From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adam Bomb (Series 1 #8a) became iconic of the trading card franchise; the image was used on the first five series' packs.
Garbage Pail Kids (in Australia & New Zealand, "The Garbage Gang"), in Latin America, "La Pandilla Basura" or "Basuritas" (Spanish speaking countries) and "Gang do Lixo" in Brazil is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls created by Xavier Roberts, which were immensely popular at the time. Each sticker card featured a Garbage Pail Kid character, with some comical abnormality and/or suffering some terrible fate, and a humorous, word play-rich character name. Two (and occasionally three) versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but different character names. Fifteen regular series 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 posters.[1]
History
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,[2] but the management at Topps thought that it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and 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.[3] 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.
Commercial success
The commercial success of the trading cards led to the production of a live-action movie,[4] The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the US was postponed due to parental complaints. The show did make a brief appearance on US television years after it was originally intended to air, and it was also briefly aired in Europe. The movie was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on DVD by CBS DVD on April 4, 2006.
Trademark infringement lawsuit
During the height of the Garbage Pail Kids' popularity, Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, for trademark infringement.[5] 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. Production of the cards themselves continued; however, by 1988, sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series never saw production.
All new series
In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new cards, dubbed the All New Series (ANS). The second series of new cards featured unique ID numbers on the back of first silver- and later gold-foil insert cards that can be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website, where visitors can build and 'gross out' their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique ID numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross they can become.
The All New Series of cards differs from the original series in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of the cardstock used, and a more glossy surface to the stickers. The ANS also changed the format with which the cards are numbered. The original series of cards used a continuous numbering pattern, so that each new set would pick up where the last set ended (e.g. series 1 ended at 41a and 41b, and series 2 picked up at 42a and 42b); the ANS resets the numbering back to 1 with each subsequent series. The ANS also featured special card inserts like foil cards featuring characters from the original series (modified due to the lawsuit), Scratch 'n Stink cards, collectable card game cards, temporary tattoos, Pop-up cards, Alphabet cards, activity cards, magnets, Loco motion cards and jigsaw puzzle cards along with featured special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either 11-pack Bonus Boxes or multi-pack rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first GPK cards not to have twin cards.
As of 2010, Topps has released seven "All New Series" sets and one flashback set.
Anniversary
In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with special 'Sketch Card' original art inserts in its ANS 4 set. These were limited to one inserted randomly per every hobby box (sold to specialty retailers), and featured original art by series regulars John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch, as well as Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin, and Justin Green. Luis Diaz although a regular to the series creating over 35 paintings, was not involved in the sketch cards.
Flashback set
Topps released a "flashback" set on February 24, 2010, featuring characters from the original 1985-87 Garbage Pail Kids series (8 each from OS 1 to 8) plus 6 previously unpublished "Lost" characters and 10 "Where Are They Now" cards showing classic GPK characters drawn as they would appear today. Each card has an a/b twin for a total of 160 base set cards. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, hand-drawn Artist Sketches, authentic Printing Plates, and four levels of Parallels.
Television
Garbage Pail Kids cards were featured in Season 2 Episode 8 ("The Gang Runs For Office") of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia". Referential lines include "The stupid cards where babies are doing disgusting things" and "the amazing cards where babies are doing hilarious things".
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
On August 21, 1987; a film based on the cards was released, however, the film was both a critical and commercial flop. It poorly opened in 374 theaters, taking in only $661,512, with its total gross being a poor $1,576,615, despite its low budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 0% rating, not receiving one positive review.
In 2009, The Nostalgia Critic lambasted the film, calling it "The absolute worst. No story, no character, no plot, just pain." At the end of the review shows that the movie is so bad it tore the fabric of space and time and sends him to inside the bad movie in which he rapidly ages as he watches himself then transorm into a piece of poo.[6] In the 2009 donation drive video Doug Walker stated out of character that it truly is the worst film he's ever seen.
See also
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
