Mars Attacks Popeye (One-Shot)

For those who came in late (apologies to The Phantom), Mars Attacks started out as a series of bubblegum cards in 1962, which told the story of a gruesome attack on the Earth by Martians wielding death rays and assorted horrible weapons.

A cult favorite, it spawned a feature film directed by Tim Burton back in 1996, and have appeared in numerous comic book adaptations, mini-series and one-shots.

Looks like it’s time for more one-shots, though certainly even the insane Martians have never come up against a more unbeatable foe than Popeye.

Yep, this zany issues combines the two most disparate comics characters since The Punisher met Archie Andrews (as Dave Barry says, I am not making this up).

Happily, it’s all done in the throwback / Segar style like the ongoing Popeye comic book, so it’s all in good fun - lots of punching and smashing and carnage, lots of mangling of the English language - but like the best villains, there are always plenty more Martians where those came from.

Don’t expect anything deep or meaningful here - it would be a disappointment if it were anything more than just a fun-filled comic adventure with some laughs sprinkled in.

Kudos to writer Martin Powell and artist Terry Beatty for their fantastic work, recapturing the timeless allure of Thimble Theatre - and throwing in some monsters for good measure.

Grade: B+

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