But today, I just had to talk about something that was a massive part of my childhood wants, a true relic of the 80s that drove some parents absolutely bonkers and kept teachers on a constant hunt for contraband: Garbage Pail Kids. Now, before you start picturing my own childhood collection, let me clarify: I never actually got Garbage Pail Kids as a kid. I knew better than to even ask Mama. Daddy's reaction was a dismissive wave and a pronouncement that they were "stupid" and that baseball cards were a far superior investment. He even started a collection for me, which I mostly ignored, more interested in the cute players than the stats. Daddy eventually took them away from me and continued collecting cards throughout the years. I think Becki still has Daddy's card collection. As for Garbage Pail Kids, much like every other kid showing theirs off, they likely would have been confiscated by my teachers anyway. So, while I didn't own them, their legend definitely loomed large in my late elementary school years.
Do you remember those wonderfully disgusting trading cards and stickers? Man, they were everything to a 10 year old! Released by Topps back in 1985, these bad boys were a hilarious and utterly gross parody of the incredibly popular Cabbage Patch Kids. While Cabbage Patch dolls were all about sweetness and adoption, GPKs were their ugly, booger-picking, eyeball-popping counterparts. And we absolutely loved them!
The creative minds behind these masterpieces were Mark Newgarden and the legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman, among others. The main creative artist, John Pound, truly brought these characters to life with his perfectly grotesque illustrations, and he had a fantastic team helping him out, including talents like Tom Bunk, James Warhola and Jay Lynch.
They were all the rage, and it felt like every kid in the cafeteria and on the playground was trading them and showing off their latest finds. But, as you can imagine, something so delightfully rebellious wasn’t going to fly everywhere. Schools all over started banning them left and right. I remember the constant threat of confiscation; it was like a secret mission just to bring them to school! And then, of course, the inevitable happened: the creator of the Cabbage Patch dolls slapped Topps with a lawsuit. It was a whole big thing, but it honestly just made them even cooler to us kids.
From the iconic Adam Bomb, whose head literally explodes, to the delightfully morbid Ghastly Ashley, there were over 600 cards released across 16 different series. And get this – they were produced in tons of countries, so kids all over the world got to revel in their gross-out glory. What was really neat was that most cards came in two versions, "a" and "b," with the only difference being the name of the character. So, you'd have, say, Nasty Nick and Evil Eddie, both featuring the same awesome artwork. It added another layer to the collecting craze, trying to get both versions of your favorites!
While they had their heyday, GPKs definitely faded from the mainstream for a while. But here’s the cool part: they started making a comeback in 2003 and Topps has even re-released some of the original series for special anniversaries. You can now find them in their "Chrome" edition, released in 2023. And for those of you who held onto our childhood treasures, well, you might be sitting on a goldmine! Recent auctions on eBay have shown just how much some of these can be worth. I saw one Nasty Nick sell for an astonishing $8,049! And his other identity, Evil Eddie, a little behind but still going for an eye popping $2,224. Of course, these are definitely rare cases, but it just goes to show you that if you still have your old Garbage Pail Kids tucked away somewhere, you never know – they just might be worth a pretty penny. It makes me wish I hadn't spent my extra money on tapes, candy and gum!
So, what are your Garbage Pail Kids memories? Did your teachers confiscate them? Did your parents think they were a waste of money? Share your stories in the comments below! And if you enjoy these little trips down memory lane, or if you're just looking for more unique content, consider chipping in a little something to keep this blog going. Every bit helps me dedicate more time to these fun dives and, of course, stay tuned for more updates regarding my progress on getting Under the Lifeguard's Watch out into the world for Casper and Soren!
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