Interview is republished, by permission, from Sybil Ferro and the Garbage Pail Kids Misfits Facebook group, ยฉ 2020.
๐ฝ๐๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ, ๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ช๐จ๐๐๐จ๐ข, ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐, ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ง ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐จ, ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ.
๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฝ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ง๐ค๐จ๐ค๐๐ฉ. ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐๐ช๐ก ๐๐๐พ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฉ๐ก๐๐จ. ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐จ. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃโ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐จ!
*๐๐๐ช๐๐๐๐ง*
Will Marstonย โย ๐๐๐จ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐, ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ, ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฅ๐ช๐ก๐๐ง ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฃ, ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ง๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ. ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐๐ฎ…๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ!ย
Mark Newgardenย โย Thanks Will, my pleasure.ย
Well, Iโm not the biggest Beatles fan on earth (and having worked for Microsoft, I have no illusions.) But butterflies? OK, butterflies, sure, Iโll go along with that…ย
WMย โย ๐๐๐ก๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ! ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐จ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฉ…๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ช๐จ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ข๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐? (๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช? ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค? ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ? ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!!!)
MNย โย As Iโve mentioned in interviews before, the germ of GPK grew out of Topps Wacky Packages, which I collected myself as a 1960s kid (the very first ones, which were on thick gummed card stock – the stickers came later.) Wackys became a huge fad (and moneymaker) in the 1970s and Topps would reissue or revive them periodically – and around 1985 it was time again.ย
I was given an initial assignment by Len Brownย (longtime Topps New Product Development dept. creative director) to compile a working list of new, feasible products to parody. I was also given a fat folder of corporate cease and desist letters that Topps accumulated over the years and a list of companies and products that were considered off limits. Most of the familiar supermarket brands were now verboten and there was some doubt that that a decent Wacky Packages set could be pulled off in 1985. But even if possible, it would not be a simple task. The subjects had to be iconic, family-friendly nationally distributed products that were owned by companies that had not threatened to sue Topps in the past – and believe me there were damned few left!
So I went shopping and got to work. I read the fine print on labels and learned about brand acquisitions and corporate conglomerates. I filled pages of ideas in a spiral notebook. Supermarket workers eyed me suspiciously. Len drove us out to a Toys-R-Us one afternoon to see what was on the shelves. My running idea list included the requisite parody /switch concept right off the bat (Burger King/ Burger Thing, T.V. Guide/ T.V. Died, Cabbage Patch Kids/ Garbage Pail Kids, etc.) So the GPK title came before anysketches. Cabbage Patch Kid dolls were not even available in toy stores at that point, but they had gotten a ton of publicity and were on kidโs radar, so it made sense to include them.
My finished list was reviewed by Len, the best prospects were OKed, (we ultimately needed 44 good ones) and I proceeded to flesh them out visually, adding the ancillary gags. I probably worked on these at a drawing board in the corner of the windowless NPD meeting room at Topps in Bush Terminal, Brooklyn over a number of weeks. I never really liked drawing there, the markers they used at Topps gave me the worst headaches (as did the ample supply of sugary gum products on hand.)
Len looked over my sketches next, as did Art Speigelman who would typically give notes. I donโt recall any specific reaction to that one at all, there were no notes or revisions. It was just another gag, it worked, next. It was filed in the series โOKโ pile and ultimately sent off to John Pound (who was just starting at Topps) to use as a basis for a finished rendering. How that Wacky Package was spun off into a series of itโs own is a story that has also been told beforeโฆ
WMย โย ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐. ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ช๐ข! ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ฎ โ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ฎ๐จโ ๐ค๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ โ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ?โ
MNย โย GPK became a big product for Topps. There were some modest bonuses for the creative team as new series accrued, but the suits paid themselves those kind of bonuses a thousand fold; the Topps CEO came from a sales background and any successes were routinely credited to the sales force. However, โwe need another series done by next weekโ was a pretty constant refrain for the next several years. If anybody had ever invented a way to make new products without creative people, Topps would have bought the patent in a heartbeat!
WMย โย ๐ฟ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ก๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐พ๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐ช๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ? ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ?
