General · EdgepediaSeptember 17, 20266 min read

Mars Attacks

Mars Attacks is a 55-card science-fiction trading card series produced by Topps in 1962, in which Martians invade and devastate Earth before a human counterattack destroys their civilization. Created by Len Brown and Woody Gelman, with pencil roughs by Bob Powell and finished paintings by Norm Saunders, the series sold poorly in its initial release as "Attack from Space", was renamed, drew complaints over its gore and implied sexual content, and was canceled after a public outcry. It later became a transmedia franchise spanning reprints, comic books, a toy line, the 1996 Tim Burton film, and anniversary card sets.¹^•²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Series	55 cards, Topps, 1962; first titled "Attack from Space", renamed "Mars Attacks" after weak customer response²
Creators	Len Brown and Woody Gelman developed the series from a Wally Wood EC Comics cover¹^•⁴
Artists	Bob Powell drew the pencil roughs; Norm Saunders painted the finished art¹
Distribution	Five-cent wax packs, test-marketed under the dummy company name Bubbles, Inc.⁵
Cancellation	Thirteen cards repainted to reduce gore and sexuality; production halted after public outcry and a Connecticut district attorney's inquiries³^•⁵
Revival	1984 reprints by Rossem Enterprises and Renata Galasso; 1994 expanded Topps set of 100 cards; 1996 Tim Burton film²
Collector values	Card #1 original art sold for $84,500 in 2009; a PSA NM-MT 8 copy of card #1 sold for $3,600 in May 2008⁶^•⁵

Origins and production

At Topps, product designer Len Brown developed the storyline from a cover Wallace (Wally) Wood had drawn for EC Comics' science-fiction series Weird Science. Brown cropped the flying-saucer cover to bubble-gum card size and showed it to Woody Gelman, who ran Topps's Product Development Department; Brown described Gelman as "every bit as instrumental in Mars Attacks as I was".¹ Trade accounts credit the property to both men, with Wood producing concept sketches during development, 30 of which appeared in the 2012 Abrams book.⁴

The artwork was divided between two veterans. Bob Powell drew the pencil roughs and Norm Saunders painted the finished art.¹ Gelman and Brown collaborated on the story, and Brown wrote the card-back text.² Saunders's connection to Topps predated the series: ten years earlier he had painted a science-fiction magazine cover that Gelman, a pulp collector, admired, and this inspired him to commission Saunders for Mars Attacks.⁷

Distribution was limited. Brown said the series was test marketed through a dummy company called Bubbles, Inc., initially under the title "Attack from Space"; he stated the series was probably never distributed nationally, which he connected to its later scarcity. The Toonopedia account instead says the set appeared on candy counters nationwide, and was renamed "Mars Attacks" when customers were unexcited by the first title.⁵^•¹^•²

Story and artwork

The 55 numbered cards, with pink backs, tell a continuous invasion story.⁵^•⁸ Martians under a corrupt government conceal from their own populace that Mars is doomed to explode, propose colonizing Earth, and invade with cruel intent. The arc ends with a human expeditionary force counterattacking Mars and destroying the Martian cities before Mars itself is destroyed.³

The paintings showed explicit gore and implied sexual content.³ The numbered format meant card #1 sat on top of the stack in the set, making it especially prone to wear and correspondingly scarce in high condition.⁵

Withdrawal and rediscovery

The cards were popular with children, but the gore and implied sexual content caused an outcry.³ Accounts of what ended the series differ. Toonopedia reports that irate parents pressed Topps to limit the sex and violence available to their children, and that the company first toned down 13 of the most objectionable cards, then canceled the series entirely.² Den of Geek reports that after thirteen cards were repainted to reduce gore and sexuality, inquiries from a Connecticut district attorney eventually convinced Topps to halt production completely.⁵ Both accounts agree on the repainting of 13 cards and the short run; they differ on whether parental complaints or the district attorney's office was the decisive force behind the cancellation.

The original artwork survived, and the cards returned through reprints. In 1984 Rossem Enterprises issued a partial reprint of the original, uncensored versions of the 13 repainted cards, and in the same year card dealer Renata Galasso reprinted the whole set.² In 1994 Topps itself released an expanded card set totalling 100 cards.²

By the numbers

The series ran 55 cards in 1962, sold in five-cent wax packs.⁸^•⁵ The 1994 revival set expanded the count to 100.²

Collector value tracks condition and the fate of individual cards. Because many parents destroyed card sets to protect their children, surviving copies command higher prices.⁵ Card #1, one of the scarcest in high grade because of its top-of-set placement, sold for $3,600 in PSA NM-MT 8 condition at a Mastro Auction sale in May 2008.⁵ The original painting for card #1, preserved in mint shape by a friend of the artist, sold in 2009 for $84,500 against an expectation of $30,000.⁶ Among the cards themselves, #21 (Prize Captive), #36 (Destroying A Dog), and #43 (Blasting The Bug) are among the higher-value items.⁵

Adaptations and revivals

1988 to the 1990s. In 1988 Topps worked with Pocket Comics on a planned 54-issue mini-comics adaptation, but distribution was poor and only four issues appeared. The franchise's second life came in the mid-1990s: between 1994 and 1997 Topps published more than a dozen and a half Mars Attacks comic books, along with a new card set and a toy line.²^•⁴ Warner Bros. released Tim Burton's feature film on December 13, 1996, with a cast including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Michael J. Fox, and Natalie Portman; two novelizations, Mars Attacks: Martian Deathtrap and Mars Attacks: War Dogs of the Golden Horde, and a set of plastic model kits accompanied it.²

The film departed sharply in tone from the source. NPR noted that the brutality of the original card images may surprise audiences whose main exposure to the brand was Burton's jokey 1996 adaptation, in which the Martians are defeated by an allergy to Slim Whitman.⁹

2012, the 50th anniversary. IDW Publishing and Topps announced a long-term partnership in 2011 for new Mars Attacks comics debuting in summer 2012.¹⁰ Abrams published the first-ever compilation of the 1962 series on October 1, 2012 (ISBN 9781419704093), reproducing the entire original run plus the 1994 sequel, rare sketches, concept art, test-market materials, and four bonus trading cards; it carried an introduction by Len Brown and an afterword by Zina Saunders, daughter of Norm Saunders, and reproduced the original trading card mechanical with 1962 Topps production-department handwriting.¹¹ A 50th-anniversary card set called Mars Attacks Heritage was published the same year.⁵

Legacy and influence

Norm Saunders's paintings created a cult sensation that outlasted the series' commercial failure.⁴ Saunders, who began his career illustrating pulp magazine covers in the 1930s and 1940s, painted other Topps series of the same era, including 1962 Civil War News, 1965's Battle: The Story of World War II, 1966's Batman, and Wacky Packages.⁶

Later artists continued the imagery. The 2012 Abrams book's second half collects Mars Attacks-inspired artworks from recent decades, including works by Zina Saunders, Drew Friedman, and Fastner & Larsen.⁹ The property returned through the 1984 reprints, the 1994 expanded set, the 1996 film, and the 2012 anniversary program.²^•⁴

Reports differ on the distribution scope;²^•¹ which Weird Science issue supplied the inspiring cover;⁴^•¹⁰ and the primary cause of cancellation.²^•⁵

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Commercial and pin-up illustration

Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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