 Card wrapper for the original 1962 release of the series | |
| Other names | Attack from Space |
|---|---|
| Type | Trading cards |
| Invented by | Len Brown[1] |
| Company | Topps |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1962–present |
| Features | Mars in fiction |
Mars Attacks is ascience fiction-themedtrading card series released in 1962 byTopps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artistsWally Wood andNorman Saunders.[1] The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion ofEarth by cruel, hideousMartians under the command of a corrupt Martian government who conceal the fact from the Martian populace thatMars is doomed to explode and, therefore, proposes colonization of Earth to turn it into their new homeworld. The cards depict futuristic battle scenes and bizarre methods of Martian attack, torture and slaughter of humans, as well as various Earth nations being attacked. The story concludes with anexpeditionary force of humans volunteering to embark on a counterattack on Mars, in which the Earth force attacks the Martians in their manner (bayoneting and bullets). The Earth attack forces, after destroying the Martian cities and killing the Martians, depart just before Mars is destroyed in the predicted cataclysm, thus ensuring the peace and safety of Earth as the Martian race is seemingly doomed to extinction. Backstories included how the invading Martians used growth rays to transform insects into monsters to attack cities, differing geographic regions dealing with the Martian invasion, Earth factions such as rival urban gangs and national differences having to be cast aside for the sake of repelling the invasion, or the sociology of Mars, in this case a small tribe of peaceful Martians who hoped to find a way to escape the destruction of Mars without attacking Earth, but their voice being overruled by the corrupt Martian government.
The cards proved popular with children, but depictions of explicit gore and implied sexual content caused an outcry, leading the company to halt production. The cards have since become collector's items, with certain cards commanding over $3,500 at auction.[2]
In the 1980s, Topps began developing merchandise based on theMars Attacks storyline, including mini-comic books and card reprints.[3] An expanded set of 100 cards calledMars Attacks Archives was issued in 1994 by Topps and spawned a second round of merchandising. DirectorTim Burton released a feature film calledMars Attacks! in 1996 based on the series, spawning a third round of merchandising, including anintercompany crossover with theImage Universe, titledMars Attacks Image and published byImage Comics. In 2012, Topps released a 50th anniversary expanded set of 75 cards calledMars Attacks Heritage, leading to a fourth round of merchandising that continued into 2017 with the release of an official sequel series,Mars Attacks: The Revenge!
TheMars Attacks trading card series was created byTopps in 1962. Product developerLen Brown, inspired by Wally Wood's cover forEC Comics'Weird Science #16,[1] pitched the idea toWoody Gelman. Gelman and Brown created the story — with Brown writing the copy — and created rough sketches. They enlisted Wood to flesh out the sketches andBob Powell to finish them. Norman Saunders painted most of the 55-card set (Maurice Blumenfeld painted 10 – 20% of them, but Saunders provided the finishing touches to all of the images).[4]
The cards, which sold for five cents per pack of five, were test marketed by Topps through thedummy corporation Bubbles, Inc. under the nameAttack from Space. Sales were sufficient to expand the marketing and the name was changed toMars Attacks. The cards sparked parental and community outrage over their graphic violence and implied sexuality. Topps responded initially by repainting 13 of the 55 cards to reduce the gore and sexuality. However, inquiries from aConnecticutdistrict attorney caused Topps to halt production of the series altogether before the replacements could even be printed.[5]
In 1984, the first official item was released since the original series appeared: a direct copy of the original series of 55 cards, plus a 56th card that reprinted the wrapper graphics, was released by Renata Galasso Inc. through an agreement with Topps.
