Garbage Pail Kids trading cards, created by Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden in 1985, parodied Cabbage Patch Kids. Despite a lawsuit from Cabbage Patch Kids’ makers, the cards were a hit worldwide. Topps launched new sets in 2003 and a line of Hollywood Zombies cards in 2007. The success of Garbage Pail Kids inspired a film and television series.
In 1985, Topps Chewing Gum Company began producing trading cards called Garbage Pail Kids® which parodied the Cabbage Patch Kids®. Rather than the 1930s children’s book names like Fritz and Anne that were used for Cabbage Patch Kids®, Garbage Pail Kids® trading cards have names like Up Chuck and Ray Decay.
Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden are the original creators of the Garbage Pail Kids® trading cards. The card series that started in 1985 lasted until 1988 and was not only a hit in the United States, but all over the world. The makers of the Cabbage Patch Kids® filed a lawsuit against Topps in 1986, but the Garbage Pail Kids® products were allowed to continue.
Following the success of the first card sets in 1985, Topps launched the new Garbage Pail Kids® trading card sets in 2003. Some even had a “scratch and smell” feature. The second series of the 2003 Silver and Gold cards have special identification numbers on them that allow those with the numbers to log on to a website and add their ideas to Garbage Pail Kids®.
In June of 2007, a new line of trading cards called Hollywood Zombies was released. These cards feature a “back from hell” theme and spoof celebrities and tabloids. For example, the “walking dead Paris Hilton” notes on her card that hell is “hot.” The Hollywood Zombies trading card series also has some “morbid glow-in-the-dark mugshots” that include extra material that isn’t seen until the lights go out.
The immediate success of Garbage Pail Kids® inspired both a film and a television series. The film Garbage Pail Kids® was released in 1987. As might be expected, the film centered around gross bodily functions and featured revolting props such as those that are similar to barf and snot. The television series Garbage Pail Kids® first aired in 1989 and featured characters such as “Clogged Duane” and “Terri Cloth”. The television series mostly parodied movies like King Kong and also parodied commercials.
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