The long-running Topps cards get their own comic book
Given that Garbage Pail Kids were originally created by comics visionary Art Spiegelman (Maus, In the Shadow of No Towers), it's somewhat surprising that such grossout comic characters as Adam Bomb and Frigid Bridget have never made it to the printed page. However, in a move that has us wondering if Sam Beckett is now working in the comic industry, this wrong is now being righted by IDW. From the press release:
With the likes of AdamBomb, LeakyLindsay, and New Wave Dave populating the Garbage Pail Kids universe, the delightfully deformed and often downright disgusting Kids are set to make their mark on the world of comics, just in time for their 30th Anniversary in 2015!
“As a child of the Eighties, I was at ground zero for the Garbage Pail Kids phenomenon,” series editor Denton J. Tipton said. “The profoundly irreverent stickers spoke directly to the rascal inside each and every one of my classmates, and helped us drive our teachers to the brink of insanity. I couldn’t be more happy to be working with some of the giants of alternative comics to push the buttons of an entirely new generation of educators, many of which likely remember when the poo-covered sneaker was on the other foot.”
Created by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman and a group of avant garde humorists including Mark Newgarden, John Pound, Tom Bunk and others, the Garbage Pail Kids debuted in 1985 from Topps, as the furor for trading cards was at an all-time high. Like MAD Magazine and Topps’ own Wacky Packages before it, Garbage Pail Kids succeeded as a tongue-in-cheek send-up of pop culture, depicting quite the opposite of the “cute” approach to all-ages entertainment of the day.
“Having grown up with GPK and sharing my name with the flagship character, I can say it’s no small honor to help shepherd the Garbage Pail Kids into their first ever comic book,” said Topps’ Adam Levine, Head of Outbound Licensing. “It’s going to be a real treat to see our friends at IDW flesh out the world of the Garbage Pail Kids so that after 30 years we can finally find out who all of these weird little guys are.”
Hate cartoonist Peter Bagge, who provided the initial image of all-new character Comic-Con Ron, will be a part of the new series, planned as an anthology of loosely connected stories by a variety of talented creators from around the industry, including some of Topps’ official “GPK” artists
Of course, Garbage Pail Kids have already had some success in the comics field: specifically in the Bazooka Joe parody strips that have graced the stickers' cardbacks throughout the years. IDW has already had much success with their adaptation of another beloved Topps property -- Mars Attacks -- so their acquisiton of this license feels like a no brainer.
With this announcement, IDW has given us all a case of the nostalgic warm and fuzzies. Expect more details on this title as soon as they become available. As for us? We'll all be dreaming of the awesomeness that a possible Mars Attacks/Garbage Pail Kids crossover would be. Oh man, let's hope that happens someday...
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