Garbage Pail Kids
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were popular at the time.
Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality or deformity, or suffering a terrible fate or death. The characters have humorous names involving word play or alliteration. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name, differentiated by an "a" or "b" letter following the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so that just the character with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces that form giant murals, while other flip-side subjects vary greatly among the various series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, humorous Facebook profiles.
Fifteen original series of regular trading cards were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large-format card editions were also released, as well as a set of fold-out posters. All-New Series sets were introduced in 2003, [|Flashback] re-releases began in 2010 and a Brand-New Series was announced for 2012 with Brand New Series 2, Chrome S1, and BNS3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014 using the year to designate the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format. In 2016, the format was changed again to themed sets that spoofed different pop culture topics.
History
The series was the brainchild of cartoonist Art Spiegelman, then a consultant for Topps. He came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Can-dy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages sticker for a 1985 series, but the management at Topps thought it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden worked together as the editors and art directors of the project, Len Brown was the manager and the first run of the cards was illustrated exclusively by artist John Pound. They were first issued in 1985. Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series, including Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk and James Warhola, among others.International versions
The cards were also known as Bukimi Kun in Japan, The Garbage Gang in Australia and New Zealand, La Pandilla Basura in Spain, Havurat Ha-Zevel in Israel, Basuritas in Latin America, Gang do Lixo/Loucomania in Brazil, Sgorbions in Italy, Les Crados in France and Belgium and Die total kaputten Kids in Germany and other German speaking countries, e.g. Austria.Variations
A smaller-sized card format was released in Australia and New Zealand. Each pack contained three stickers and the "peel here" arrow pointed to the top left area since there was no die-cut scoring. Initially in New Zealand, a Series 6 of the Garbage Pail Kids was released as a market test. After this success, Series 1 was released in Australia and New Zealand known as The Garbage Gang and was identical to the United States version. The first series was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1989 with different versions: the Australian stickers were darker, had a different banner and some of the names were changed to reflect cultural differences. From Series 2 onward, the same version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Series 4 was the last release of The Garbage Gang.Commercial success
The commercial success of the cards led to the production of a live action film, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, in 1987. An animated TV series was also created in 1987, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the U.S. was postponed due to parental complaints. The TV series did make a brief appearance on U.S. television years after it was originally intended to air and was also briefly aired in Europe. The film was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005, and the animated TV series was later also released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on April 4, 2006. A similar set of 160 trading cards, called The Sloppy Slobs, was released in Italy in 1993.Controversies and lawsuit
School ban
During the height of the cards' popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools. One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.Mexican ban
Since 1988, any export and import of Garbage Pail Kids is banned in Mexico due to the approval of a reform to the Export and Import Law, banning all representations of minors "in a degrading or ridiculous manner, in attitudes of incitement to violence, self-destruction or in any other form of antisocial behavior", citing Garbage Pail Kids as an example.They are also prohibited from being imported into Australia, despite being previously released in the country in 1989.
Trademark infringement lawsuit
In 1986, Topps was sued by the rightsholders of Cabbage Patch Kids, Original Appalachian Artworks, for trademark infringement. As part of the out-of-court settlement, Topps agreed to modify the appearance of the Garbage Pail Kids to remove the resemblance between the characters and to change the logo design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988, sales had dwindled and a planned Series 16 was never produced.BTS Bruisers
In March 2021, Topps released a sticker card depicting a Whac-A-Mole game with members of K-pop band BTS being severely beaten with a Grammy Award. After public backlash due to the card's perceived anti-Asian tone, the company apologized and withdrew the card.''All-New Series'' sets
In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series. ANS1 was entirely made up of artwork that was originally intended for release in the 1980s as Series 16, but 2004's ANS2 featured brand-new and original concepts. Unique numbers on the backs of silver foil and gold foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website, where visitors could build and "gross out" their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique code numbers applied to the character increased, the grosser it became. Less than six months later, ANS3 was released.In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with special Sketch Card original art inserts for its ANS4 set. These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box and featured original artwork by series regulars , Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch, as well as guest artists Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin and Justin Green. Although a regular to the series with over 35 paintings, Luis Diaz was not involved in the sketch cards due to a previous financial dispute with Topps from years earlier.
In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids, followed by ANS6 in early 2007. January 2008 saw the release of ANS7 which expanded the base set to 55 new characters and was the last set to feature new artwork until 2010's Flashback Series 1 subset of six previously unpublished "lost" kids.
The ANS cards differ from the original series in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of the card stock with a glossy protective surface. The ANS releases also changed the card numbering format: OS cards used a continuous numbering pattern so that each new set would pick up where the last one ended. Each ANS also featured special chase cards randomly inserted in packs; for example, foil cards show characters from the original series, Scratch 'n Stink cards, collectible card game cards, temporary tattoos, 3D pop-up cards, alphabet cards, activity cards, magnets, lenticular Loco Motion cards and die-cut jigsaw puzzle cards, along with special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either "bonus boxes" or rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first cards not to have a twin set.
''Flashback'' re-releases
Topps released a 25th-anniversary Flashback set on February 24, 2010, featuring reprints of characters from the original 1985–87 GPK series plus six previously unpublished "lost" characters and 10 Where Are They Now? cards, the latter showing classic Garbage Pail Kids drawn as they would have appeared if they had been released at that time. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards, including lenticular Loco Motion cards, authentic printing plates, four levels of parallels and hand-drawn artist sketches by pop-culture artists, including Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Neil Camera, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata and veteran GPK artists Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch.A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from Series 1 to 9 plus five more "lost" kids, 10 new Where Are They Now? cards, five 3D cards, unique artist sketches and 10 Adam Mania cards showing variants of Adam Bomb's iconic mushroom cloud, plus parallels of the base and Adam Mania sets.
GPK Flashback Series 3 followed on November 2, 2011, with 65 OS reprints, four more "lost" kids, 10 new WATN? cards, five more 3D cards, 10 more Adam Mania cards, plus artist sketches and parallels.