Mars Attacks Again!

A charming book from Abrams is titled simply Mars Attacks. It's a fiftieth anniversary reflection on the notorious collectible cards which have truly invaded the popular imagination. The cards designed by Bob Powell and painted by Norm Saunders were the brainchild of Len Brown and Woody Gelman. Brown writes an informative introduction about how the card set came to be. It turns out a number of the specific images have particular sources.

But the most famous and arguably important influence can be seen below. The very first card puts the Martians front and center, their massive brainy heads leering menacingly out of their protective transparent helmets. The saucers are ready and waiting as the invading force boards for Earth. 

The look of the Martians was obviously a great concern to the Topps people who wanted something a little bit scarier than the classic Green Man from Mars, but also something which while lurid wasn't so over the top that it would ignite community outrage. History shows they failed on that final count, but nonetheless in the effort to thread that needle they drew upon the talented Wally Wood to solve the problem.

It turns out Wood had drawn aliens with just the right blend of weird and ick when he illustrated this cover for Weird Science #16 for the legendary EC Comics. This iconic cover fronts a story titled  "Down to Earth" also drawn by Wood. Below is a wonderful original page from that most influential story.

The "Martians" are right there to behold. The guys at Topps had their inspiration, a monstrous gibbering head atop an oddly human form. It was a hit.

Let the invasion begin. More on how that went tomorrow. 

NOTE: This is a Dojo Revised Classic Post. 

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Mars Needs Wood!

For the cover of EC's Weird Science #16 Wally Wood fabricated an image which would have long-lasting effects which percolated through pop culture for decades and still continue to do so. It was this cover which reflects the story inside titled "Getting Down to Earth" about an alien invasion which was one spark in the minds of the boys behind Mars Attacks, the infamous card set from Topps.

Mars Attacks (originally titled "Attack from Space") was controversial from the beginning. The artwork is tame by modern standards, but for the early 60's apparently the parents would kick up quite the fuss about seeing brain-headed, bug-eyed aliens blasting furry puppies and delectable dames alike. Wally Wood was contacted to help design the cards in the very beginning and he did a darn fine job of roughing out what the Topps people wanted. But then Bob Powell was brought in to bring a bit for zest and life to the images in a final penciled form. Ultimately the great Norm Saunders was tasked with painting these iconic images of the destruction of the world and its people.

We follow the invasion from Mars from the perspective of the Martians themselves as they ready themselves to conquer Earth. They bring flying saucers and blazing ray guns to do the job and set about destroying monuments and men alike. They use their tech to created giant insects which add to the chaos and kill countless people. 

Ultimately the threat is defeated when mankind is able to mount a counter attack to Mars itself, but the Earth is left in pretty ragged shaped by the time all fifty-two cards have told their tales. 

Another strong influence, at least visually for the Martians was the frightening "Metalunan", the alien beast from This Island Earth. It's easy to see the influence the Metalunan had with its enormous brainy head and inclination to threaten lovely women. 

But the first images were done by Wally Wood, and though other fine talents might have obscured his impact on this Martian invasion, there's little doubt in this fanboy's mind that the idea of invasion was just getting started in the mind of the master. 

Note: This post originally appeared at Rip Jagger's Other Dojo. I will be transferring some of those posts over here as the month goes on. 

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Damn Dirty Trading Cards!

I rather enjoy these book collections of classic Topps trading cards from decades gone by. The latest one I picked up was this one dedicated to the Planet of the Apes. In a spritely essay by Gary Gerani we learn that Topps was a little late to the PotA party and these cards did not hit the shelves until a full year after the films release. Which was a virtue in a way since the editors didn't have to sweat spoiling the surprise ending of the first movie. 

This set of Topps cards from 1969 is a smaller assortment than normal and for a very odd reason. In these early days the notion of cross-promotion of a film was hardly unheard of, but not yet the marketing powerhouse it would become with films like Star Wars and after. So Topps had to negotiate with star Charlton Heston individually about using his likeness and he for some reason limited them to nine cards. Since he was the main character the editors at Topps decided to make this set only forty-four cards since they didn't want to make it seem he was a minor character. 

Oddly folks like Roddy McDowell didn't have the same option since their features were obscured by make-up. So this set landed and did some small business but not enough to see Topps try anything for the myriad sequels. They did scare up a set for the TV show but alas the CBS show was canceled just as the cards were hitting the shelves. 

The had much greater success when they got the rights to Tim Burton's revised Planet of the Apes and came forward with a wide range of cards. This book has them all included though I confess limited interest in the Burton images. It's a fine flick and all, but that first was a barn burner. 

I'm most happy to add the Planet of the Apes tome to take a place alongside earlier efforts featuring Star Trek and the legendary Mars Attacks. 

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Wacky Packages!

