The 2018 GPKNews.com Best of GPK Awards

2018 on the surface doesn’t seem like a transition year for Garbage Pail Kids. However, when history looks back on 2018 the signs of transition have clearly begun. The biggest news of the year in the hobby was the resignation of Brand Manager/Art Director Colin Walton from Topps. With Colin moving on in late summer to a new job with another company, GPK was left with new internal leadership and art direction. The markings of transition are just now beginning to be seen. Colin had already completed the majority of work on 2018S2 Oh the Horrible before leaving. 2019S1 We Hate the 90’s was also well on its way to being finished, and will mark Colin’s last input into the GPK brand. While we might not see true change begin until 2019 Series 2, there are signs. The second half of 2018 saw a sharp decrease in online sets. Gone are the holiday/awards sets at least for now. Their replacement was a GPK On Demand set that saw great value but probably the worst distribution by a Topps online set to date. It’s clear there will be changes to the future of the brand. Colin might be the last Brand Manager at Topps to have been a fan of GPK, and an artist himself. I predict collectors will see some changes big and small in 2019 within the GPK brand. New leadership will be tasked with putting their own stamp on the brand moving forward. Collectors can hope that leadership at Topps listens to mainstay artists like David Gross, Brent Engstrom, and Joe Simko as they use their artistic influence on future sets.

Beyond just being the start of transition for the brand, 2018 saw many GPK highlights for collectors. Both retail sets released in the US were well received by collectors overall. 2018 saw the first European retail releases by Topps Europe in a decade. The licensing arm of Topps remains in full force as collectors saw the GPK license continued to used throughout the year with a variety of new merchandise to enjoy. Collectors once again had a lot to be excited about in 2018. But what stood out as the best in GPK for 2018?

Its time for the 2nd annual 2018 GPKNews.com Best of GPK Awards! Winners have been selected by the editor of GPKNews.com in seven categories. Additionally, a Reader’s Choice winner was also named in each category. Readers of GPKNews were able to vote in a poll on GPKNews’ Facebook page in mid-December. On some awards there is agreement, while others vary in opinion. Let the debate begin! Its time to celebrate the best in GPKs for 2018!

Before we get to the awards its time to announce the winner of GPKNews voting contest. Everyone who entered a complete ballot was entered into a drawing for an unopened box of 2018 UK Garbage Gang! Congrats to Nick Fajardo for winning the box! Without further ado…

And the winners are…

2018 Retail GPK Set of the Year
Winner: 2018 Series 2 Oh the Horror-ible
Reader’s Choice: 2018 Series 2 Oh the Horror-ible

There was a clear winner in this category in 2018. 2018 Series 2 Oh the Horror-ible in some ways was a love letter from GPK artists to their fans. The horror theme not only resonated with the artists, but also with most GPK collectors. While the artists always spend ample time creating new cards, the time and thinking put into the last set of 2018 was unprecedented. Hundreds of gags were submitted to Topps from the artists for this set. This resulted in a set filled with many memorable cards that both GPK collectors and horror fans enjoyed. The set also saw the introduction of the purple Jelly parallel inserted into retail fat packs. Collectors took a liking to those, and the purple parallel set was one of the more chased parallel sets in recent memory. 2018S2 Oh the Horror-ible will be tough to top in 2019.
Honorable mention: 2018S1 We Hate the 80’s, 2018 UK Garbage Gang, 2018 Italy Sgorbions

2018 Online GPK Set of the Year
Winner: GPK Stranger Kids
Reader’s Choice: GPK Stranger Kids

When it comes to online GPK sets there was a sharp decline in what Topps offered collectors in 2018, especially in the second half of 2018. Topps started off the year with the usual suspects, awards sets, followed by comic convention sets and holiday sets. However it become obvious in the later part of 2018 that Topps started changing direction and begun experimenting with their online offerings. Those second half of 2018 offers is what stood out in collectors minds. The clear winner in the category was a set based off of the hugely popular Netflix Show, Stranger Things. Painted entirely by artist Joe Simko, Stranger Kids was first offered at this years New York Comic Con. People attending the show could purchased the “A” set or the “B” set for $20 each. People buying both sets got to choose one of four Comic Con exclusive bonus cards. Because of the scarcity and hard to obtain nature of the bonus cards, demand skyrocketed in the weeks right after the show for the bonus cards. In true Topps form, a mistake led to distribution of a fifth bonus card early on the first day of the show. Very few copies of the card, Topps did not have permission to distribute, were handed out and are now very rare collectors items. After the show was over Topps begun selling both the “A” and “B” sets on their website for 90 days. At press time the sets still remain for sale, so total print run information has not been made available. The artwork and frenzy for the bonus cards made this the most popular online set in 2018.
Honorable mention: 2018 On Demand GPK Meme, 2018 GPK Summer Comic Convention, 2018 GPK Hall of Lame.

