Sunday, May 17, 2009

Dinosaurs Attack: Day Twenty

(Click on images to view Godzilla-sized scans!)

Suddenly it went from picnic to panic as a prehistoric Yogi and Boo-Boo show up.
Another of the gorier pieces of art in the set, card #37 depicts a picnicing person ripped in half between two dinos, echoing an early card showing the same scenario. Hey, if it worked before, why not do it again? Same with the back of the card, revisiting the radio report format.

Working in concert, seemingly under the command of some intelligence, the dinosaur army advances on the enemy. Just who or what is directing them will come to light very soon.


"Cause they've got fa-a-ith, of the heart, nothin's gonna bend or break 'em..."

Bonus: The most famous, or infamous of the card stickers is finally posted; a dinosaur is eating a baby that it snatched out of the carriage. Now, just think about that for a moment. No subtle "oh, no, he's holding an empty baby carriage!" Nope, this card went right for the in-your-face image of the actual baby being devoured, with appendages (and even a pacifier) dropping from the blood-drenched teeth. You have to admire their guts!
It seems that this card set desperately tried for parental outcry and public outrage at such unrelenting horrors marketed to their children. But, for all the effort to attract attention, no sales-boosting and free promotion-generating protest was raised. It's possible that the primary outlet for these cards were comic book stores, which by that time were the main providers of trading cards. This set came too late for the general distribution at the corner convenience store as had the more succesful (and famous) "Mars Attacks!" cards which had caused such uproar.

No comments: