The Garbage Pail Kids
Adam Bomb (Series 1 #8a) became iconic of the trading card franchise; the image was used on the first five series' packs.
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| Type | Trading cards |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden drawn by John Pound |
| Company | The Topps Company |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1985–2017 (end year) |
| Official website | |
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of 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, deformity, and/or suffering a terrible fate with a humorous, word play-rich character name such as Glandular Angela or Half-Nelson. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name denoted by an "a" or "b" letter after the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so just the kid with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces that form giant nine-card murals while other flip-side subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, "Facebook" profiles.
Fifteen original series ("OS") 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 (ANS) sets were introduced in 2003, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series (BNS) was announced for 2012 with Brand New series 2, Chrome OS1, 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.
The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman who came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Candy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages title, 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 drawn 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.
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