MNย โย I had been a student of Artโs at SVA and then working with him as Raw magazine was getting underway. I was tossed a few random Topps assignments starting around 1982 or so while I was still at Raw. The first one was to research and write a series of backs for the upcoming Jaws 3D gum card series. They wanted 44 โFun Facts About Fishโ over a weekend. Universal wasnโt releasing the script for some reason & Topps needed a plan B in their back pocket, ASAP. I had written some funny fortune cookie messages prior so maybe that was credentials enough.ย
How did I feel? I was happy to have a paying gig, however inane, but it felt like a Jr. high school homework assignment. I handed the job off to Art at Raw and never heard about it again. Anyway, about a year later, NPD decided they needed some young blood on a regular basis and I guess they liked my blood type. I began coming in once a week and essentially hung around for the next decade or so. It was a strange and fascinating place, filled with absolute characters. At best, it was like stepping into a well-written sitcom. (And at worst, a badly-written soap opera.)
WMย โย ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ… ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐?
MNย โย Yes, Iโm sure I do. Those posters were fun btw, it was always enjoyable to extend things in a fresh direction, but they were done very quickly- another rush job. Anyway, I guess I would nominate that tattered spiral notebook of 1985 Wacky concepts that I mentioned earlier. If there is an actual physical starting point for GPK, thatโs it.
WMย โย ๐๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ 1980๐จ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐. ๐พ๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐๐จ๐จ? ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐๐ , ๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ค ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ชรฉ?
MNย โย For me, the most creative part of GPK (new gag concepts) was always the easiest and most fun part of the job. If I ever felt blocked, my personal method was to stop thinking and just draw. Eventually something would develop on the page.ย
Yes, we shelved things all the time, only a small fraction of the ideas made it to print. And even then, โobjectionableโ concepts could get all the way to the finished art stage & still be rejected by the powers that be. But we would always resubmit them in the next series and most would eventually get used. A few outliers never saw the light of day for a variety of reasons. I recall one painting of Johnโs involving a smiling purple pickled kid in a jar that somebody there insisted just had to be a fetus.ย
WMย โย ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค๐๐๐ฎ ๐ซ๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ 80๐จ? ๐พ๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ ๐?
MNย โย Night and day. The original GPK was a mass-market product aimed at all kids – not fans, and something they could buy themselves with their own pocket money. Today itโs a pre-sold niche market โpropertyโ and โbranding opportunityโ aimed at rapidly aging ex-kids (with far deeper pockets.)
Weirdly enough, there was an element of truth-telling in depicting gross bodily fluids in American pop-culture back in the buttoned-up Reagan era. Prior to GPK, that kind of content was considered beyond the pale in material aimed at children. For my part, I was always trying to include what I would have loved as a kid and proceeded accordingly. I was the oldest child in a large family, and snot and puke was just part of daily life in the Newgarden household. In fact, I almost got kicked out of art school for drawing a classmate of mine, vomiting and farting, on the walls there. Anyway, these became a 1980s kid-culture formula pretty quickly of course, and not just for Topps.ย
WMย โย ๐๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ข๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐พ๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ค๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐พ๐ง๐ช๐ข๐. ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ โ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐โ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ชโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ?
MNย โย Iโm not sure what role โinspirationโ ever plays, but if the original GPK series was great it was great because of the talents involved and because we all worked our butts off on it. There was a true serious of purpose behind all that snot and puke.
WMย โย ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช?
MNย โย Cole Porter once said โMy sole inspiration is a telephone call from a directorโ. I tend to share that sentiment, if not the particulars. In other words you need to be pre-inspired, self-inspired and ready for the call.
WMย โย ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐พ๐ค๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ?
MNย โย Harvey Kurtzman, the genius cartoonist and creator of Mad is probably the most pertinent influence in terms of GPK. Pretty much everybody involved in the creation of GPK was similarly enamored of Kurtzman, and his partner Will Elder. A comprehensive list would be too long to include here, suffice it to say it consists of hundreds of 20th century cartoonists, filmmakers, animators, performers, writers, illustratorsโฆ I could go on and on, but you get the idea – old funny dead guys.
WMย โ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ 80๐จ?
