Topps will release the flagship product in the Mars Attacks 50th anniversary celebration, the Mars Attacks Heritage Card Set, in July.  The card set will pay homage to the original release, the most valuable non-sports trading card release in history, while adding new elements that bring the property into today. 

The set will include the 55 cards that made up the original series, while adding 25 new cards.  Ten of them are based on unused storyboarded sketches from original series pencillers Wally Wood and Bob Powell, painted by Jason Edmiston.  Edmiston paints in the style of Norm Saunders, the painter who gave Mars Attacks its signature look.

The other fifteen new cards are by John McCrea, who’s providing the art for the Mars Attacks comic from IDW (see “Chew Creator Savors ‘Mars Attacks’”). 

Insert cards will include sketch cards, limited edition multi-colored parallels and 3D lenticulars. 

Topps’ “Heritage” treatment means the set will be printed on thick, old fashioned card stock, with the display box and wrapper mimicking the classic 1962 look. 

The new Mars Attacks trading card set anchors a broad licensing program geared primarily to core fans (see “’Mars Attacks’ Gets Major Relaunch”).  Over 52,000 fans are already following updates on the Mars Attacks Facebook page, ensuring a ready audience for the merchandise.