Posted in: Comics | Tagged: chris ryall, First Born, idw, mars attacks, Sam Keith, topps

Sam Kieth Gets His Sci-Fi On With Mars Attacks: First Born

Published Thu, 30 Jan 2014 19:00:28 -0600

Last updated Thu, 30 Jan 2014 20:21:27 -0600

The celebrated creator of The Maxx, Sam Kieth is teaming once again with his The Hollows cohort Chris Ryall to tell an EC style Sci-Fi tale. Mars Attacks: First Born is a four-issue series written by Ryall, drawn by Kieth and co-plotted by both. It focuses on the after effects of the martian invasion and of a infant martian left behind. Was this an accident or some nefarious plan? And what is this about giant bugs?

"This series is a multi-tiered love letter," said series writer and IDW Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. "Every page shows not only the love Sam and I have for Mars Attacks, but also wild science-fiction tales from the past, the sorts of things Wally Wood drew in the pages of Weird Science-Fantasy and other EC comics. Our adoration of Wally's work is front and center in this series, but it's also a great next move for Sam and I after the working relationship we developed on The Hollows. And it surely gives Mars Attacks fans something special, in addition to also giving them some of the wanton carnage and gallows humor they've come to expect."

The influence of classic science-fiction stories of years past extends to the variant covers for each issue, too. Artist Loston Wallace pays homage to classic Wally Wood EC covers in each image he's creating for the series.

Mars Attacks: First Born #1 (of 4) launches in May.