It’s not hard to enjoy a “Mars Attacks” bit of media. As long as the Martians come in and engage in some mass destruction, it’s fun. It gets even more exciting when we figure out a way to do those little creeps in once we get our heads screwed on straight.
In IDW’s “Mars Attacks – Vol. 1: Attack from Space,” writer John Layman and artist John McCrea try to dig into what makes at least one Martian tick.
That Martian is bent on revenge and, for the most part, manages to exact it with the typical Martian gusto. We won’t explain what he needs revenge for or how he gets it, but we’ll just say it happens.
Artist John McCrea offers us spot-on renditions of the classic Martians from the trading cards and the brilliant Tim Burton movie. Likewise, his humans have some great dynamic styling that lets you read their emotions and he perfectly executes the action. Definitely, a worthy rendition of the creatures we’ve grown to love-hate.
With the revenge theme strong in “Attack from Space,” we also get to see some interesting Martian tech that are key story elements. In particular, the humans end up getting some very cool assistance from other humans — ones that we never thought we would ever see.
It’s those unexpected turns that make “Attack from Space” a unique spin on the “Mars Attacks” franchise, and sets it up for plenty more hijinks from IDW in the franchise. From a story standpoint, that’s all you can ask for and Layman sets it up with all the right points: Martian aggression, over-the-top violence, a stunning comeback and even a few trading cards.
MARS ATTACKS: VOLUME 1 – ATTACK FROM SPACE
Publisher: IDW
2013
Price: $19.99
Paperback: 124 pages
ISBN: 978-1613774212
Writer: John Layman
Artist: John McCrea
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