Mars Attacks Vol. 1: Attack From Space

Mars Attacks IDW #1

by John Layman

The invasion begins! The first stories of an all-new MARS ATTACKS universe are here, bringing outrageous action and dark humor to the comics page. Eisner-winning writer John Layman (Chew) is joined by Eisner-winning artist John McCrea (Hitman) to sound the alarm. Beware! The Martians are coming! Collects issues #1-5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comic Book

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 22, 2013

About the author

John Steele Layman is an American comic book writer and letterer. Layman is most known for writing Chew, published by Image Comics.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It'll take more than some Slim Whitman records to stop 'em this time...

This is not a retread of the 1996 movie. There's sort of a prequel explaining why the Martians are so pissed off at us in the first place, then the story appears to be based on the 1962 trading card series.

There's some lovely, vivid artwork here, lots of action and flying body parts - both human and otherwise. Giant bugs and battling robots add to the silly, silly fun.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Layman? Yes.
Mars Attacks? Usually good for a laugh.
Art by John McCrea? Superlative.

Anything other than just mildly entertaining? Yes, but not amazingly so. However, it was a nice change of pace from Tights and Capes.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun! You’ve just gotta love those little rascals:

[Drea]

I'm on the fence with this one. The time jumps were rough, but the art work was nice. Overall an okay story. Leaning towards a yes

[Andrew ✝️ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art is very good, but I didn't get this at all. Maybe I'm just lost, but there didn't seem to be any continuing storyline. It jumps from person to person and manages to bring them all together in the end, sort of, but nothing seems to fully connect like things did in the movie. The design of the Martians is a bit more terrifying than in the film... That's the praise I can give this book. I'm sorry, in a way... 1 star.

[Robert Bussie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a neat idea. Make a comic book story based on scenes from the old Mars Attack Topps Trading Cards. However, the execution is an uninteresting story that feels disjointed. Using the old trading cards as inspiration and set pieces could have resulted in a fun thrill ride of a story. Instead, the story is boring and average at best.

On the plus side the art work looks good.

[Bryson McCheeseburger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool Sci-Fi story, but only really knowing the one movie, I expected something quite different. I still liked it, but just not what I was ready for. Gonna continue on to the next volume and see how it goes. Hoping for the carziness level to be amped up.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This and other John Layman books reviewed here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com...

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you watched Mars Attacks and thought, "I wonder what the aliens were thinking," this is the comic for you.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Volume 1 of many. The book contains the first 5 comics in the series that started with Issue #1, Published June, 2012. It also included Issue #6, which begins the second volume (at least my Advanced Readers Copy did). At the end of Issue #5, it says

"Fin

End

Mars Attacks

Book One"

So Issue #6 may not be included.

This book has some of the same feeling as the Mars Attacks movie, directed by Tim Burton in 1996, which was based on the Topps trading cards from 1962. The Martians look nearly identical and they use flying saucers, and ray guns to blast away the flesh on their victims. The movie has a bit more comedy to it than the book does.

Once you get away from the basic premise of Martians attacking Earth with flying saucers and ray guns, the movie and the book's paths separate. This book has new versions of the Topps trading cards interspersed throughout. They show different scenes so that this story can follow them instead of the original series. There is a new set of heroes that will be the primary focus of the battles against the Martians. The story and drawings are very good. The action is constant. If you enjoy heroes instead of superheroes, you will like this series. This is a book binding the actual story pages from the comic books, so other features such as letters pages and ads are missing. The comic is a monthly, so January should see the publication of Issue #7. I will be looking forward to stopping by my local comic book shop and looking for it.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars out of 5. It's a good, fast paced, action graphic novel.
I received this book for free through NetGalley.com.

[Paul Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Find this review and more at The AP Book Club

I remember really enjoying the movie when it was first released. I don't think I was old enough to see it in theaters in 1996, but I think my parents rented it one night. I may have even had toys for the film. It is a dark comedy with a very unique take on the well known alien invasion concept.

This comic book series holds to that feel. The dark humor and outrageousness is there, as well as some nice storytelling. I don't think this takes place within the same universe as the film as many characters I don't recall are shown. We follow survivors of the initial attack as well as one of the leaders of the Martians.

The artwork is done in the style of the film with gore and bright colors contrasting. I liked the details put into the insects and the skeletal remains.

I think this is a good take on the Mars Attacks story. I give this first volume a 3/5. If you like the original film, you will love this graphic novel!

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book - Four stories focusing on individual characters within a Martian Attack, all of which tie into a final big action issue. The first focuses on an actual Martian, while the other three characters are American being impacted by the invasion in various ways. There are some interesting moments (and a good use of the original cards in staging frames and story sequences), and a bit of humor, and a fair bit of gore (although it's usually played for laughs, it is still surprisingly gory). It does a good job capturing the feel of Mars Attacks in its various incarnations while also working as a standalone product.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

MARS ATTACKS is one of those things that scarred me in my youth as the burnt corpses of various people was not a vision I was comfortable with. This collection of MARS ATTACKS comics includes visions and other similar content. While featuring the Martians from the movies I can only assume that the plot is not related to the movie. Reading this was somewhat amusing and I was definitely left with the feeling that I wanted to continue reading, at least until the Martian scourge has been subdued.

[Jeff Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This new series brings back the gore soaked hilarious trading cards that started it all. Integrating the cards themselves into an over the top story of ridiculous violence and classic scifi adventure. Many of the recent remakes and nostalgia comics have been rather hit or miss. But a few have honed in directly on their target audience and doesn't shy away from delivering exactly what you'd expect. This is what you want from nostalgic franchises. An enjoyable read with great art that doesn't break any molds, but gives readers everything they expect.

[George Ebey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It had great art work, a fun story, and just the right amount of campy hijinks. My only previous exposure to Mars Attacks is from the Tim Burton movie (which I also enjoyed) and this did a great job of keeping with the spirit of that while still being its own thing. Very well done.

[Charlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combines the dark humor of the movie with pulp comic sensibilities. Kudos!