Garbage Pail Kids
garbage pail kids 1st Series cards 1-41
garbage pail kids 2nd Series cards 42-83
Garbage Pail Kids 3rd Series cards 84-124
Garbage Pail Kids 4th Series cards 125-166
Garbage Pail Kids 5th Series cards 167-206
Garbage Pail Kids 6th Series cards 207-250
Garbage Pail Kids 7th Series cards 251-292
Garbage Pail Kids 8th Series cards 293-334
Garbage Pail Kids 9th Series cards 335-378
Garbage Pail Kids 10th Series cards 379-417
Garbage Pail Kids 11th Series cards 418-459
Garbage Pail Kids 12th Series cards 460-500
Garbage Pail Kids 13th Series cards 501-540
Garbage Pail Kids 14th Series cards 541-580
Garbage Pail Kids 15th Series cards 581-620
Garbage Pail Kids (also known as “The Garbage Gang” in Australia & New Zealand and later United Kingdom versions), “La Pandilla Basura” or “Basuritas” in Latin America, “Gang do Lixo” in Brazil, “Sgorbions” in Italy, “Les Crados” in France and “Die total kaputten Kids” in Germany) is a series of trading cards produced and released by the Topps Company between 1985 and 1988. The Cards were designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids which were very popular at the time.
Each card is a sticker which features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality and/or suffering some terrible fate, and a humorous 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; in rare instances a third name shared one of the letters. 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 to form giant 9-card puzzle; other card back subjects vary greatly from series to series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, “Fakebook” profiles. Fifteen 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 and Flashback re-releases began in 2010
The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and 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. and the first run of the cards was drawn exclusively by artist John Pound. Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series.
The commercial success of the trading cards led to the production of a live-action movie, The Garbage Pail Kids movie in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the U.S. was postponed due to parental complaints. The show 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 movie was released on dvd by MGM home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the original VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on dvd by CBS home Entertainment (coincidentally with distribution by Paramount) on April 4, 2006.
school ban
During the height of the card series’ popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools worldwide. One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.
Trademark infringement lawsuit
Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, 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. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced.
On August 21, 1987, a film based on the card characters was released. It was both a critical and commercial flop, opening poorly in 374 theaters with an initial draw of only $661,512 and total gross receipts of $1,576,615. Topps featured advertisements for the movie on the original series 9 and 10 box-topper poster and variant wrapper.
All-New Series sets
In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series (“ANS”). ANS1 was largely made up of artwork intended for release in the 1980s, but 2004′s ANS2 featured brand new concepts. Unique ID numbers on the backs of silver- and gold-foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website where visitors build and “gross out” their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique ID numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross it becomes. Less than 6 months later, ANS3 was released.
In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the gpk franchise with special “Sketch Card” original art inserts for its ANS4 set. These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box (available only from specialty retailers), and featured original artwork by series regulars.
In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids (each with an a/b twin), 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 6 previously unpublished kids.
The ANS cards differ from the original series (“OS”) in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of cardstock with a glossy UV-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 (e.g. OS1 ended at 41a/b and OS2 picked up at 42a/b) while ANS reset the numbering back to 1a/b with every subsequent release. Each ANS also featured special “chase cards” randomly inserted in packs; for example, Foil Cards show characters from the original series (with modified artwork due to the lawsuit), Scratch ‘n stink cards, Collectible Card Game cards, Temporary Tattoos, 3-dimensional 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 (8 each from OS1 to OS8) plus 6 previously unpublished “Lost” characters and 10 “Where Are They Now?” cards showing classic GPKs drawn as they would appear today. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, authentic Printing Plates, four levels of Parallels, and hand-drawn artist Sketches by pop-culture artists.
A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from series 1 to 9 plus 5 additional “Lost” kids, 10 new “WatN?” cards, 5 full-depth 3-D cards, one-of-a-kind 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 is scheduled to follow on November 2, 2011, with 66 OS reprints, 4 “Lost” kids, 10 “WatN?” cards, 5 3-D cards, 10 Adam Mania cards, Artist Sketches, and Parallels.
This article was put together with the help of the great information found on wikipedia.com.