Garbage Pail Kids

The Topps Company

Apr 2012 · Abrams

About this ebook

A collection of all 206 colorfully over-the-top images from the first five series of the popular collectible stickers from the 1980s.

Garbage Pail Kids—a series of collectible stickers produced by Topps in the 1980s—combined spectacular artwork and over-the-top satire. The result was an inspired collaboration between avant-garde cartoonists and humorists including Art Spiegelman, Mark Newgarden, John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch. A new generation of fans continues to embrace this pop-culture phenomenon as Garbage Pail Kids stickers are still being published. Now, for the first time, all 206 rare and hard-to-find images from Series 1 through 5 are collected, along with a special set of four limited-edition, previously unreleased bonus stickers. This exciting follow up to Wacky Packages is guaranteed to appeal to die-hard collectors as well as a new generation of fans.

Praise for Garbage Pail Kids

“If you ask me, reliving my time with Bad Breath Seth and Potty Scotty is worth the cover price alone.” —USAToday.com

“A wonderfully designed tribute to these shit-disturbing cards in all their graphic, full-color glory.” —ComicsBeat.com

“There’s a lot of interesting stuff in Spiegel man’s intro, and in the afterward by John Pound, the artist who originated and drew the bulk of the Kids. But the real reason to buy this book is for the graphic brilliance of the art itself.” —Boston Phoenix

Ratings and reviews

Yeah... it's a book showing all the GPKs (only the front of the stickers) from series 1 to series 5. There's a nice introduction from Art Spiegelman (GPK and Maus) about how TOPPS started the series, how he contributed, and what the environment was like working there during the craze. And an interesting interview at the end from John Pound (GPK) about how he created the look of the characters and the frantic work schedule he had to endure to create the final pieces (that guy is a beast). Also an interesting side note, but apparently Andy Warhol's nephew painted some printed GPK stickers as well... who knew. Anyhow, a fun enough book to scan through and be able to easily see a large chunk of the series in high quality without dealing with aggressive ad pushy websites, but it does get a bit old after a hundred or so.

They don't show the backs. The backs of the cards had jokes and games and cartoons. They were the best part.

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About the author

The Topps Company, Inc., founded in 1938, is the preeminent creator and brand marketer of sports cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Art Spiegelman is an American comics writer, artist, and editor best known for his Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel memoir, Maus.