Many many years ago I was given a small box of cards by a family friend who knew I was into science fiction. Opening it up, I was grinning ear-to-ear as I looked at a nice collection of Mars Attacks baseball cards. I don’t think I had the entire collection, but it had to be close. Keep in mind this was a couple of decades before Tim Burton’s movie that was inspired by the aliens and technology visible on these cards. I don’t know what happened to those cards (and if I think too long, I’ll probably break down and cr-y-yie – my best Axel Rose imitation) but I do know that they were a guilty pleasure of mine because they most definitely were frowned upon by most adults and a few teachers who saw them in my book bag. The violence shown on the faces of these cards were typical of 1950s hysteria — aliens attacking our women, showing no mercy, and with technology that made us look like rock throwers.
Fast forward to 2012 and I was pleased to hear that Topps will be re-releasing this collection soon for the 50th anniversary. How soon? Stay tuned. In the meantime, I’m discovering a lot of Mars Attacks tie-in products that will also be released this year — my head is spinning and my ear-to-ear grin is back.
One of the first products I want to share with you is from Walls 360. This company offers up vinyl prints re-positionable wall graphics for your wall — sports, pop culture, video games, classic movie posters, and even custom printings. When I got word that they would be offering some Mars Attacks wall graphics showing some of the classic Mars Attacks cards, I raised my hand fast and said Yes, please!
I have a workshop downstairs where I tinker with electronics and stage my home repair work… and it’s got these boring white walls. I’ve just never gotten around to hanging posters and pictures on the wall just doesn’t seem right. And I’m honestly too busy to want to paint the walls of my workshop. So for years they’ve remained blank and uninspiring.
Until now.
Now, I’ve got card #11 (my favorite) Destroy the City hanging over one of my workbenches. On another wall I put up the vertical poster showing card # 52 Giant Robot. And as soon as I get some junk moved off another table, up will go card #1 The Invasion Begins.
The posters come in different sizes, too. Card #11 is 48″ x 34″ and Card #52 is 36″ x 25″ — the largest size they offer is 60″ x 42.5″ if you’ve got a wall in need of some serious covering. Be sure to take a look at the entire Mars Attacks offering by Walls 360 and find one that suits your mood. All original 55 cards are available, and they look great on the wall of my workshop.
Putting them up was easy — I wish I’d had a second set of hands when I did it (I was too impatient to get them on the walls) but the adhesive used is easy to reposition if you make a mistake (and I made a few). The vinyl is strong, too, so you don’t have to worry about tearing your poster. And if you should have to pull it off and reposition, the material doesn’t hold a seam or fold and smooths out nice.
If you like the Mars Attacks series, I’m sure you’ll find one or more that you really like. But also be sure to check out Walls 360′s other categories — the movie posters are something I think geek dads will appreciate, especially the classic sci-fi posters. (I watch Forbidden Planet every year at least once — maybe the Walls 360 crew can make that movie poster a reality.)
