IDW announces new Mars Attacks mini-series

Ack, ack, aaaack!!!! Ahem* I mean, a new Mars Attacks mini-series is on the way from publisher IDW called First Born. The twist? This one’s set after the Martian invasion of Earth and involves a cute lil’ Martian baby who might have some ill intent towards her human surrogates.

First Born, a four-issue series written by Ryall from a story co-plotted by Ryall and Kieth, and featuring art and covers by Kieth, tells a deceptively quiet story of the aftereffects of the Martian invasion: in a devastated neighborhood, a few survivors try to rebuild their lives. One of those survivors is an infant Martian, left behind in the attacks. But was she left behind on accident, or as part of a more nefarious plan? Does nature versus nurture apply to horrible invaders from Mars? These are some of the themes being explored in this series. Also: giant bugs.

“This series is a multi-tiered love letter,” said series writer and IDW Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “Every page shows not only the love Sam and I have for Mars Attacks, but also wild science-fiction tales from the past, the sorts of things Wally Wood drew in the pages of Weird Science-Fantasy and other EC comics. Our adoration of Wally’s work is front and center in this series, but it’s also a great next move for Sam and I after the working relationship we developed on The Hollows. And it surely gives Mars Attacks fans something special, in addition to also giving them some of the wanton carnage and gallows humor they’ve come to expect.”

The influence of classic science-fiction stories of years past extends to the variant covers for each issue, too. Artist Loston Wallace pays homage to classic Wally Wood EC covers in each image he’s creating for the series.

“Sam has been a friend to Topps for more than 20 years, and we’re happy to see him finally put his stamp on Mars Attacks,” says Adam Levine, Topps’ Head of Outbound Licensing. “His wild style and one-of-a-kind sense of storytelling will no doubt bring a fresh take to our classic Martians.”

Mars Attacks has been one of those stories that never really seems to go away. The tale has been around since the original (and extremely controversial for their time) trading card series debuted back in 1962 from publisher Topps. Over the years, Mars Attacks has spawned a whole bunch of comics (loved the books back in the ’90s from Topps), a movie and even more trading cards- but those were basically all retellings and it’s rarely been given what you’d call a sequel. Mars Attack First Born is kid of just that though; a story that picks up where the original left off.

Typically tongue-in-cheek for the property, First Born sounds like it might be a winner since it’s a continuation of the original tale that ensnared sci-fi/horror fans in the first place… and the artwork by the legendary Sam Keith doesn’t hurt either. Keith re-teams with another fan-favorite name, Chris Ryall, for First Born. The two worked together perviously on The Hollows, which got all kinds of critical and fan acclaim.

And all that basically equates to the fact that if you’re a fan, this is one not to be missed. Issue #1 (of four) of Mars Attacks: First Born hits stands this May from IDW.