from the storyline in the new IDW comic book series (which I'll cover shortly). The artwork on these cards has been updated just a bit – the Martians have slightly larger brains and their faces fill the helmets completely. The weapons they use have a level of detail that makes me want to try to create one as a prop right now. The suits are updated, too, but the time frame (early '60s) looks to be a mix of flashbacks to the 1960s as well as a modern day invasion – the IDW cards and artwork are definitely a nice addition to the series.
Finally, there are the extremely rare 1/1 sketch cards that have original artwork printed on one side and artist signatures on the flip side with the description. I was unable to get an answer to my question about how many of these 1/1 cards there are (an eBay search shows quite a few, but rumors are that there are many more) and just how many each artist signed. The hint I got was that it was a low number. Great! I have just a single signed 1/1 card, but it's enough to put a grin on my face.
I'm fast approaching the finishing touches on my homemade arcade cabinet (the theme is Saucer Invasion) and while it will have artwork on both sides, the rear of the cabinet has nothing... solid black. I am now seriously considering getting single sleeves for each card and mounting them (with velcro) on the back of the machine... it's a great place to store them as well as display them.
The cards are sold in the same yellow-colored packs as the original 1962 series, and while you can buy the packs individually, I highly encourage you to look around for an entire box (24 packs of 6 cards plus at least one guaranteed 1/1 sketch card) if you're wanting to at least one of each of the 55 original card reprints.
I mentioned earlier that IDW has a new comic series for the Mars Attacks brand. I've only read issue #1 (and I believe it's up to issue #4 now), but I need to get moving on getting caught up as I'm loving the new art of the series and the redesign of the Martians, their suits, and the weapons. Issue #1 provides the backstory for the cause of the invasion, and I love how the Martians now have their own primary characters being developed – General Zar, a crash survivor on Earth in the '60s has been rescued and returned to Mars... 50 years have now passed and today the invasion begins.
And finally, I'm up to the new Abrams Comicarts book – Mars Attacks 50th Anniversary Collection. This full-color hardback book has an Introduction by Len Brown, the co-creator of the Mars Attacks series (with Woody Gelman, creative director for Topps Chewing Gum, Inc.), and tells the story of the series development, its setbacks, and some of the reactions to the card set when it was released. Following the Introduction are full-color two-page spreads with photos of each of the 55 original cards. On one page is the back of the card, complete with the single block of text that describes what you see on the opposing page – a sharp photo of the front of the card along with a small bit of text for a caption that provides a little more detail about the card being displayed.
After the 55 original cards are covered, the book provides images of 11 new cards released in 1994 (two years before the Tim Burton film). These 11 new cards are shown, one per page with front and back image shared on a single page. They are just as graphic and/or quirky as the original set, and are updated colorized versions of original concepts that never made the original deck. Following these cards are a number of pages showing original artwork based on the Mars Attack series – a mix of strange, violent, funny, and too-weird-to-categorize.
Finally, the book closes with photos of original sketches and concepts of the first 55 cards as well as photos of the packaging of the original set and a number of color images of the original cards that were recommissioned with less violent art. Card #32, for example, still shows the humans in the claws of the robot, but the blood is now gone.
The book closes with an essay from the daughter of the original series artist, Norm Saunders. Zina Saunders reflects on her dad's personality, his work on the actual cards, and how she used to redo some of his artwork behind his back.
The entire book is wrapped in yellow-waxy paper that is supposed to mirror the original paper that wrapped the gum and cards. The publisher even reprinted the fold and rear-text of the original wrapper on the back of the book. Oh, and tucked inside the back cover are four unique cards created just for the book – A1, A2, A3, and A4. They're only available with the book, and they are worthy of the Mars Attacks name.
I'm a huge fan... always have been, always will be. Mars Attacks found me at the right age... just having discovered hard science fiction and looking for the nitty-gritty stuff instead of the polished, perfect worlds I was getting with the Young Adult fiction at the time. I've never lost my love for Mars Attacks, and I hope the series finds success in today's world with the new comic book series from IDW. As I said earlier, it's a great time to be a Mars Attacks fan.
Note: I'd like to thank IDW, Topps, and Abrams Comicarts for providing review copies of books and cards for this review. It was a tough bit of research, but I've managed to soldier on.
