Collectors Guide to Las Vegas 2024 Gross Card Con

We are just two weeks away from the largest gathering of Garbage Pail Kids artists and collectors. This year’s Gross Card Con is set to be a part of the Silver State Toys, Comics, and Sports Expo. The show takes place in the World Market Center in Las Vegas on 3/16 & 3/17. As always there are a ton of artists, exclusive merchandise, and events planned for the show. Read on to find about all that collectors will encounter!

Artists

The show is always highlighted by the artists. Set to attended are Original Series artist James Warhola, GPK artists David Gross and Joe McWilliams, GPK & GetAGrip artist Rory McQueen, Magic Marker Inc. artist Mark Pingitore, Dynamite Comic and GPK sketch artist Jason Crosby, and GPK sketch artists Chad Scheres and David Acevedo. Additionally, while not highlighted, GPK sketch artists Eddie Rhodes III, Marion Carole Miller, and Adam “Ad Rock” Dobrzeniecki will have tables at the show. Each artist will have a table displaying a number of their original paintings, sketch cards, prints, stickers, cards, and more! Check out these highlights for many of the artists…

David Gross – David will have 6 official Topps GPK promo cards, (3 previously unused paintings with a/b versions), all autographed, available for sale at his table. He will also be debuting his first four Rejected Gross cards, cards featuring previously rejected final paintings. He will have new 11 x 14 glossy prints with personal GPK themed artwork, and previously released GPKs. He will also have a number of official roughs and final paintings from recent sets for sale. In addition he will debut a a new version of his popular Thanos Bomb card, a baseball themed card, and have a variety of official cards from previous conventions.

Joe McWilliams – Smokin Joe also created an official Topps promo card for the show. The card comes with a/b versions and will come free with the purchase of a GCC show set, info on set further down in article. Joe will also have pre drawn sketch cards, giant sized stickers, and 8 x 10 prints of previous GPK artwork.

Mark Pingitore – Mark will have his popular 6 card sampler pack available for sale at his table. The pack features 6 promo cards highlighting future releases from his Magic Marker Inc. company. He will also have other Magic Marker merchandise to purchase at the show.

Rory McQueen – Rory will be at the show along with GetAGrip Skateboards. In addition to the GetAGrip merchandise, Rory will be bringing with him pre drawn official return sketches along with other Rory artwork.

Chad Scheres – Chad will be selling sets of his own Freaks of Nature cards. He also will have plenty of monster stickers and prints. Additionally, he will have some sketch covers and sketch cards available.

David Acevedo – David will have a number of Gross Card Con sketches available at his table for $75 each. Examples are below.

GetAGrip

Official GPK licensee, GetAGrip, will be making their second straight appearance at GCC. The company will be debuting their “GPK Mart”. Collectors will be able to collect their Grossery Bags that they have pre purchased. Bags go on sale via the GetAGrip website on 3/1. The only way to get these bags is to purchase ahead of time and pickup in person! Bags will contain all kinds of GPK goodness. So far the company has announced bags will contain sunglasses, socks, Ouchies bandages, digital watch, and more to come! The company is bound to have other surprises on hand!

GPK & Wacky Warehouse

Clint Coleman and family will once again be on hand with plenty of GPK for collectors to purchase. They will once again be offering the GCC show set for sale at their table. The 10 card set, done by the attending artists, will sell for $25. Each set comes with the two card a/b Topps promo done by Joe McWilliams. They also will have vintage GCC sketch shirts for sale. There are even brand new GCC dad caps available for $25. The new GPK & Wacky Warehouse prize wheel will make its debut. Prizes will change throughout the day, including the high roller wheel Saturday night.

Saturday during the show will also mark the launch of gpkandwackywarehouse.com. This will be the new go to destination for collectors wanting to purchase. They describe their new website as, “Introducing gakpndwackywarehouse.com, your new go-to destination for never-before-seen items and exclusive deals! By making this transition, we can offer a unique shopping experience where we can showcase products that have never been seen before and save you money by beating eBay fees. We are also offering a consignment program for those looking to sell their GPK treasures. We invite you to explore our website and discover the hidden gems waiting for you!”

Clint is also sponsoring a special dinner after the show Saturday night at Evel Pie. You can join the artists for a great evening of pizza! Cost is $50 per person. To reserve your spot, contact Clint Coleman through Facebook. There will be a card done by James Warhola available for purchase at the dinner.

GPK Websites

For the first time GCC has officially invited the major Garbage Pail Kids website owners. This is your chance to personally thank Aaron and Matt for their years of hard work helping the community. You can even slap me around a little!

GPKWorld.com – AJ Booton will have his own table at the show. AJ will have have poster prints from Tom Bunk available for purchase. He will also have 8 x 10 prints by Tom Bunk and Brent Engstrom, signed by the artists. They are limited to 50 each and will be sold as a pair. The prints also come with a Mark Pingitore card that came be signed during the show. All sales go to the respective artists. He also will have Director’s Cut DVDs of the fabulous 30 Years of Garbage documentary. Each DVD comes with a 5×7 Joe Simko print, signed by Simko, June Gonzales, and Booton.

