In my eyes Tim Burton can do no wrong, sure there are some of his movies that I prefer over others but that doesn’t change my view of him. Like many of the greatest artists he has a different view of the world and wants to get his ideas out.

One of my favorites of his has always been the 1996 movie Mars Attacks! which is based on the 1962 Topps Mars Attacks set and in an interesting turn Topps later released cards based on the movie, from which was actually based on the original cards. Makes you think huh?

There were cards released in conjunction with the movie in 1996 but in 2013 Topps included autographs from that movie in their 2013 Topps Mars Attacks! Invasion release. There were 5 Movie Autographs and I currently have four of them only missing the voice of the Martians, Frank Welker. The Welker cards weren’t any more difficult to pull, the cards were 1:167 packs pull, but his autographs are the most expensive.

Three of the cards are quite common and not very expensive; Willie Garson, Brian Haley and O-Lan Jones. None of them play a major role in the movie, I believe Garson is only in one scene before dying (Hell, he doesn't even have a real name just a description), O-Lan Jones also gets killed not long after the invasion begins and Brian Haley gets killed trying to protect the President played by Jack Nicholson.

The Pam Grier card is a bit difficult to come by and sells for pretty much what the previous three sell for combined not to mention she is one of the few people to live through the invasion.

When you look at the cast you would think that Topps could have put together a much better checklist. I mean really, when you have Jack Nicholson (playing two different roles), Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Peirce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J Fox, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown and Tom Jones all playing pretty major roles you would think Topps could afford to write the paychecks to get any of them to sign. Jack Black and Christina Applegate had minor roles but still would have been a nice addition too.

This month’s Art Gallery design comes from the 2013 Topps Mars Attacks Invasion release. The artist is Edgar Pasten from Little House Designs, this took a bit of searching to find out who the artist was with this card. Pasten is an artist of many talents, he is an illustrator, sketch artist and he is also a sculpture and designs toys, which are sold through his company 3 Coconut Monkey. His sketch cards can be found in Topps products including both Mars Attacks releases and various Star Wars sets.

Because there is such a large sketch artist checklist for both Mars Attacks Heritage and Mars Attacks Invasion you can find plenty of nice cards for under $10. This card was one of those. What caught my attention with this card is the humor, “Like a sir!” is what came to mind. The only thing missing is a monocle. This was one of my fun additions, I was lucky to find it for just a couple of dollars.

My alien is now complete, the missing Under Suit card is in my hands and on my Martian.

In November I picked up five of the six acetate cards needed to put together the alien anatomy, I was missing card #5, the Under Suit. I just picked up the Under Suit card for 99 cents from a dealer and my Martian is now dressed for a proper invasion.

One of the coolest inserts of the years is the Mars Attacks Invasion Martian Anatomy acetate cards, there are 6 cards that when stacked up make an alien soldier. You start with the skeletal frame, circulatory system, muscles, skin, inner suit and space suit. I picked up a set that is missing the inner suit, the 5 cards only cost $2.25 with free shipping so I wasn’t to upset about missing the inner suit card. I will eventually pick up the missing card but I am in no rush.

Last year Topps released Mars Attacks Heritage, a 50^th Anniversary re-issue of the original 1962 Mars Attacks release. The release did so well that Topps has decided to release an additional set this October. The new set, Mars Attacks: Invasion, will be a completely original release in the pulp-fiction/classic sci-fi story line.

 

The 100-card set will be divided in to themes with different artists illustrating each theme. Some of the announced illustrators are Earl Norem, Joe Jusko, Ed Repka, Glen Orbik and Gregory Staples. There will be an additional 20 subset cards, the subsets will be Mars Attacks Masterpieces (1:8 packs), Anatomy of a Martin (1:12 packs), Join the Fight (1:6 packs) and Early Encounters (1:12 packs). The Anatomy of a Martin cards sound pretty cool, there are 6 acetate cards on the checklist and when you put them together you get a dissected Martian soldier.

 

Topps has only released a limited amount of information but expect boxes to run around $85 and contain 24 five-card packs. Each box will contain a sketch card and one additional hit, which can be a medallion relic, patch relic, printing plates or an original 1962 Mars Attacks buyback card. Some sketch cards will be Double Sketch Cards or Loaded Sketch Cards (4 card puzzle) plus additionally there are parallels, Heritage Parallel (1:4 packs), Gold Foil (1:12 packs) Concept Parallels (2 per case) and John the Graffiti Parallel (1 per case).

 

In a recent announcement, Topps will be including autographs from some of the actors who appeared in the 1996 cult movie Mars Attacks, one of my favorite Tim Burton films. Only a couple of cast members have been announced led by Pam Grier who played Louise Williams. Topps is looking to add more names to the autograph checklist.

 

Here are some of the completed cards illustrations: