Collect the Greatest and the Grossest
When we look back on Topps releases from the 1980s, classic baseball sets obviously come to mind, but few sports releases from that era took hold of pop culture like Garbage Pail Kids. The classic original series spawned a movie and countless sticker collections. Over the decades, collectors have only become more insatiable for the alliterative monsters made famous by the art of John Pound and Art Spiegelman.
As demand grew and re-releases and brand-new editions of GPK stocked store shelves, the intentionally off-putting parody evolved to spoof pop culture generally, with no one safe from the simultaneously cute and unappealing style.
Now, let’s take a journey into the revolting past and present of the Garbage Pail Kids. From the original Series 1, to special insert sets in Bowman Chrome® Baseball and fresh GPK sets lovingly crafted by some truly sick minds. Are there any gross cards that you love that we forgot to mention? Let us know!
Top Garbage Pail Kids Cards
1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 #8A Adam Bomb
Character Info
• Adam Bomb isthe cousin of Blasted Billy (#8B), but is far more popular among collectors
• Arguably the most iconic GPK art and most well-known character, serving as cover wrapper character art for the first five series
Set Info
• 88 total stick cards broken into 44A and 44B
What They Said
• “Art (Spiegelman) said to make the kids gross, nasty, disgusting, and rebellious, and I saw that shock value was a huge part of the idea. But as I worked on the sketches, I realized I also wanted the kids and artwork to feel good to look at.” – artist John Pound
2015 Topps Garbage Pail Kids 30th Anniversary 80’s Spoof #7A Mad Michael
Character Info
• A spoof of Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan
Set Info
• ‘80s Spoofs is a 25-card insert set
• 132-card base set (66 A/B cards)
Card back Info
• An ‘80s Spoof insert graphic with the phrase “Parodying fellow ‘80s icons” and card number
2024 Bowman Chrome® Garbage Pail Kids #BGP-21 Dodging Yamamoto
Character Info
• A characterization of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto
• 2024 Bowman Chrome® Baseball featured other GPK characterizations of young MLB stars such as New York Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez, Jackson Holliday, and more
Set Info
• 23 total players are characterized for the GPK insert set
What They Said
• “I think it’s a fad, just like the baseball and football cards. It’s something to trade, and I think they’ll get over it soon.” – Ms Karen Thomas, interviewed on the news in 1986
1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 #1A Nasty Nick
Character Info
• The card designated as the very first name on top of the set list for GPK Series 1
• Shares art with Evil Eddie 1B, with Nasty Nick being more desirable in The Hobby
Set Info
• 88 total stick cards broken into 44A and 44B
• Series 1 features Glossy and Matte card finishes
Card Back Info
• An official certificate to “Stay Up Late” and watch “the late show” signed by the President of the B.E.B. (Bloodshot Eye Brigade)
2013 Garbage Pail Kids Chrome® Original Series 1 #1A Atomic Nasty Nick Refractor
Character Info
• Nasty Nick biting the neck of a small doll shows how small some of the original GPK characters were thought to be
Set Info
• 110-card base set with 41 A/B cards, 14 (A/B) Lost GPK cards
• Refractors were introduced into GPK for the first time in this set
Card Back Info
• An exact recreation of the certificate to Stay Up Late with a “Refractor” label along the border