Geepeekay.com – Matt Oldweiler will also have his own table at the show. Matt will have a number of exclusive products at the show. He will have a Geep acrylic pin /w card for $5, Geep’s Cavity Stones (candy & promo card) for $10, miniDRiPS bag of 2 for $20, and Geeky Magazine w/ cards for $30.

GPKNews.com – While I won’t have a table at the show, I will be at the show moderating the Artist Q&A chat. The chat is scheduled to take place on the stage at 1:00 PM Saturday during the show! Come listen and learn from the artists and maybe catch a couple of sneak peaks!

There’s no better place to get to hang out, chat with your favorite artists, meet fellow collectors you’ve only talked to online, all while spending a ton of money on GPK! Tickets for the show can be repurchased at Silver State’s website. The show will be open Saturday 3/16 from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Sunday 3/17 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. There is no host hotel, but the majority of collectors stay in downtown Vegas near Fremont Street. There’s still time to book your Vegas vacation!

GetAGrip to Open “GPK Mart” at Gross Con Las Vegas

Update #4: Thursday’s reveal is a digital GPK watch! Watch comes in one of three colors; red, yellow, or white.

Update #3: Wednesday’s reveal is GPK Ouchies. Garbage Pail Kids themed bandages. They also announced each bag would contain a DeadWoodz pack, and skateboard wheel.

Update #2: Today’s reveal from GetAGrip is two pairs of socks, each in their own metal can.

Update: GetAGrip has revealed the first item in the Grossery Bag. Garbage Pail Kids Sunglasses! There will be /100 bags made. The company said they will reveal one item each day this week, prior to the bags going on sale this Friday.

This year’s Gross Card Con is right around the corner! The show is set to take place at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, 3/16 & 3/17. GetAGrip will once again be in attendance at this year’s show, and they aren’t coming empty handed. They will be opening up the first “GPK Mart”. Collectors attending the show will be able to pick up their Grossery Bag filled with all kinds of GPK goodness. The company has not revealed yet what will be in the bag, but they promise it will be the best, “POUND for POUND”, deal ever.

In a bit of a twist, the bag will only be offered as a Clink & Collect service. Bags will go on sale this Friday, 3/1/24, on their website. However, the company will not be shipping any. All orders must be picked up at the show in person. Contents, pricing, and rarity have not been revealed yet by the company, but they promise more information will be forthcoming. GPKNews will have another article later this week going over all the show details and guests!

Here is info from GetAGrip promoting the bag:

Get a Grip cordially invites all Garbage Pail Kids Collector’s to the grand opening of the first ever GPK Mart on March 16th. On the day of the show, you will be able to collect your exclusive Grossery Bag which they promise is POUND for POUND their best ever deal! Available exclusively as a Click & Collect service only, Get a Grip have said that the GPK Mart Grossery Bag will go live at www.GetAGripSkateboards.com  online at March 1st, but they will NOT ship these orders. All orders MUST be collected in person in Vegas. So if you’re not attending Gross Con this year (if not, why not?), make sure you find out who is, get your proxy in place, as you’ll need them to come and collect your order for you, from the GPK Mart stand. More information on what exactly is in this mystery Grossery bag will follow, but Get a Grip have promised us that you will not want to miss out on this unbelievably fun bag of tricks.

Viva GPK! Gross Card Con Returns to Las Vegas

It’s been a couple of years, but the largest gathering of Garbage Pail Kids collectors is set to return with a bang. Gross Card Con is back, and will once again be in Las Vegas. The show is set to take place Nov. 4-6 at the the World Market Center. The show is now part of the Unicon Las Vegas Collectibles Convention. While it’s not hosting the event, the show hotel is the Downtown Grand. What can collectors expect at this year’s show?

GCC Show Guests

GCC is officially advertising six artists that all have a long history with GPKs. Current retail final card artist Smokin’ Joe McWilliams will once again be at GCC. He will be joined by former GPK Art Director and the artist of the new GPK Origins comic series, Jeff Zapata. The artist on the Madballs vs. GPK comic, Jason Crosby, will be attending his first GCC show. Also attending his first show, all the way from the UK, is longtime GPK artist and the artist behind GetAGrip’s products, Rory McQueen. Former GPK artist and owner of Magic Marker Ink, Mark Pingitore, along with current GPK sketch and Wacky Packages artists Chad Scheres will also once again be attending GCC.

It’s not just artists at the show. Collectors can meet and take pictures with Adam Bomb himself! Sam Gras will be making an appearance throughout the show in his popular Adam Bomb cosplay outfit. In addition the masterminds behind the popular GPK Boys YouTube show will be making an appearance at the show.

While not officially part of the event, there will also be a number of current and former GPK sketch artists with tables at the show. Collectors can meet and shop from Barry Nygma, Jeff Cox, Shane Garvey, Michael Barnard, and Victor Moreno.

Vendors & Show Exclusives

GPK & Wacky Warehouse is once again sponsoring the GCC show. Clint Coleman and family will be setup selling everything GPK. His booth will also be selling the show exclusive merchandise.

There will be the usual GCC card set. McWilliams, Zapata, Pingitore, Scheres, McQueen, and Crosby have created an 11 card set for the show. A set can be purchased for $25 at the GPK & Wacky booth. Collectors will have the chance of pulling a B&W sketch card and merchandise coupons from the sets.

