Mars Attacks - the trading card series

"The Martian leaders voted and decided that Mars would have to attack the Earth. Life on the 4th planet would not be able to continue much longer. Martian scientists had reported to their government that atomic pressures had been building up beneath the surface of Mars for many years..."

"The Mars Attacks trading card series was created by Topps and painted by Norman Saunders over pencil roughs by Wally Wood and finished pencil art by Bob Powell. Although most of the cards were sold in the standard packages of wax paper, some were sold in specialized vending machines that would dispense five cards apiece, in which said machines also sold sports cards. Originally released in 1962, the cards, written by Len Brown and Woody Gelman, told an outrageous story of the invasion of Earth by cruel, hideous Martians. Scenes depicted usually showed the bizarre methods of attack, torture and slaughter the Martians used. They included being fired at with rayguns, attacked by Martian-controlled giant robots and insects, and flying saucers. The 55-card series developed a cult following and has been reprinted occasionally, most recently in 1994.

References to popular films, serials, and novels are prevalent throughout the card series, most notably to the book Starship Troopers and film Teenagers From Outer Space.

In 1996, Tim Burton's movie Mars Attacks!, based on the cards, was released by Warner Bros." Wikipedia

Thanks, Alicia!