IDW Publishing has announced that the premiere issue of our Mars Attacks series by comics superstars John Layman and John McCrea has officially sold out of its substantial first printing.

The release for the inaugural issue of Mars Attacks was an admittedly ambitious one. Utilizing the original card art from Topps’ classic trading cards, along with McCrea’s kinetic new cover, this first issue shipped 56 covers in total. To top it off, a deluxe box set collecting all 56 covers, plus an exclusive 57th cover, was also offered to fans and retailers seeking maximum Martian saturation.

IDW Publishing were pleased to find a host of fans looking forward to the exploits of our would-be Martian masters, and both the single issues and the box sets have sold out, meaning nearly 55,000 issues of Mars Attacks #1 have invaded comic shops across the globe. Also worth noting for collectors, this means that less than 1,000 copies of each classic card cover are floating around out there, so if you didn’t pick up a box set, vigilance is going to be key.

Continuing the vicious Martian invasion even further, IDW has also announced Mars Attacks The Holidays. This October, this new one-shot is being created as a unique, off-the-wall take on Mars Attacks and will see Topps’ vicious Martian invaders reigning chaos upon beloved holiday icons the world over. In four stories by such talents as Dean Haspiel, Fred Hembeck, Ian Boothby, and Bill Morrison, the conquerors from the Red Planet set out to spread mayhem and madness towards man over 48 full-color pages.

Usually it would be bad news that Earth is going to be under attack for the rest of the year, but this is all rather exciting.

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The Topps Company has released a first look at a special subset of all-new trading cards by acclaimed comic book artist John McCrea, to be included in this summer’s Mars Attacks Heritage card set.

McCrea, the Eisner Award-winning illustrator and co-creator of DC Comics’ Hitman (with Garth Ennis), is the artist on IDW’s Mars Attacks comic book series. Pulling double duty, McCrea has also created 15 brand new images for Topps, exclusive to Mars Attacks Heritage – four of which were unveiled April 20.

The 15 images, officially titled ‘The New Universe Subset,’ offer a glimpse into the new Mars Attacks, which build from IDW’s upcoming comic book.  In addition, the subset will include insight into the new series, through a narrative that unfolds on the back of each card.

“We wanted John to treat these cards like miniature comic book covers,” said Adam Levine, Topps’ Licensing Manager. “To weave the cards and comics together even further, we crafted a story that introduces fans to our reimagining of Mars Attacks, beginning years before the Martians invade and continuing into the future, perhaps even beyond what you’ll see in IDW’s series in 2012.  If fans look closely, they may even spot a few hints at what lies ahead.”

Along with providing art for ‘The New Universe Subset,’ John McCrea recently paid a visit to Topps in New York, and found time to contribute a limited number of original, hand-drawn sketch cards to be randomly inserted into packs of Mars Attacks Heritage.

“I’m very excited to be able to play in this world of aliens and robots and giant insects,” said McCrea. “Mars Attacks is right up my alley; it’s everything I love to draw.  I’m thrilled to be a part of the creation of this new world and to be able to my own stamp on it.”

Mars Attacks Heritage releases this July, while IDW’s new comic book debuts in June. Both are currently available for order.

For more on Mars Attacks, including an ever growing gallery of sketch cards, follow on facebook: www.facebook.com/MarsAttacks

For all the latest updates, follow on twitter @realmarsattacks

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