There is also a show exclusive skateboard produced by GetAGrip and sold at the GPK & Wacky booth. The board features the GCC cards on one side with the GCC logo on the other. Boards are $100, and are limited to 50.

There will also be two special Topps licensed promo cards at the show. Adam Bomb and Sam Kablam celebrate the cosplay of Sam Gras with artwork from Rory McQueen. The cards are available for free with each purchase of the GCC card set, or GCC skateboard.

GetAGrip Skateboards will also be in attendance at the show. They will be offering Mystery Boxes full of official Garbage Pail Kids Merchandise. Each box will cost $125 and are limited to 100 boxes.

Show Hours and Tickets

The show is open on Friday 11/4 from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Saturday 11/5 from 10:00 AM – 7:00  PM, and Sunday 11/6 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased from Unicon’s website. Friday’s ticket is $15, while Saturday and Sunday is $25. A 3-day pass is also available for $45. Collectors should do everything thing they can to get to the largest gathering of GPK artists and collectors this year!

Vegas Gross Experience Still On Despite Coronavirus Concerns

This weekend’s Gross Xperience show within the Las Vegas Toy Con is still scheduled to take place. While many local governments and sports leagues around the country have postponed or cancelled events in the last 24 hours due to the coronavirus, that hasn’t been the case with the Vegas Toy Con. Nevada and Las Vegas currently do not have any local government restrictions in place limiting social gatherings. The show released information on their social media channels yesterday stating, “the show must go on”. As of 11:00 AM local time today, show promoters confirmed with GPKNews that the show would go on. Jon Gregory, one of the GPK artists scheduled to attend the show, will no longer be attending.

This isn’t the only convention coming up over the new few months that has a large Garbage Pail Kids presence. The next Philly Non-Sports card show is set to take place May 2-3 in Allentown, PA. As of now the show is still scheduled. Show promoters told GPKNews today that,  “They are still planning to hold the show unless the CDC orders all gatherings to be cancelled.”

Then there are the larger Comic Cons in San Diego and New York. Earlier today on their twitter account, the San Diego Comic Con posted that their sister con, Wonder Con (scheduled Apr 10-12), has been postponed. They said no decision has been made yet on the San Diego Comic Con, scheduled to take place July 23-26.

New York Comic Con has not commented yet, but their show is still a number of months away in October. The next few weeks/months will be chaotic for show promoters as they struggle with these decisions.

Gross Xperience Events Set for Upcoming Las Vegas Convention

In just over two weeks the Gross Xperience is set to take on Las Vegas. The yearly convention that celebrates Garbage Pail Kids will take place March 13-15 at the Eastside Cannery Hotel and Casino. Collectors can expect to see a number of changes with this year’s show. The first obvious one, the name of the show has changed to Gross Xperience. This will be the 4th annual Vegas show, formally called GPK Con and Gross Card Con. Once again, the show takes place inside a larger toy convention. This year’s show is being co-promoted by Vegas ToyCon and Cool World. This marks the forth different hotel used for the show, and first time the show will be held a ways off the Vegas strip. The host hotel is sold out of rooms already, collectors still needing accommodations will need to book at another hotel and plan transportation to the venue. There are 12 current and former GPKs artists scheduled to attend this years show. Current final card artist Smokin Joe McWilliams headlines a group that also includes sketch card artists Jon Gregory, Michael Barnard, Chad Scheres, David Acevedo, Floydman Sumner, Shane Garvey, Victor Moreno, Pat Chaimuang, Jay O’Leary, and Jeff Cox. Additionally, Magic Marker Art owner and former GPK artist Mark Pingitore will also be on hand. Layron DeJarnette was originally scheduled for the show, but unfortunately will be unable to attend. Read on to learn everything you need to know about this year’s show.

Events and Tickets

Collectors wanting the full experience can purchase a special GPK VIP ticket for $350. That ticket includes early entry to the show all three days, a B&W sketch, an exclusive GPK print, all special GPK show events, a Hall of Honor dinner ticker, a breakfast ticket with the GPK artists, and an exclusive backpack. A regular show VIP ticket is also available for $150. That includes early entry to the show all three days, dinner ticket to Saturday night’s Hall of Honor toy dinner, event backpack, comic cover, and VIP badge. A regular admission three day pass can be purchased for $25. Individual daily entry passes are also available to purchase on their website. There will also be a handful of special GPK related events taking place during the show. It all kicks off for early arrivers at Thursday night’s Gross Bowl Social. The event will be held at Sam’s Town at 10:00 PM. The event, limited to 20 people, costs $20 per person and includes a 11×17 print. Friday night, from 8:00-9:00 PM, collectors can attend a UNO game at the One Six Sky Lounge, and win exclusive GPK prizes. The game is limited to 25 players, with the entry being $45 per person. There is also a GPK Designers Breakfast taking place Saturday morning from 8:00-9:00 AM in the One Six Sky Lounge. The event is only open to GPK VIP ticket holders, or collectors can purchase tickets for just the breakfast for $60. The breakfast will include an artist Q&A session, and a special event exclusive. All events are included for collectors purchasing the special GPK VIP Package.

Show Exclusive Card Set

There will once again be a special show exclusive card set being offered at the show. Clint Coleman and family will once again have his GPK & Wacky Warehouse booth setup at the show selling a number of GPK items. With Smokin Joe McWilliams doing much of the artwork and setup on the card sets, Clint will have a few show exclusive offers. This year’s set will feature 15 cards with artwork from Layron Dejarnette, Smokin Joe McWilliams, Jon Gregory, Chad Scheres, Mark Pingitore, Pat Chaimuang, Floydman Sumner, David Acevedo, Shane Garvey, Michael Barnard, and Victor Moreno. There are a number of options and packages that will be available for purchase. The 15 card foil wrapped artist set with a chance at a show redemption will be available for $40. Collectors will have a 1:5 chance at pulling a redemption for a sketch, medal set, or merchandise coupon. There will also be a 15 card wax wrapped canvas set also available for $40. There are 250 artist, and 100 canvas sets that were printed. For the first time there will also be a 15 card metal card set, numbered /25, that will be offered for $50. In another first, there will be an 8 count poker chip set also being sold for $15. The poker set will be limited to 75 copies. Package deals will also be available. Collectors can purchase both the artist and canvas sets together for $70, or they can add on the poker set to the package for a total of $80. Clint will also have his popular scavenger hunt setup on Sunday!

Artists

The highlight of every show is getting to spend time with your favorite artists. There will be 12 former and current Garbage Pail Kids artists in attendance at this year’s show. This is a great chance to hang out, ask questions, get autographs, and buy merchandise to help support these artists. The artists will all have many different items available, some you will only find at this show. Here is a rundown of just a few of the items you can find at the show.

GPKs sketch artist Jon Gregory will again be in attendance and have 11×17 prints of his original Howard Stern and Baby Yoga artwork. He will also have a new Wacky Package signed promo card.

GPK sketch artist Chad Scheres has attended every Vegas Con so far. He will be in attendance once again and will have a table full of items featuring his original artwork. He will have some new prints, and a large assortment of stickers for sale. He will have sketches, and some small canvas that he will be painting before the show.

Magic Marker Art owner and artist Mark Pingitore will be in attendance, and as always will be offering a lot of his very popular cards and merchandise. New for the show will be a Gross Xperience Promo Pack ($20), that will include 4 promo cards from upcoming releases, 2 exclusive prism stickers, and a 1/1 black printing plate from Marveless or Horrorible Kids. A new Horrible Kids Edgy Eddie binder ($30), and Horrible Kids skateboard decks ($60) will also be at the show. He will also have boxes, packs, and sets from Marveless Kids, Horrible Kids, ThunderBrats, and Star Warped Kids. Some Magnets and stickers will be on hand as well.

GPKs sketch artist Pat Chaimuang has quickly risen to the top of popular sketch artists. He will be attending this year’s show for the first time. Pat will have some posters, postcards, some original color rough sketches, and some amazing looking hand drawn postage stamps, (actual size)!

Another popular GPK sketch artist, Floydman Sumner, will also be making his first appearance at the Vegas show. He will be debuting his brand new Rocking Dead trading card set. The set will feature sketch cards from GPK artists Chenduz, Shawn Cruz, Simone Arena, Shane Garvey, Neil Camera, Lily Mercado, Jeff Zapata and more.

Once again, Michael Barnard is serving as the show artist for the Vegas show. Michael did all the art for the ToyCon, from t-shirts, packaging, backdrops, web graphics, and displays. There will be a 20 foot gallery displaying Michael’s work at the show. Michael did a special comic book cover, that will be given to the first entries to the show each day. He will also have his usual booth at the show filled with his original artwork, 11×17 prints, sketch cards, custom matchbook sketches, and more. He will also have his highly sought after GPK Bucks and some new GPK themed mini-golf discs available for purchase. Some popular items from previous shows like the Eye Roller diecast car, GPK Bucks Mugs, and his 12 card set.

GPK Sketch artist David Acevedo will be attending his second straight Vegas show. He will have some Toycon sketches available at the show for purchase. He will also be taking commissions on both official GPK sketch blanks, and Toycon blanks. He has a limited number of comic covers also available for commission. He will be debuting his original 5×7 prints of EZ Bake Kate/Cookin Kelly. They will be limited to /25 a/b sets made.

GPK sketch artist Victor Moreno will be attending his second Vegas show. He will have an exclusive 5 card set available at the show. He will also have some large 11×17 prints, and sketch covers available.

GPK sketch artist Jay O’Leary will be attending his second Vegas show and has some big things in store! While pre-orders are selling fast, he will have some of the cards he created for GeePeeKay.com available for sale. The Vegas cards were foil pressed on the back and numbered /40. Jay will also be debuting his new card set To, Two, Too Soon Toons. Jay, along with artists Shane Garvey, Barry Nygma, Jeff Cox, and Brandhen Snyder have combined on a new series featuring adult gags. They will have their first 100 card run foil stamped and numbered /100 available at the show. After there will be an open print run with sketches, metal, and other rare cards inserted in. Each artist involved in the set will have 10 exclusive packs also available with their names foil pressed. Exclusive packs will be available for $15, while open edition packs for $10.

Jeff Cox may be one of the newer GPKs sketch artists, but he has done work on Star Wars sets as well as other companies. He will be attending his first Vegas show and sharing a booth with Jay O’Leary. In addition to the To, Two, Too Soon Toons packs, he will have some of his personal sketches, larger original work signed by actors, some prints, and 1″ handmade GPK buttons. He will also be doing sketches at his booth.

While Matt won’t be in attendance, the presence of GeePeeKay.com will be felt across the show. Matt, in addition with many talented artists has created his own characters, and has sold cards and merchandise for these on his popular website over the last year. At this year’s Vegas show, three artists will have some new items available.

  • Mark Pingitore will have 25 artist autograph cards (numbered to 50) featuring his Geep character available for sale. There will be a limited edition set that contains the remaining 25 autos in the geepeekay.com store after the show.
  • Shane Garvey will have 25 artist autograph cards (numbered to 50) featuring his Grodee character. There will be a limited edition set that contains the remaining 25 autos in the geepeekay.com store after the show. Shane will also have a limited number of Keepers and Jumbo Keepers sets available at the show.
  • Jay O’Leary will have a stamped and limited to /40 of his new creating for GeePeeKay. He will also have a very limited number of 4 card non-stamped, and jumbo non-stamp cards at the show. There will be a limited edition set containing the Jumbo card and 4 card set available in the geepeekay.com store after the show.

Artists Smokin Joe McWilliams, and Shane Garvey will also be at the show selling their art.

This year’s Gross Experience will be open on Friday March 13 from 4:00 – 9:00 PM, Saturday March 14 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM, and Sunday March 15 from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. This show promises to be another fun filled weekend for GPK collectors. This is your chance to meet some of your favorite GPKs artists, meet collectors from around the world, and be immersed in everything GPK!

Collectors & Artists Enjoy Another Gross Card Con

The third annual Las Vegas Gross Card Con was held last weekend at the Westgate Casino in Las Vegas. Collectors and artists from around the world ascended on Vegas to reacquaint with buddies, meet new friends, and get all the Garbage Pail Kids they can handle. This years show was the biggest yet with a staggering 18 current and former GPK artists in attendance. There were also plenty of GPK focused activities for collectors and artists alike. Perhaps the highlight for most in attendance was just being able to hang out with their fellow collectors and artists they chat with on a daily and/or weekly basis online.

This years Las Vegas ToyCon was held in the event center of the Westgate Casino. This was the best setup, by far, of the three Las Vegas shows. The entire show was held in one room. This made things a lot better for everyone involved and allowed the general ToyCon guest to easily find the GCC area. The 12 regular artists who attend GCC were located in their own section of the show, complete with an archway banner letting everyone know they were entering GCC. The new sketch artists who were attending for the first time were in artist’s ally in the adjoining isles. Clint Coleman’s GPK & Wacky Warehouse booth was right outside the entrance to GCC.

As usual the biggest highlight of the show for collectors is seeing all the artists. OS artist Tom Bunk was once again the headlining artist at the show. He was offering his new GPK dollhouse print for sale at the show, and it proved to be a big hit. The Gross Card Con sketch shirts being offered by Joe Simko and Jeff Zapata were also a popular item for collectors. Sales of the shirts with sketches kept both artists busy the entire show sketching at their booth. In fact a majority of the artists spent a lot of time working on commissions at the show. Another highlight from the show was David Gross’ third GPK Rejects book. Each book comes with a sketch and is filled with pages of great gags that were not used by Topps. Jon Gregory’s black canvas paintings were suburb to look at in person. It wasn’t just GPK merchandise that was selling well either. Both Michael Barnard and Chad Scheres were busy at their booths selling a number of their own original creations. Mark Pingitore also had all the Magic Marker Art items, including new magnets and promos cards for upcoming sets. In addition all sic of the first time artists attending seemed to really enjoy themselves, not only meeting collectors, but also meeting their fellow artists.

Another large part of this year’s show was Topps finally acknowledging the show existed. While Topps didn’t attend in person, they did allow one of David Gross’ unused 90’s gags to be created as promo cards. There were a number of ways to obtain both promo cards at the show, and they were a popular item for collectors. In addition Topps promoted GCC on both their GPK Facebook page, and the Topps Twitter account on Friday. This acknowledgment is a huge advancement for Topps, and shows collectors that there may be some change afoot with the brand.

There were also plenty of special GPK themed events for collectors during the show. All three days of the show featured a Scavenger Hunt. Clint Coleman would hide some exclusive ToyCon cards, sketch cards, and other goodies around the hotel for collectors to find. Saturday morning was the VIP breakfast with the artists. Many of the artists attneded with collectors who were SuperVIPs or purchased the breakfast. This setting allowed collectors a chance to talk with artists through a meal. Attendees to the breakfast also received a set of Topps Promo cards, and a special Adam Bomb decorated cookie from Joe Simko. Later that morning brought on the usual card chat with the artists. This year’s chat started off with Jago Studios CEO Stuart Drexler. He gave a quick 10 min. presentation on GPK the Game. He shared some of the game mechanics, what items they were focusing on, and general developments on the dame. He also handed out an exclusive GPK the Game sticker to collectors on Friday and Saturday at the show. That left only a minimal amount of time with the artists. While there wasn’t a lot of new information to share, the artists did mention they were working on some projects that they thought would really push the brand forward. Unfortunately, they were unable to share any additional information about unannounced products. GPKNews was in attendance, you can find video of the card chat here.

