Mars Attacks!

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than with some fireworks? I am not the biggest fan of licensed comics series, but I have gone on the record saying I'd buy anything Kyle Starks makes sight unseen. And I am also a big fan of Chris Schweizer's work. Plus I have a fascination for the gruesome trading card series this comic is based on. So I decided to check this series out, and boy I am I glad I did.

The story begins when lifelong loser Spencer Carbutt decides to hit up his father, who is a retired marine living in a retirement village, for some cash. Just then a giant alien invasion happens, and instead of staying to die, the duo hit the road. Along the way, Spencer and the Major meet up with a militia, befriend a dog, hook up with the military, and work out a lot of personal issues. Seeing them resolve their relationship in the midst of the brutal slaughter of humanity makes for an interesting juxtaposition. It also makes for some curious and funny situations.

Like many of Starks's other works, this book is full of action, snappy dialogue, and interesting events. Schweizer's artwork here smacks of Harvey Kurtzman's classic war comics, and it is full of character, energy, and pathos. Both creators really seem to revel in all the action, gore, and aliens zapping things, but they do not sell the book short because they also offer decent characters that are easy to relate to and root for. Mars Attacks! is a fine piece of entertainment, a fun summer blockbuster in comics form.

Two-time Eisner Award nominee Starks and three-time Eisner Award nominee Schweizer are two of my favorite comics creators. They previously collaborated on the series Rock Candy Mountain. I have also enjoyed Stark's other works, including Kill Them All, Sexcastle, and The Legend of Ricky Thunder. He is currently writing the series Assassination Nation. Schweizer is also an accomplished graphic novelist whose series The Crogan Adventures and The Creeps are personal favorites. Starks speaks more about working on the Mars Attacks! series in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Steven Martinez wrote that it was "a really fun comic" that "captures the campy feel of the 1996 movie, and it tells a touching story about a father and son facing the end together." Kate Sánchez wrote, "I have fallen in love with this series and the unexpected emotion in it."

Mars Attacks! was published by Dynamite Entertainment, and they offer more info about it here.