2018 Topps GPK Licensee of the Year
Winner: Creepy Co.
Reader’s Choice: Creepy Co.

For the second year in a row Creepy Co. wins the award for the licensee of the year. The company continued to release a steady stream of merchandise throughout the year. Mainly sticking with t-shirts, the company cooled on the idea of offering pins, but still offered up some innovating merchandise. They teamed up with Topps at SDCC to offer exclusive lanyard and pin. They finished the year offering an Adam Bomb desk light in a collectible OS 3 themed box. They had some strong competition from Funko, who begin offering GPKs in their standard POP line of figures. As well as from Fright Rags who offered a wax wrapper set with shirt, pin and card. Can Creepy Co. make it three in a row in 2019? With GPK the Game set to launch in 2019, as well as other merchandise sales, competition will be tight.
Honorable mention: Funko, Fright Rags.

2018 Rookie Sketch Artist of the Year
Winner: Shawn Cruz
Reader’s Choice: Quinton Baker

2018 saw Topps put the brakes on new sketch artists for the first time in years. The last three years saw the number of sketch artists increase substantially. In 2014 there were a dozen sketch artists. Retail sets now routinely feature almost 60 artists. However, Topps seems to have a steady bank of artists, and are now just replacing the few that drop out each set. 2018 saw only 8 new sketch artists make their debut on the GPK brand. All 8 did a fantastic job with their debut sets. There is no right or wrong answer for this category. The readers proved that with their voting. This year’s Rookie Sketch Artist of the Year is Shawn Cruz. Shawn integrated himself effortlessly into the GPK sets. His full color work on retail sketches were a welcome sight for collectors. His has done numerous personal sketches and GPK theme character work for clients. He’s also active in the comic con scene in the pacific northwest. Shawn will be a welcome addition to GPK sets for many years to come.
Honorable mention: Quinton Baker, Simon Jacobsohn, Emma Burges, Ande Moores.

2018 Sketch Artist of the Year
Winner: Smokin Joe McWilliams
Reader’s Choice: Smokin Joe McWilliams

This is another category where it’s nearly impossible to pick a winner. A seemingly impossible 72 artists completed sketches for GPK sets in 2018. this year both 2018S1, 2018S2, and the On Demand Meme set featured sketches. This is another category where readers have their favorites. In addition to the nominees there were 10 other artists who received votes. This year’s sketch artist of the year is Smokin Joe McWilliams. Smokin Joe has quickly become a favorite of collectors since starting with the GPK brand on the 2017S1 set. His attention to detail really shows on his pack inserted sketch work. Collectors constantly pay top dollar for his sketches, and Joe quickly sells out of sketch returns each set. Joe’s work was featured in all three sets that offered sketches this year. Despite clearly being busy with sketches and final artwork, his consistent quality is what stood out among collectors, and what makes Smokin Joe this year’s Sketch Artist of the Year.
Honorable mention: Michael Barnard, Pat Chaimuang, Jason Heil, Rory McQueen, Steve Potter, Neil Camera, Lowell Isaac.

2018 GPK Artist of the Year
Winner: David Gross
Reader’s Choice: Tie Joe Simko & Smokin Joe McWilliams

2018 saw 12 different artists paint final cards for GPK. However, one thing you notice right away, compared to 2017, there were a lot less cards made. This is because of the sharp decline in both daily and monthly online sets. Still, the artists were kept pretty busy. It’s always interesting to look at how many cards each artist did. Here are the top 5 artists based on number of completed GPK cards.

Simko – 77
Engstrom – 67
Im – 60
Gross – 47
McWilliams – 14

These numbers include both retail and online cards. They do not include any Wacky packages cards that were part of online sets. Once again you will see the same names completing the most cards. However, you’ll notice Smokin Joe creep in at number 5 for the year. I’m willing ti predict there will be more change to this list in 2019. This is another category that’s really hard to pick. GPKNews has chosen David Gross as the 2018 GPK Artist of the Year. David’s strong suit has always been gag writing, and this year was no exception. He is able to write/draw gags that are both simple to understand, while remaining entertaining. A number of his cards in both retail sets stood out in 2018. David has also been a big supporter of the collector behind the scenes with Topps. His work with both the old and new GPK leadership will hopefully lead to some changes in 2019 that collectors will certainly enjoy.
Honorable mention: Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, Smokin Joe McWilliams, Neil Camera.