This year’s Vegas Gross Card Con ended up being a solid show for all involved. This was the best and cleanest hotel that show has been in to date. As mentioned above the show layout, while not perfect, was also the best its been. Next time not closing off the GCC area would lead to more general ToyCon foot traffic for the artists. In speaking with the artists at this years, show the vibe was it was a good show. Most artists made money, with a couple saying they had their best show day ever on Friday. The show ended up being a positive experience for almost all the artists. Every collector I spoke with really enjoyed the show. I think every collector will tell you the same thing. While it’s great to see all the cool items available, the highlight of the show is hanging out with friends you talk to throughout the year. This show brings a couple of hundred of your closest hobby friends together. If you haven’t attended a Vegas GCC show before, start planning now for next year, you will not be disappointed.

Check out a bunch of pictures from the show. Thanks to collector Jason Bryant for sharing some of his pictures as well!

 

Artists Gearing Up for Huge Gross Card Con Show

As we’ve detailed over the past few weeks, this year’s Gross Card Con will be the biggest one yet. GCC will open at the Las Vegas ToyCon one week from today. The show will be March 1-3 at the Westgate Casino just off the Vegas Strip. Recently we shared all the details around the show exclusive cards, and the official Topps promo card available at the show. Now it’s time to review what each artist will be bringing. There are 18 artists scheduled to be on hand for the show. Many of today’s current and former final card artists, along with a number of GPK sketch artists will be on hand offering a wide variety of their own original art for sale. Each artist will also have their show exclusive GCC cards they created at their table for sale. Here’s a rundown of what show goers can expect to find at each artist’s table.

Original series artist Tom Bunk is once again headlining this large group of artists. He will have posters available to purchase of his recent GPK Dollhouse painting. He will also have on hand large card versions of his Gross Card Con cards available for purchase.

Like usual, current GPK artist Joe Simko will have a table full of items to choose from. A brand new item, Gross Card Con Sketch Shirts, will be offered only at Smiko and Jeff Zapata’s tables. These shirts have the option to get an artist to draw a sketch right on the shirt! Only 100 shirts will be available. Joe will have copies of the Director’s Cut version of his 30 Years of Garbage DVD. He will have several Stranger Kids sets for sale, in addition to one complete Master Stranger Kids set (w/ all four bonus cards). He will also have some of his final art available to purchase. He will have official Topps sketch cards available to purchase or for commission, along with comic covers. He also will have plenty of his own Cereal Killers and Stupid Heroes trading cards for sale.

Current GPK artist Brent Engstrom will once again to attending GCC. He will have a number of prints of his original work available for sale.

Another mainstay GPK artist David Gross will be bringing a number of new items to the show. A brand new third installment of his popular Rejected GPK roughs will debut at the show. Collectors purchasing a book also get a pencil sketch in the book. Books 1 & 2 will be available for purchase as well. David will have a number of new original 11×14 Glossy prints available to purchase including a Thanos/Adam Bomb crossover, a great GPK/CPK mashup, a Mario parody, and more. There will also be cards of the Thanos and Pulp Fiction paintings available. He will also have final art, original pencil roughs, and his own sketch cards available for commission. If you aren’t attending GCC, be sure to message David after to show to purchase any remaining items.

Layron DeJarnette, another current GPK artist will be on hand showcasing his original art. He will have both Garbage Pail Kids and Mars Attacks final art available for purchase at the show. He also will have a number of large 11×14 prints of his original work available for purchase. Sketch cards and trading cards also will be available.

Longtime Wacky Packages and GPK artist Smokin’ Joe McWilliams will once again be at GCC. He will have a wide assortment of items highlighted by numerous final paintings from recent GPK releases. He will also have his some new prints and posters of his original art. His popular sticker packs will be available as well. He will have a number of sketch cards available in addition to taking commissions at the show. He commission list is also open for custom illustrations, paintings, and portraits.

Magic Marker Art owner/artist Mark Pingitore has been killing it lately with his new releases. He will once again be on hand with many new items available at the show for the first time. Collectors will be able to pickup promo cards for Marveless Kids 1 and Horrorible Kids 4 for $5. A brand new Series 2 Magnet set will be available for $15. A new batch of Horrorible Kids 11×17 posters will be on sale for $10 each. There will also be new shirts of Tarman Carmen for $20. Did you miss out on pre-orders for Marveless Kids 1? You will be able to pre-order at the show! He will also have a limited number of his previous sets, magnets, and posters available for purchase. Mark will also be taking commissions at the show for sketch cards and comic covers.

Former GPK art director, editor, artist, and co-Director on 30 years of Garbage Jeff Zapata will be at the show debuting a unique new item. Jeff will have some original painted folk art cereal boxes, redone with a GPK inspired theme to them. The front, back, and side panels are redone with gags from the mind of Jeff Zapata. Jeff, along with Joe Simko, will also debut the Gross Card Con Sketch Shirt. Available at both booths, the shirt is limited to 100, and gives buyers the option of getting an artist to add a sketch to the shirt. Jeff will also have some of his popular original prints available for sale.

