Lot # 1727: 1962 Topps Mars Attacks Near Complete Set (54/55) with #1 Invasion Begins, #36 Destroying A Dog & #55 Checklist

Buckle up for the wildest non-sport card romp ever with this 1962 Topps Mars Attacks near-complete set 54/55. Other non-sport issues have raised a fuss with parents, educators, clerics, and self-righteous media members, while delighting or frightening children, but none have matched the creative mayhem seen in Mars Attacks. Playing out like a cardboard sci-fi flick, this inventive set features a half-dozen cards depicting comely females being molested by bug-eyed, bulb-headed Martians, and it gets worse from there. It starts with the extraterrestrials embarking on their mission of conquest and destruction. Soldiers, civilians, and even a pet are disintegrated by death rays. A human pilot is engulfed in flames, cities are toppled, colossal insects gorge on helpless prey, and finally the earthlings get their heroic payback on their tormentors from space.

The inspired artwork for this mind-blowing set was conceived by EC alumnus Wally Wood, and painted by Norm Saunders, who went on to work on the Wacky Packages series, Batman, and other classic non-sport issues. Topps had more than an inkling in regards to how Mars Attacks would be received, as the cards were marketed under Topps dummy alter-ego, Bubbles Inc. to deflect blame. As Mars Attacks was pulled from neighborhood store countertops, its taboo status saw the series become legend with collectors. And for decades, it has topped want lists. This decent set breaks down to 44% VG-EX to EX-MT, 54% GD to VG and 2% lesser. Key cards are #1 The Invasion Begins (GD), #36 Destroying A Dog (GD), and an unmarked #55 Checklist (EX+) with deference to minor factory ink transfer on the obverse text at left. The lone absent card is #21.