The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror (2010) 16

Another Halloween, another Treehouse of Horror.

The 2010 team included, Evan Dorkin, Peter Kuper, Kelley Jones, Kelvin Mao, Tom Peyer, and Tone Rodriguez. Special assist from Lemmy Kilmister and Motorhead.

The cover paid homage to the cult classic Mars Attacks! trading cards and film.

Mars Attacks, the 1996 movie, was based on the 1962 Topps cards featuring artwork by Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. Topps product developer Len Brown took inspiration for the commission from Wood’s cover to EC Comic’s Weird Science issue 16.

The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror (2010) 16

Brown and Woody Gelman put their heads together and came up with the idea for the story complete with rough sketches. Wood was invited onboard as was Bob Powell to create the artwork for the cards. Saunders painted the finished copies.

Topps tested the public waters and marketed the five-cent-a-pack cards under Bubbles, Inc, called Attack from Space. After the initial success, Topps rebranded the cards as Mars Attacks using their corporate name and logo.

The expanded release of the cards brought them to parents’ attention. They were less thrilled than their children who relished the gore and violence. A legal inquiry brought a halt to production.

Not until 1984 were the cards reprinted, with permission, by Renata Galasso Inc. Topps re-released them under the company name in 1994 as Mars Attacks Archives.

A year later, eight Mars Attacks models were marketed by Screamin’ Productions and Topps.

In 1996, Tim Burton directed an all-star cast in a big-screen version. Featured were Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Pam Grier, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown and Lisa Marie Smith.

The film met with box-office disaster and mixed reviews from critics.

Now, for the comic book at hand:

For the reader’s pleasure, Dorkin penned and penciled the opening salvo, I Screwed Up Big-Time and Unleashed the Glavin on an Unsuspecting World.

Science goes wild and so does its result. Springfield is crushed, saved and endangered again in under 15 pages.

Kuper takes some liberties with Edgar Alan Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart in Tell-Tale Bart. Ned Flanders takes centerstage as he plots to do away with Homer once and for all. Mao and Jones are the artists on this tale of terror and taunting.

Homer Goes to Hell! showcases a shrewdness rarely associated with the title character. It proves the fine print should be read on any contract and brings the book to a close with Kilmister’s story.

Four Marge Attacks! cards are to tossed in as a bonus.