Note: This was originally posted on my blog on 11/25/23
Series Introduction
"Why Collect?" will be a series that will go into certain sets that are interesting to me--some I've collected in the past, some I'm currently collecting, and some I just think are worth a look. I'll disclose what the situation is for the set I'm discussing is at the time of writing.
I'll provide a little history on the set, some things that are notable about it, some things to look out for if you decide to check it out, and what the long-term outlook might be for the set.
I try to provide accurate facts to support my position, but these are opinion pieces and should not be considered financial advice. You should do your own research before making a decision to buy or sell any sets discussed in the series.
For my first entry in the series, I wanted to cover the set that has been in some of my recent pickups shared here that may have been a head scratcher to those of you not familiar with non-sports trading cards. The set has an interesting place in the history of the hobby and Topps. I also like that nice cards from this set in good grades are still relatively attainable. More than most, these cards have really interesting art that stands out in a collection and has some cross-over appeal that I think will help it's longevity.
Without further ado... Mars Attacks!
A Little History
The first Mars Attacks release was in 1962. The card series told the story of a martian invasion of Earth that was intended to be a modern version of War of the Worlds, but the plot and character designs were original to the cards with inspiration from the sci-fi comics, paperbacks, and movies of that period.
Len Brown of Topps said he wanted the cards to reflect the artwork of paperback covers to convey the plot points on the card back, which let to the dramatic style the set is famous for. The art itself was penciled by Bob Powell (who worked previously on the violent Civil War News set for Topps) and painted by pulp-cover illustrator Norm Saunders.
It took six months to complete the artwork for the 55 cards, which was then submitted to Topps president Joel Shorin for approval before printing. Shorin was concerned about the violence and scantily-clad women in the Mars Attacks art. The art for 11 cards were revised based on his feedback, but Shorin was still concerned about the reputation risk to Topps and decided to remove the normal Topps copyright line from the card backs and replaced it with “Bubbles Inc.” This was a tactic used with any sets they felt could generate negative publicity for Topps .
After the product hit stores, the media covered the sensational reaction to the card art and story. Shorin was contacted directly about the cards being unsuitable for children by at least one district attorney. Plans to shipping product to new markets (it was never distributed nationally) or expanding the series were scrapped.
Due to the hardcore fandom that the series created, there have been a number of reprint or expansion products since the original release:
1964 – reprint of the original released in the UK by Topps’ international company A & BC Gum
1984 – reprint of the original released by Renata Galasso Inc.
1994 – Mars Attacks Archives released by Topps with a reprint of the original plus new art for the 11 cards based on the pencils that were revised as well as subsets with new art
2012 – Topps released a book and calendar for the 50th anniversary that contained a set of 4 new cards
2013 – Topps released Mars Attacks: Invasion that was an all-new story told through a set of 95 cards
2016 – Topps released Mars Attacks: Occupation through Kickstarter that was another new story over 81 cards
2017 – Topps released Mars Attacks: The Revenge! that was sequel to the original 1962 series over 55 cards
2021 – Topps had another Kickstarter project called Mars Attacks: Uprising that had 42 cards plus additional subsets
If you’re interested in getting a good look at the art for these cards and learning a little more about them, I highly recommend the book Topps put out about Mars Attacks for the 50th anniversary. Brown has an introduction to the book talking about the inspirations behind the projects and its legacy.
The Case For Collecting
Like many people my age, I had a vague notion of Mars Attacks but didn’t really get exposed to it until Tim Burton’s 1996 film adaptation. I don’t know if there’s another film in this franchise, but it goes to show the property has appeal across generations and that’s no easy feat. So, that’s one reason I like the 1962 set to collection versus some others in the non-sports category: I think people will still be interested in Mars Attacks in 20 years.
The other thing this has going for it is relative scarcity. In addition to the normal factors with vintage–poor handling from initial collectors, lower quality standards in the printing and cutting, and deterioration for cards not stored properly–there just wasn’t a lot of this stuff printed to begin with.
It’s pretty incredible that as of this writing there are only 2 sealed 1962 wax packs graded with PSA and only 17,285 cards graded with PSA. From the anecdotes around the web it seems like no one has seen an unopened or complete box for many, many years.
So, understanding that level of scarcity I find the pricing for nice graded slabs of this to be pretty reasonable.