Once again GPK artist Micheal Barnard is the workhorse of GCC. Michael is commissioned by ToyCon to create a number of pieces for be used throughout the ToyCon. Michael created the the official show Comic Cover which will be given out to the first 150 attendees each day of the show.  Michael will be on hand at the show entrance to autograph the covers. A ToyCon sticker limited to 100 will be available at his table for $5. He also has a number of products featuring the artwork for his GCC cards. 8×10 show prints, signed and numbered to 100 will be available. A custom die-cast car featuring GCC artwork will be at his table in very limited quantities for $60. He will have a special show mug for $15. He will have a number of GPK inspired sketch cards on custom stock available. A GPK inspired card set is also available for $30. In addition he will have all his popular 10×17 prints at the show $10 for the first one, $5 each additional. Finally he will have a couple of his Head Rick sets available for fans of disc golf.

For the second year in a row GPK sketch artist Vincenzo “Chenduz” d’Ippolito will be traveling all the way from the Netherlands to attend Gross Card Con. He will have some original prints, metallic postcards, and stickers for sale. He will have sketch cards on GCC stock and blank comic covers available for commissions.

Chad Scheres will be attending his 4th GCC event. He will have a table full of his original monster art available in stickers, cards, prints, and more! He will also have some new GPK inspired prints on hand as well as lots of original art.

GPKs sketch artist Jon Gregory will once again be attending GCC. He will be debuting his beautiful Black Canvas Series of acrylic paintings done on 8×10 black canvas. He will also be doing the black and while commission drawings he did at last year’s event.

GPK sketch artist Shane Garvey will be making his first appearance at the show. He will have an assortment of stickers, magnets, buttons, prints and shirts available of his original work.

GPK sketch artist Barry Nygma will also be making his first appearance at GCC. He will have copies of his show exclusive Scavenger Hunt card at his table. He will also have two new prints for sale. His Let’s Get Gross print is a show exclusive and is limited to 25 copies. He will also have a couple of stickers for sale. For every $10 spent at his table you will get an entry in a contest for the original art of the ToyCon Scavenger Hunt card.

Another first time GCC participant is GPK sketch artist Shawn Cruz, He will have new stickers available of his original GPK inspired work as a set of 5 or for purchase individually. He will also have over 20 large 12 x18 prints of his original work. Magnets will also be available. Shawn will also be taking sketch card and 8×10 commissions at the show.

GPK sketch artist David Acevedo will have giant card sized “a” and “b” versions of his scavenger hunt card available for purchase. Each name is limited to 25 copies. He will also be taking sketch card commissions at the show.

The last first time attendee, GPK sketch artist Jay O’Leary will be on hand debuting his Grosser than Gross 10 card set. The release is limited to 666 packs. You can purchase a 5 card pack at the show for $5. If you aren’t attending the show, you can contact Jay to pre-order packs now. He will also have some of his Warstars Bootleg Kids cards available for purchase.

A last minute addition to the show is GPK sketch artist Victor Moreno. He will be selling his 5 card GPK inspired wrestling set featuring many of the WWE wrestlings who will be at ToyCon. He will have his original horror prints for sale as well. He will also be taking sketch commissions on personal stock and comic covers.

But that’s not all…

Of course Clint and the gang from GPK & Wacky Warehouse will be on hand. Not only will you be able to buy the show exclusive card set from his booth, but he will have a full display of GPK and Wacky products for purchase.

Finally, you can expect to see Stuart Drexler the CEO of Jago Studios at the show. Drexler who is also the Executive Producer of GPK the Game will be on hand at the beginning of the artist talk to share some updates on the game. He will also be available Saturday during the show to talk to collectors. Don’t miss this chance to get the latest info on the upcoming mobile game, GPK the Game.

Details on Show Exclusive Cards to be Offered at Gross Card Con

We are just three weeks away from the next Gross Card Con. This year’s show is part of the Vegas Toy Con, held at the Westgate Casino in Las Vegas from March 1-3. Once again, the show will offer an exclusive card set created by the artists. That’s not all! There will also be Scavenger Hunt cards, and an official Topps promo card available at the show. Clint Coleman from GPK & Wacky Warehouse produces all the show exclusive cards. He shared with GPKNews all the details around this year’s cards. Read on to find out what will be offered.

As announced last week by artist David Gross, there will be an officially licensed Topps promo card for the first time at Gross Card Con. The Married With Children parody will come in both an a and b version. Show goers will have a few options to obtain these cards. 1) VIPs will automatically receive both versions of the card at their VIP Saturday breakfast. 2) Purchase the glossy show exclusive set (see details below) and receive both cards. Each set purchased will receive both cards, there is a limit of two sets per customer, per day of the show. 3) Attend the artist Q&A session. The first 50 people to attend the Q&A session will receive one card, (a or b). The artist Q&A is scheduled to take place at 11:00 AM Saturday at the show.