In 1994, Topps re-released the cards as an expanded version titledMars Attacks Archives, with the original 55 cards and 45 "New Visions" cards. The 45 new cards are further divided into a #0 card, three subsets ("The Unpublished 11" (with 11 cards)), "Mars Attacks: The Comics" (with 10 cards) and "Visions: New and Original" a.k.a. "New Visions" (with 22 cards)) and one card titled "Norm Saunders: A Self-Portrait". Twenty-one artists collaborated on the new cards, includingZina Saunders, the daughter of the original artist Norman Saunders.Topps Comics, in conjunction with the trading cards, issued a five-issue comic book miniseries based on the original 55 cards written byKeith Giffen and drawn byCharles Adlard. Topps Comics continued the story in an ongoing series that lasted seven issues, a one-shot special and three more miniseries.Wizard magazine and Topps Comics also published a #1/2 issue and an Ace Edition issue (#65).[5]
In 1995, one year after theArchives series, Screamin' Productions and Topps released a tie-in set of eightMars Attacks vinyl model kits with an accompanying series of eight new trading cards, each one inside one of the kits. Bonus items that could be acquired by sending in proof-of-purchase certificates from all eight of the kits were two new nearly identical bonus cards (one oversized card with theMars Attacks logo on the top of it and one regular-sized card without it) and a limited edition ninth vinyl model kit.[5]
In 1996,Warner Bros. released Tim Burton's feature film adaptationMars Attacks!. In conjunction, two hardcover novels were released:Mars Attacks: Martian Deathtrap byNathan Archer; andMars Attacks: War Dogs of the Golden Horde byRay W. Murrill. Each contained two new trading cards inside the middle of each book (the paperback editions, however, did not have the trading cards inside them). A paperback movie tie-in novelization bythe film's screenwriter was also published, in addition to two comic bookintercompany crossovers withImage Comics that continued the Topps Comics run titledMars Attacks the Savage Dragon andMars Attacks Image, both of which respectively depicted the Martians battling theImage Comics superhero theSavage Dragon and the Martians battling other characters from the widerImage Universe.Trendmasters also produced a series of toy figures based on the film.
In 2012, to commemorate the franchise's 50th anniversary, Topps partnered with a variety of companies on comic books (viaIDW Publishing), bobbleheads and vinyl figures (Funko Pop!), action figures and plush toys (Mezco Toyz), costumes (Incogneato), statues and busts (Quarantine Studio), electronics skins (Gelaskins) and a commemorative hardcover book and 2013 wall calendar, both with nearly identical sets of four new trading cards (the only difference being that the book's cards had white borders on the front of the cards and the calendar's cards had green borders) (Abrams Books).[6] Topps also re-released the original 55-card series again as a second expanded version titledMars Attacks Heritage, including two subsets ("Deleted Scenes" (with 10 cards) and "Guide to the New Universe" (with 15 cards)).
In 2013, Topps issuedMars Attacks: Invasion, a reboot series of 95 trading cards featuring a new story (Mars Attacks: Invasion (cards #1–58, plus a #0 promo card from the 2013San Diego Comic-Con)) with new artwork cards (divided into "Mars Invades IDW" (cards #59–77 and #91–92) and "Art of Mars Attacks" (cards #78–90 and #93–95)) and including four new subsets ("Mars Attacks: Early Missions" (with six cards), "Mars Attacks Masterpieces" (with five cards), "Join the Fight!" (with four cards) and "Anatomy of a Martian" (also with six cards)). This was the lastMars Attacks trading card series to be sold in retail stores as of this date; all other such series have been sold online ever since.
A second series of trading cards,Mars Attacks: Occupation, also featuring a second reboot series of 81 trading cards that picked up whereMars Attacks: Invasion left off (Mars Attacks: Occupation (cards #1–45) with new artwork cards (divided into "Art of Mars Attacks" (cards #46–63), "Factions" (cards #64–72), "Occupation Profiles" (cards #73–78) and "The Kickstarter Video" (cards #79–81)) and including six new subsets ("Mars Attacks Superstars", Mars Attacks: Then and Now!", "Mars Attacks All-Star Art" and "Dinosaurs Attack! vs. Mars Attacks" (each with nine cards (the last one of which was also available as a foil card set)), "Attacky Packages" (a hybrid subset betweenMars Attacks andWacky Packages with 13 cards; the last three cards in this subset were titled "Attacky Packages Old School" (like "Dinosaurs Attack! vs. Mars Attacks", this one, too, was also available as a foil card set)) and "Mars Attacks/Judge Dredd" (with 18 cards)) was funded by Topps onKickstarter in 2015 and released in 2016.[7]
A licensed sourcebook written by David Levine appeared for the fourth edition of thetabletop roleplaying game systemGURPS. This included artwork taken from the cards and comics.
In 2017, to commemorate the franchise's 55th anniversary, Topps released an official sequel series to the original 1962 55-card series calledMars Attacks: The Revenge!, which takes place five years after the events in the original series and chronicles a second invasion of Earth by the surviving Martians that were off-world and on Earth during the destruction of Mars. It contained 110 cards - the story itself (cards #1–55) and rough pencil art for the story cards (cards #P-1–P-55). No subsets were made for this series. It was sold as a complete box set that contained only the unwrapped 110 cards.
A third series of trading cards,Mars Attacks: Uprising, was released in 2020 exclusively through aKickstarter campaign, with cards sent to those who donated to the campaign. Multiple artists were tapped to create multiple storylines, which generally depict counterattacking humans beginning to turn the tide against the Martian invasion.[8]
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