Book Review: MARS ATTACKS (2012)

MARS ATTACKS
by The Topps Company
Published by Abrams Books

Most all horror fans are familiar with the MARS ATTACKS trading cards put out by the Topps company. If not, you probably know the 1996 Tim Burton film of the same title which was based on the cards.  The original 55- card set came out in 1962.  In 1994, Topps put out a second series of MARS ATTACKS cards which was contained reprints of the original 55 cards, plus 11 new cards.  Topps also released a 3rd version of the cards in 2012 containing reprints of the original 55 plus new parallel cards and inserts including 3D cards and original sketch cards!    Needless to say, the MARS ATTACKS cards have been a part of our pop-culture for decades.

The new book, MARS ATTACKS  from The Topps Company is a must have book for fans of these cards, or for those (like me) that never had the cards.  The book is a very cool hardcover book with pictures and facts of every card from the 1962 series and the 11 new cards from the 1994 release.  The pictures are in full color, of course, and are really well done. The book contains not just the front of each card, but on the opposite page is the back of the card, so you can read the entire story as it moves from card to card.  Under each picture  is a fact or tidbit about the picture on the card, or the artist that drew the card.  Some of these are very interesting and tell you some very cool info about the pictures, such as things that had to be changed or toned down to meet the family friendly guidelines that Topps had for the cards.  Some of these cards are still very graphic, so it is crazy to think what an "uncensored" set of these cards would look like.

The book itself is a very cool collectible.  The hardcover book has a wax-pack like dust jacket that makes the book feel like one of the original packs of cards.  Take off the dust jacket and the outside front cover of the book has a picture of a piece of gum, like the kind that used to come in the wax-packs.   This is a very good marketing design for this book.

I would give anything to have a complete set of the original cards, but since I don't see that happening, I can settle for having every card conveniently pictured in this handy book.  This is a must have for any horror collector.


CLICK HERE to watch the "trailer" for the book
CLICK HERE to purchase the book