MNย โย Iโm a perfectionist and never satisfied with anything I work onโso sure, a million things. But thatโs just the nature of the beast, especially when the work is deadline-driven and collaborative. After a certain point things are out of your hands. Letting go, moving on to the next project and incorporating lessons learned is part of the drill too. Iโm still working on it.
WMย โย ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ค๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ช๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ, ๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฉ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ค๐ฃ?
MNย โย Good question and Iโm not sure I have a good answer. At a certain point GPK kind of got old, probably for all of us. We had figured out what made a good GPK image, what made a good card back and what made a good series. We had 3 outstanding, dependable painters, a good idea of their individual strengths and how much work each could accomplish per week. And the stickers were still selling like crazy. GPK wasnโt exactly running on autopilot, but we had a solid handle on things and it became a little rote. John Pound (who was absolutely terrific with gag concepts) even created a computer program around this time to randomly generate new GPK ideas, that part had become so mechanical for him.
The lawsuit and settlement shook things up a bit and afterwards we had to rethink certain aspects all over again, to one degree or another anyway. In the meantime there were many proposals floated for similar, but completely different series and various other directions we might pivot to. They mostly came to nothing, but it was good exercise to flex our GPK brain cells in new ways. The original GPK really didnโt last all that much longer after the settlement anyway, and then we were on to new adventures.
WMย โย ๐ฟ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ 21๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ค๐ง๐๐, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐ค๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐จ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐e๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ?ย ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐จ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ซ๐จ. ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐?
MNย โย Art is censored all the time, thatโs nothing new. To answer your question, take a look at the self-censorship of arecently postponed Philip Guston show that was in the news a few weeks back. The curators were concerned that the artistโs 1960s & 1970s paintings featuring unequivocal anti-KKK imagery might somehow offend in Trumpโs 2020. Are we worried about hurting sensitive Klan memberโs feelings now or is the cartoonish depiction of a white hood in and of itself just too traumatizing for public consumption?
Who is censoring GPK? Iโm not aware of any recent changes, but then again Iโm not looking too hard either. GPK were always supposed to look like dolls, albeit flexible, animated ones. After the lawsuit we had to add cracks to deliberately make them resemble jointed, hardplastic dolls as opposed to the โsoft-sculptureโ Cabbage Patch variety. That was part of the settlement terms. It didnโt help the product any, I always felt like those randomly added cracks were distracting. Iโve always wondered how much kids at the time noticed or cared. I think I would have.
WMย โย ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ? ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐จ ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐จ? ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ก๐ก?
MNย โย Topps was located in a Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood that was considered kind of dodgy in those days, so they maintained a company cafeteria to keep employees from wandering into trouble. I recall casual lunchtime intermixing with a couple of sports guys there, but to no great extent, on my part anyway. I donโt think most of the folks in the sports department had a clue what we even did- or cared, for that matter. (And vice versa.) I did learn years later that the negative publicity around GPK created some moments of tension in renewing certain player contracts for the sports execs, which is sort of amusing. For years they kept telling these morally indignant ball players โNo, no, we donโt make those things anymore.โ
WMย โย ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ย ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ข๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐ข? ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ’๐จ ๐ข๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ง ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐?
MNย โย Itโs pretty depressing. Too much of what I have seen is frankly incompetent, so I try not to look.ย
WMย โย ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ช๐จ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ค๐ง.
MNย โย Itโs a little late for trouble but hereโs a secret: the late great Jay Lynch was a NPD creative workhorse for decades but he didnโt really have anything to do with GPK until pretty late in the game. Why? Well for one reason Jay was working on licensed Cabbage Patch Kids products for a toy company in Chicago at the time and had to recuse himself to avoid the suspicion of engaging in corporate espionage.ย ย
WMย โย ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐โ๐ข ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐จ๐จ๐ช๐ข๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ค๐ฌ, ๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฌ, ๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ (๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ค๐ , ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช). ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก โ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃโ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค…๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ค ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ค๐๐จ… ๐ฝ๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐?
MNย โย It all depends on the gag!ย
Interview was conducted by longtime GPK collectors Sybil Ferro, Will Marston, Slippa Chervascus, Roddy Francisco Fell,ย andย Alicia Forrest in Sept. 2020, and originally appeared on the Garbage Pail Kids Misfits Facebook group. Sybil can be contacted here.