SideKick Lab
People of Earth! Big-brained, no good Martians have occupied our planet and it’s up to us to defeat them. Hell, even the darned plants are joining the cause of Mars Attacks Uprising, a new entry in the long-running Topps card series that dates all the way back to the early 1960s.
Uprising (its Kickstarter campaign goes live today) marks an interesting new wrinkle in the iconic sci-fi property known for its provocative imagery and pitch black humor. This fresh card set marks the very first time that Topps has licensed out the rights to one of its brands to another trading card company: SideKick Lab, who will take Mars Attacks into bold new territory under the guidance of SideKick’s Adam Levine.
Thanks to our interest in the campaign, Forbes is able to exclusively present the un-cropped Uprising box art (seen above) for the very first time.
When he was Topps’ Head of Licensing, Levine helped create Mars Attacks card sets for Topps, including a modern reprint of the OG set that inspired an entire generation of fans like director Tim Burton, who adapted the cards into a feature-length film in 1996.
“This isn’t something that would’ve happened with just anybody,” said Levine, talking about himself and SideKick founder/owner Tom Lichtman. “I think this partnership is made possible by both of our prior relationships with Topps, and how well we’ve worked with them in the past, individually and collectively. They trust SideKick to create something that lives up to their high standards, and that is a tremendous honor.”
Courtesy of SideKick Lab
“It’s a measure of the relationship that we’ve built up with Topps, that they trust us to actually produce Topps content. We value that very highly,” added Lichtman, who has been a Topps vendor for a decade. In fact, SideKick is about the only company today that can produce vintage wax wrappers.
Unlike traditional trading card products, Mars Attacks Uprising won’t be available at your local retailer. As stated above, this is an exclusive Kickstarter product, which means you’ll have to donate to the campaign if you want access to the Earthling rebellion. It’s an unorthodox path, sure, but one that served Levine well five years ago when he rolled out Mars Attacks Occupation to the tune of $200,000.
“Fans really love the fact that, through Kickstarter, it’s open to everybody around the world,” he said. “You can either buy a pack, you can buy a box (which comes with 24 packs with random cards in it), you can buy complete sets, or you can buy master sets that come with all the chase cards and all the autographs and things like that … with Kickstarter, you can get the set any way you want it.”
“We’re designing the campaign for several different audiences,” continued Lichtman. “There’s the audience of the people who want to open packs and experience the history of Mars Attacks ... But we also serve the high-end collector market to the sense of somebody who says, ‘I want to be able to get a master set of every card that’s printed in samples of each type of sketch card [and] maybe printing plates.’”
The very first card in the new "Uprising set," "Revenge of the Monster Men" was drawn by by Ed Repka
With so many options to choose from, prices range from $5 for a single pack, to around $100 for a full box of packs. Then you’ve got all the higher-end pledge items such as autographs of celebrated Mars Attacks artists (e.g. Wally Wood and Norm Saunders) encased in certain cards or a personalized piece of artwork that paints you into the action of a specific card scene.
“These are the kinds of things that we can do on Kickstarter that just selling traditional retail release would be next to impossible to do,” explained Levine, revealing that Ed Repka (artist of the box art) and Paolo Parente are just two of the illustrators hired for this project. “Each artist brings something different to the table. Some have a horror feel, some are more sci-fi, but they all have a strong pulp sensibility. That classic 1960s-looking [aesthetic]. It’s gotta be bright, it’s gotta be fun, but still horrific at the same time.”
Ok, so what about the story being told this time around? As the title of the last set (Occupation) suggests, Earth was conquered by an army of bloodthirsty and mean-spirited Martians. With Uprising, humanity is finally fighting back against the invaders, but this project was more than just a chance to show E.T.s getting their butts kicked in interesting ways. For Levine, it was a golden opportunity to get back to the spirit of the ‘60s-era cards, which paid homage to the Cold War B-movies of the era.
“Me and some of the artists sat down and thought, ‘What are some great sci-fi, horror B-movie tropes that we’ve not seen in Mars Attacks before?’” he admitted. “One of the cards that is complete already is called ‘Attacked By Plants.’ We saw this kind of sub-genre of sci-fi movies about eco-menaces where these plants come to life and attack people [like] Day of the Triffids … We might do our own spin on the invisible monster from movies like Forbidden Planet … Things like The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman—we’ll probably do a card with giant people attacking cities and destroying the Martians.”
The No. 2 card in the "Uprising" set, "Attacked by Plants" was also drawn by Ed Repka
And, of course, the thematic resonance of a rebellion in the political age of #Resist was not lost on Adam, who re-introduced the series with Mars Attacks: Invasion during the time of Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring around 2012-2013.
“I thought, ‘Oh, we can do some allegory here.’ As in the original Mars Attacks, which was very much full of political undertones and social commentary, intentional or not. It was at the height of the Red Scare after all,” he added. “There will be some elements like that [in Uprising, although] I try not to hit you over the head with it. I try not to be too preachy. At the same time, there is a lot of political discussion going on beyond just what you see on the news. It is something interesting to put into the cards that could get people talking, or laughing at least, whichever side of the aisle they fall.”
There will also be a special collection of Mars Attacks/Dinosaur Attacks crossover cards (the pack will run you about $50 - $60) in which the aliens and giant prehistoric lizards travel to different periods in history, causing all kinds of sci-fi mayhem.
“The imagery is just so bonkers, you just can’t help but laugh at it, at how ridiculous it is. That’s what’s always been so great about Mars Attacks,” said Adam. “It doesn’t take itself seriously. We play it straight and that’s why it’s so funny. We’re not making jokes out of it, we’re letting the imagery be the joke. And so, we had various situations that we’re brainstorming [like] could the Martians and dinosaurs be attacking a pirate ship? Could they be fighting ninjas in Feudal Japan?”
“[Trading cards] allow Adam and the artists to really let their imaginations run wild,” offered Lichtman. “They don’t have to worry about setting up ‘How did the Martians get on dinosaurs into a time machine and into King Arthur’s court?’ Instead, we can just portray that. It’s an exciting way of telling a story by showing the highlights.”
Courtesy of SideKick Lab
The Mars Attacks Uprising Kickstarter campaign is slated to run for about a month. As funds increase, more and more cards will be introduced, the plan being to cap things at 45. You can donate to the revolution against our Martian overlords right here. To follow the campaign’s progress via Facebook or Instagram, simply click the hyperlinks affixed to the names of each platform.
“[It’s been] a tremendous thrill because suddenly, I’m 8-years-old again with a pack of Mars Attacks cards in my hand and I’m now part of this,” concluded Tom, who remembers collecting the very first set in the ‘60s. “I’m actually printing and packaging and working with artists to generate new Mars Attacks cards. It is something that I could never have dreamed of as an 8-year-old.”
“At the end of the day, we hope that our set can continue the Mars Attacks story so-to-speak, figuratively and literally, to the point where, 50 years from now, there’s some person out there who grew up collecting our cards, who will want to take on this brand and make their own set for Topps,” finished Levine.
For even more Mars Attacks goodness, check out Walmart’s Super Bowl ad (below), which incorporates the iconic ACK-ing Martians from Burton’s ‘96 film.