A few days ago my beloved wife ("She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed") had a few medical appointments all inside the local hospital. That left me with several hours on my hands to wander the streets, which almost always means I end up in a bookstore. I thought the store which would do me and my wallet the least harm was Half-Price Books (my new favorite bookstore) and I spent a few hours in there plumbing the depths of the collections.

Among what I found were two volumes from Abrams showcasing the Topps 70's card phenomenon called "Wacky Packages". These are exceedingly well-crafted spoofs of then-current products. The gags were designed by the likes of Art Spiegleman (yep, that Art Spiegleman) and Jay Lynch among others. In the spirit of the heights of MAD magazine, these send-ups were clever and crude and almost always funny. The art is supplied by longtime Topps artist Norm Saunders (yep, that Norm Saunders) who gives these garish little cards their convincing oomph.

When I stumbled across this image, a send up of Warren's Vampirella magazine I knew I had to have these two handsome little volumes. There's something so inside-baseball about this selection which speaks to the interests of the creators. I don't know anyone in the broader pop culture sufficiently aware of Vampirella to imagine a spoof.

More normally, the jokes are built around household products. But the one above would certainly light a candle under the right-wing constitution-spewing numbskulls who'd find some attempt to subvert the youth to devilish non-Christian ways. They'd blame Obama most likely.

Similarly the myopic goblins of the left would pounce on this ad gag, which not only promotes violence but even a kind of reverse bullying where the kid kicks the crap out of the adult. It's empowering in one way and threatening in another, at least that's what a Pinko might say. He or she also might just blame Obama.

And one and all might blanch at this one given the gun-mad microverse we Americans inhabit. With school shootings making the news every day, a Left-winger might say such a spoof was insensitive and might negatively impact a child's fragile psyche and a Right-winger might say the ad makes light of the a citizen's god-given and constitutionally-protected right to wander the civilized world armed like a gangster.

Thanks Obama!

But I also say these mildly transgressive little parodies are funny, evoking a smile if not a laugh each and every time. To get a look at many many more see this outstanding link dedicated to the Wacky Packages phenomenon.

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Where No Gum Had Gone Before!

In the spirit of their highly excellent Mars Attacks book which I took a look at a few weeks ago, this little tome showcasing Star Trek cards hit the book racks of my local retailer several weeks ago. There is an unalloyed charm to these books which capture a seemingly more naive time before the engines of industry had fully coordinated all aspects of marketing and trends, and fads could bubble up (pun intended) from some offbeat directions.

At the time that Topps put out their Star Trek card sets, all properly packaged with the inevitably inedible gum, they were responding to the mid-70s' uptick in interest in the series which had been revived from network doom and was finding unexpected success in syndication across the nation. The bicentennial year of 1976 was not one which knew that Star Trek was an unstoppable franchise, but merely a sci-fi TV show that was finding fans all across the country.

In spite of the juggernaut Star Trek would become after the eventual movie arrived, Topps found these cards pretty much a bust. They only did one series and it's speculated that's the reason not all the episodes are represented in this series, something saved for the sequel. But there was no proper sequel, though Topps tried again when the movie did strike a chord some years later.

One oddity is that Sulu doesn't make a single appearance on these cards. Now considered a core member, he is somehow forgotten in all the furor to gather the images (from fan sources it is reported) and doesn't get any type of shout out. That oversight is corrected in the new book which comes with some bonus cards, one of which does finally at last give Sulu is due.

This is a fun little book, and something any fan of the original series might want to take a look at.

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Mars Attacks - The Invasion Begins!

A charming book from Abrams is titled simply Mars Attacks. It's a fiftieth anniversary reflection on the notorious collectible cards which have truly invaded the popular imagination. The cards designed by Bob Powell and painted by Norm Saunders were the brainchild of Len Brown and Woody Gelman. Brown writes an informative introduction about how the card set came to be. It turns out a number of the specific images have particular sources.

But the most famous and arguably important influence can be seen below. The very first card puts the Martians front and center, their massive brainy heads leering menacingly out of their protective transparent helmets. The saucers are ready and waiting as the invading force boards for Earth. 

The look of the Martians was obviously a great concern to the Topps people who wanted something a little bit scarier than the classic Green Man from Mars, but also something which while lurid wasn't so over the top that it would ignite community outrage. History shows they failed on that final count, but nonetheless in the effort to thread that needle they drew upon the talented Wally Wood to solve the problem.

It turns out Wood had drawn aliens with just the right blend of weird and ick when he illustrated this cover for Weird Science #16 for the legendary EC Comics. This iconic cover fronts a story titled  "Down to Earth" also drawn by Wood. Below is a wonderful original page from that most influential story.

The "Martians" are right there to behold. The guys at Topps had their inspiration, a monsterous gibbering head atop an oddly human form. It was a hit.

Let the invasion begin.

Rip Off