This year’s show exclusive set will be an extra large 24 card set featuring artwork from 12 different artists. The set has two themes, 12 unpublished gags, and 12 toys. David Gross did three paintings for the set, Layron DeJarnette did one, and Tom Bunk, Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, Joe McWilliams, Mark Pingitore, Jeff Zapata, Michael Barnard, Chenduz, Chad Scheres, and Jon Gregory did two each. The set will be available in two different versions, Glossy and Canvas. Each set will be limited to 100 available to purchase at the show. The print run of the Glossy set is 250, with the remaining cards being given to show promoters, artists, and to be sold after the show. The Glossy set will cost $50, while the Canvas set will be $40. There will be a special show promotion, you can purchase both sets for $80. VIP holders will receive a Glossy set as part of their package. While the Canvas set won’t come with any extras, the Glossy set will come with the Topps promo cards and a chance at pulling a special show redemption. Redemptions will fall roughly 1:5 sets, and include a chance to get a sketch card from one of the 12 artists from the set, merchandise credits from GPK & Wacky Warehouse, or a large medal art card printed by Faeire Metal company. Only glossy sets purchased at the show will receive the Topps promo cards and have a chance at a redemption. Sets will be available for purchase from the GPK & Wacky Warehouse booth at the show. The artists have revealed some of their cards for the set. Here is a gallery showing many of the cards.

Finally, there will be a GPK Scavenger Hunt during the show. Four Topps sketch artists attending the show, Shane Garvey, Barry Nygma, David Acevedo, and Shawn Cruz all painted a card to be used during the hunt. The four cards will be hidden around the show venue throughout the weekend. The artists will also have copies of the cards available at their booth. VIP holders will also receive all four cards in their package. Here are a couple of examples of the scavenger hunt cards.

 

These are just the cards show promoters have planned for the show. Each artist has so much more planned for this year’s Gross Card Con. GPKNews will have another article just before the event showing many of the goodies available from each artist. If you haven’t booked your room yet, now is your chance!

Official Topps Promo Card at Gross Card Con

Artist David Gross announced today his artwork based on an Al Bundy gag will be an officially licensed Topps Garbage Pail Kids Promo card at the upcoming Gross Card Con. Both VIP holders and event attendees purchasing a show exclusive card set will receive both the a and b versions of the card. In addition the first 50 attendees to arrive for the artist’s card chat will receive one random version. The card features Al Bundy from the popular 90’s TV show, Married Wirh Children. The back of the card advertises the current GPK retail set, We Hate the 90’s, and features sponser logos of ToyCon and GPK & Wacky Warehouse. This year’s Gross Card Con is set to take place March 1-3 in Las Vegas at the Westgate Resort.

Gross Card Con Will Be Biggest GPK Event Yet

This year’s Las Vegas Gross Card Con event is shaping up to be the biggest event yet for Garbage Pail Kids collectors. This will be the 4th GCC, and 3rd to be held in Vegas. As usual, this year’s event will be part of the larger Vegas ToyCon. The ToyCon is moving venues once again. This year’s event will be held at the WestGate Convention Center at the WestGate Hotel & Casino from March 1-3. The new venue should allow for less of an obstacle course experience compared to last year’s event. The event is considered by collectors the yearly “national” show for GPK collectors. There will be the largest group ever of GPK artists attending the show. If history is any indication there will be also be a few hundred GPK collectors from around the world attending the show. This is your chance to put names to faces of the artists and collectors you talk with on a daily basis online. If you’ve never been, here’s a little of what you can expect.

Artists

As of press time there are 17 former, current, and sketch artists set to attend the show. This will be the largest group of GPK artists in one place to date. These twelve artists that attended last year’s Vegas GCC are set to come back; Tom Bunk, Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, David Gross, Laryon DeJarnette, Smokin’ Joe McWilliams, Mark Pingitore, Jeff Zapata, Michael Barnard, Vincenzo D’Ippolito, Chad Scheres, and Jon Gregory. In addition five sketch artists will also be in attendance including Shane Garvey, Barry Nygma, Shawn Cruz, David Acevedo, and Jay O’Leary. The artists will have final artwork, official and personal sketches, prints, personal card projects, and much more available for sale at the show. They are also all very approachable and willing to chat with GPK fans during the show.

Events

Every GCC has a few special events for collectors. Once again there will be an open seminar with some of the artists doing a question and answer session during the show. Want to eat with your favorite artists? VIP ticket holders will be able to have breakfast with the artists Saturday morning. While Sunday’s breakfast with the artists is open to everyone. A Saturday evening social event will also be held at the International Bar inside the WestGate Casino. This is a great relaxed time to spend with artists and collectors.

Show Exclusive Card Sets

As always there will once again be some show exclusive cards available. Many of the artists attending are busy working on the artwork that will be featured in this sets. The sets are put together and sold by Clint Coleman of GPK & Wacky Warehouse. They will be available at his booth during the show. Expect some surprises for some collectors purchasing the sets. Some artists have already started showing off their cards for the sets!

Tickets

Collectors have a few options when it comes to tickets. Those wanting an all in one pass to everything the show offers might be interested in the Super VIP pass. For $1000 you get 3 nights hotel at the Westgate, early admission to the show, and lots of show exclusive swag. Part of the package includes a GPK themed car, and an autographed copy of the 30 Years of Garbage documentary. Gold and Silver VIP passes are also available for a fraction of the cost. Those passes don’t include hotel or most of the swag, but you still get early admission to the show and other perks. There are also individual and weekend passes available. Go to the Vegas ToyCon website to check out and purchase various ticket options. Alternatively, you should consider checking out Groupon where there are already deals up on individual and weekend passes.