In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Mars Attacks, this comprehensive book is the first-ever compilation of the infamous science-fiction trading card series produced by Topps in 1962. Edgy, subversive, and darkly comedic, this over-the-top series depicting a Martian invasion of Earth has a loyal following and continues to win new generations of fans. For the first time, this book brings together high-quality reproductions of the entire original series, as well as the hard-to-find sequel from 1994, rare and never-before-seen sketches, concept art, and test market materials. Also included are an introduction by series co-creator Len Brown and an afterword by Zina Saunders, daughter of the original artist, providing an insider’s behind-the-scenes view of the bizarre and compelling world of Mars Attacks. Includes four Mars Attacks trading cards. Includes preliminary sketches and artwork, including a facsimile of the original trading card mechanical on the inside back cover, with reproduction of the 1962 handwriting from the original Topps production department. Praise for Mars Attacks: “The best thing about this 50th-anniversary book is that it frees Mars Attacks from rose-tinted memory.” —NPR.org “The work produced by writer Len Brown and artist Norm Saunders, collected now in the anthology Mars Attacks: 50th Anniversary Collection . . . continues to pass muster as a lurid snapshot of sci-fi paranoia at its most pulp-fictiony.” —Wired.com “It’s like a mini-museum of alien grotesquerie between two solid covers, depicting all the iterations of the series, with further treatments by modern illustrators, and sketchbook reproductions, and names, dates, and times. Oh, and? And there are four bonus trading cards included with each copy of this graphic and texty artifact.” —AustinChronicle.com “It’s a true gem of American pop culture history that should be a centerpiece on any true geek’s coffee table.” —The Houston Press Art Attack blog
A new series based on chewing gum cards which made their appearance in 1962 and were considered too gruesome, but not anymore. The Martians kill humans with superior technology, including the ability to turn bugs into giants.
The Year is 2040. The Marines have landed on Mars to guard the unearthed secrets of an ancient and dangerous alien race: Ourselves. Scientists have discovered something astonishing in the subterranean ruins of a sprawling Martian city: startling evidence of an alternative history that threatens to split humanity into opposing factions and plunge the Earth into chaos and war. The USMC -- a branch of a military considered, until just recently, to be obsolete -- has dispatched the Marine Mars Expeditionary Force, a thirty-man weapons platoon, to the Red Planet to protect American civilians and interest with lethal force if necessary. Because great powers are willing to devastate a world in order to keep an ancient secret buried. Because something that was hidden in the Martian dust for half a million years has just been unearthed . . . something that calls into question every belief that forms the delicate foundation of civilization . . . Something inexplicably human.
When Mars attacked Earth, the battle left no side unscarred, least of all a lonely old man and his blind niece...along with the first Martian child born on Earth! Will the child's warlike ways take over, or is there more going on here than it seems?
Spencer hasn't finished a dang thing in his life. So, when he goes to visit his dad to see if maybe he can borrow some money, the last thing on his mind is global survival. Now Spencer and his father are on the run, trying to avoid being space-ray'd by a bunch of destruction happy Martians, heck bent on zapping them dead! Writer Kyle Starks (Rick and Morty, Rock Candy Mountain) and artist Chris Schweizer (The Creeps, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) bring you the face melting experience of a lifetime with Mars Attacks for the first time at Dynamite!