Outside of the statistics, these are just fun cards to collect. The art is bold and fun–I’m a big fan of pulp art so it’s right in my wheelhouse, but I think it has an appeal to your general sci-fi nerds, as well as comic art and pulp art fans. While this is no doubt a very niche set, it has some decent populations to pull interest from.
It’s also worth noting there is a small but dedicated group of current collectors. That’s helpful when evaluating the product because there’s enough action to get a sense of value and you’re also not speculating on future interest coming along to maintain values. With Mars Attacks, it’s not massive but it’s definitely present.
What To Watch Out For
Just to be upfront, I’ve been a fan of Mars Attacks for a while but only recently have I gotten serious about collecting the original set. So, this information is what I’ve learned recently and I don’t claim to be an authority on the subject. If you have some other things to watch out for or think I’m getting something wrong, please leave a comment.
With that said, here are some things I would suggest watching out for:
Stick to slabs — Unless you just want to put together a cheap set, I would stick to slabs. They are not that expensive for mid-grades and it will give some assurance that the cards you buy are authentic and unaltered. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s tough to judge raw over the internet and I’ll take my chances with PSA.
Note that product list above — there are multiple official reprints of the 1962 set (in addition to the normal unofficial “reprints” that are always floating around), so be sure you know which card set you’re buying. I’ve noticed a number of the 1964 cards showing up in eBay with 1962 titles–be sure to double check the slab flip or the card back to confirm what the listing is for because the art and condition for the 1962 and 1964 sets especially are hard to distinguish through a screen.
If you go the PSA slab route, be sure to check for qualifiers. There are a lot of centering issues with this set among other issues that lead to quals. The 1962 set has an over 10% qual rate for the total graded population. If you’re not familiar, those indicate an issue with the card that is noted and ignored in the number grade. That can lead to a card that is a PSA 9 but has a major miss-cut or centering issue that leads to a qualifier that majorly impacts value. If you see a cheap high-number grade slab, be sure to double check for qualifiers. If it has one, I would not recommend buying.
Speaking of qualifiers, it’s worth mentioning that some Mars Attacks cards were slabbed before qualifiers were a thing and grading seemed to be more relative to the set. To me, this is truly a product where you want to buy the card *and* the grade. The centering for me is a huge part of the eye appeal and I will pass on a card with a good grade if the centering is particularly bad. In my opinion, a badly centered card is always going to be harshly punished in value when you try to resell.
Buying Factors
Like any other set, 1962 Mars Attacks has some key cards that are more popular outside of the core collector group. Given the overall scarcity and low distribution of high grades, it doesn’t take much outside interest to make those cards a lot more expensive. I think if you’re looking at a general PSA grade to target for buying, you’ll need to have one number for most of the cards and then one that’s 1-2 grades lower for those key cards if you want to spend about the same amount for each.
I think there are a few more to add, but Cardboard Connection lists these as the key cards from the 1962 set:
1 – Invasion Begins
21 – Prize Captive
36 – Destroying a Dog
55 – Checklist
I’d add #17 (“Beast and the Beauty”) and #43 (“Blasting the Bug”) as other cards that command a premium.
Values also differ a bit based on the art work. I find myself drawn to the cards with the martians on them–I know I can’t be the only one. So those are going to be a little more expensive.
Populations also vary a bit throughout the set. Overall pops are around 300, but the grade distribution is not even. For example, I’m mostly targeting PSA 8s but for the most popular card (#1, “The Invasion Begins) there are only 19 in PSA 8 compared to most being in the 35-45 range. Theory is that’s because it was typically on the top of the card number sorted stacks that kids put together back in the day. The first two and last two cards in the checklist are much lower in PSA 8 pops than the rest, which supports that theory.
Pricing on PSA 8s without qualifiers is running me generally between $600-900. If you’re not so picky about centering, you can probably get the same grade at a better price.
And keep in mind there are just 238 PSA 9s (and over half of those have qualifiers) and only one PSA 10 out there: card #29 “Death in the Shelter”.
Given all that, it’s probably obvious that there aren’t a lot of these listed in higher grades. Building a high grade set is going to be a drawn-out process, but that can be a fun way to chase too–at least that’s how I’m looking at it. Going slow gives me a chance to really learn about these cards and enjoy the ones I get to snag.