For this “Things That Bring Back Memories” post, I am going to change this up a bit. I usually stick to TV, music and film, but figured that there are a lot of other things that bring back memories for many of us, so it would be fun to look at them to. The thing I’m going to pick today is Garbage Pail Kids.
Garbage Pail Kids were introduced in 1985, and were something that everybody was either into, or didn’t want anything to do with. I, myself, could not stand the other “dolls” that these were based on, so having these to poke fun and have something that was a bit more my style was great. If you are too young, and don’t know what I’m talking about, here is a couple of the cards:
The Garbage Pail Kids are something that are even still talked about at certain times, and always made you laugh!! Did you ever of the cards, or collect any later in life? What did you think of them?
More Info on Garbage Pail Kids:
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 immensely 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 to form giant nine-card murals; other back subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, “Fakebook” profiles.
Fifteen original 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, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series was announced for 2012 with Brand New series 2, Chrome Original Series 1, and Brand New Series 3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014, using the year as the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format.
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.
Who remembers the Garbage Pail Kids? Did you collect them when you were younger? #TTBBM #TigerStrypesBlog Share on X
Some Other Interesting Garbage Pail Kids Facts:
- During the height of the card series’ popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools. One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.
- 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 design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced.
- 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 US was postponed due to parental complaints.
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Oh holy cow – I remember these! This made me LOL! My sister was addicted to cabbage patch dolls. These were great revenge 🙂 Thanks for sharing memories at #HomeMattersParty
That was the reason I loved them. Showing the girls who had their dolls, they always screamed!! ha/ha
I have never heard of these before. Not sure if I would like them or not. But I think I will check these out soon.
So funny you mentioned this movie, my husband recently introduced me to the movie. I didn’t really like it 😉 But I used to love cabbage patch dolls! #HomeMattersParty
I must have known you were watching that!! ha/ha 🙂
Oh, yes, I remember these. My niece had both these and the “other dolls”. Personally, I could have done without either. LOL Thanks for sharing and co-hosting at the #HomeMattersParty – we appreciate you! 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
We just loved these because we couldn’t stand the “others!” ha/ha
I don’t remember these, but I think I was probably a little too old. 🙂 Thanks for sharing #HomeMattersParty
They didn’t get advertised too much, back in the day.
Oh yes Garbage Pail Kids! I graduated HS in 1985 & remember these like it was yesterday! #HomeMattersParty
Isn’t it funny how memories of certain things last so long? Class of ’91 here and we loved them! 🙂