Martian Deathtrap

BANNED IN BROOKLYN

In 1962, at the height of the cold war, the Brooklyn-based Topps Chewing Gum Company released a set of trading cards that combined a classic, H.G. Wells-style alien invasion with the graphic atrocities of war. The result were the legendary Mars Attacks cards, and the reaction was immediate.

National uproar: Deemed too gruesome for innocent young minds, the cards were quickly suppressed.

But even as they disappeared from the market, their cult status grew... and grew. Finally, in 1995, Topps re-released the set, adding new – and equally gruesome – cards. The invasion began anew, leading to comic books, novels, a major motion picture deal (with Tim Burton directing), and other insidious means by which the Martian wave would spread across the land.

Martian Deathtrap pits a desperate band of human defenders against the merciless interplanetary invaders. The battleground is a huge mansion filled with trapdoors, secret passages, giant insects, and death lurking around every corner. For the Martians, their mission is to secure the captured ground by whatever means necessary. For the humans, the goal is to beat the odds and simply survive.