“Gum Wrappers, Cards Are Valuable Items”
I thought it might be fun to celebrate the Mars Attacks Kickstarter project by digging into the Google Newspaper Archives in search of old articles, and while most of the Mars Attacks articles are about the film there are a few card-specific stories for us to enjoy. For example, a December 2, 1982 Toledo Blade article (by Judy Linscott of the New York Daily News) discusses the collectibility and value of “bubblegum cards” in general and touches on sport and non-sport cards alike.
” . . . other types of non-sports card were produced in numbered series, too, such as the Mars Attacks series issued in 1962 by Topps. They had to be withdrawn from the market because parents thought them too gory. Today a set of such cards is worth about $400.”
The article also mentions “Spook” bubble gum cards. I’d never heard of this, but a quick search led me to Wheezer Society where there’s a little info on the cards from the sixties.
A fun read, but now I’m left asking myself: Will any newspapers figure out that Topps’ is going direct to fans with a Kickstarter project and will any newspapers cover the story? Could make a fun filler piece for a paper that’s looking to run a comparison of today’s world with the American society of the sixties. Back in 1962 the Mars Attacks cards were so gory and disgusting that parents noticed. Today it is most likely the parents collecting the cards.
What a weird, wonderful world we live in.
Related articles
- 1978 “Kiddie City” and Micronauts (battlegrip.com)
- ‘Masters Of The Universe’ Are Also Market Masters (battlegrip.com)