2018 GPK Card of the Year
Winner: Joyless Jason (Oh the Horror-ible 80’s Horror #7a Artist/Concept: David Gross)
Reader’s Choice: Pin Ed (Oh the Horror-ible 80’s Horror #1a Artist/Concept: Brent Engstrom)

There were almost 300 different GPKs released by Topps this year, so collectors had a lot to choose from in this category. Voting for this category was the most diverse of any of the categories. All the nominated cards received ample votes, while the top three were separated by only 3 votes. It’s fitting that the winner of this category come from the most popular set of the year, 2018S2 Oh the Horror-ible. All the artists really worked hard on this set, and the results showed. There are a number of cards that will end up being memorable from this set. There were a lot more that could have easily been nominated. This years card of the year goes to Joyless Jason #7a in the 80’s Horror subset. The card features perhaps the most popular horror character in history. Jason is looking at a calendar and is clearly disappointed that this month the 12th falls on a Friday. It’s a simple to understand gag, while putting a funny spin on the iconic character. These are the things that will make the card memorable to collectors for years to come.
Honorable mention: Pin Ed, Bob Gross, Stranger Kids Poster, Mad Paul, Hallow Dean.

 

The 2018 GPKNews.com Best of GPK Awards, Vote Now and Win!!!

2018 marks the 2nd year of the Best of GPK awards. This year saw two well received US retail sets, the first two foreign GPK sets in years, a smattering of online sets, and a whole lot of new licensed merchandise. So what were your favorite things GPK in 2018? It’s your turn to help choose the Reader’s Choice awards!

Not only will you be helping to choose the winners, but you can win as well! Everyone who fully completes a ballot will be randomly entered into a drawing for a sealed box of 2018 UK Garbage Gang! Click on the link below to visit GPKNews.com’s Facebook Page, and cast your ballot now!

https://poll.app.do/2018-gpknews-com-best-of-gpks

Read on for an explanation about how the categories and nominees were chosen, along with the fine print of voting.

Here are the categories to be voted on this year:

  • 2018 Retail Set of the Year – Four nominations this year, did you prefer one of the regular retail US sets or one of the European reprint sets?
  • 2018 Online Set of the Year – Less sets than 2017, but still a number to pick from. Only sets released in 2018 are eligible.
  • 2018 Licensee of the Year – 2018 was another great year for GPK merchandise. Which company did it best this year?
  • 2018 GPK Rookie Sketch Artist of the Year – To be eligible an artists first official Topps GPK sketch cards have had to appear in a set in 2018. Three sets contained sketch cards, We Hate the 80’s, Oh the Horror-ible, and GPK Memes. A “rookie” might be someone new to Topps or a longtime Topps artist doing their first GPK cards. Less rookies in 2018 than in years past. All nine eligible appear on the ballot.
  • 2018 GPK Sketch Artist of the Year – To be eligible an artist must have had official Topps GPK sketch cards appear in a set in 2018. Three sets contained sketch cards, We Hate the 80’s, Oh the Horror-ible, and GPK Memes. Sketch rookies are eligible in this category. Once again there were nearly 70 sketch artists that did sketches in 2018! Don’t see your favorite on the list? Feel free to choose the write-in option and vote for them!
  • 2018 GPK Artist of the Year – To be eligible an artist must have painted an official Topps GPK final published card in 2018. Retail and Online sets are eligible. Don’t see your favorite on the list? Feel free to choose the write-in option and vote for them!
  • 2018 GPK Card of the Year – All GPKs published in 2018 are eligible. Retail and Online cards are eligible. For nomination purposes if a/b versions are available, only the “a” card is listed. There are hundreds to pick from! Don’t see your favorite on the list? Feel free to choose the write-in option and vote for them!

Categories and nominees were chosen by the Editor of GPKNews.com. Categories such as best artist, sketch artist, rookie sketch artist, and best card also contain a write-in option. Write-in votes will only be counted for a valid artist/card. Voting will be live from Friday 12/14 through Friday 12/21 @ 8:00 PM. Voting will only be done through Facebook. Participants can only vote once. Vote totals or individual votes cast will not be made public. Winners will be revealed in a future article that will appear on GPKNews.com right around the 1st of January.

Contest Rules: Only one vote per person allowed. Only a fully completed ballot will count as an entry. Contest is open at the same time period as voting for the awards. Winner will be randomly chosen from all eligible entries.

Creepy Co. Teases New Series 3 Merchandise

Update: More info from Creepy Co. on the morning of their next GPK launch. The picture posted today sheds some more light into what’s in that OS 3 box, literally. It appears the desk light they showed yesterday is part of the box. The light will come with 4 interchangeable character covers. In addition to Adam Bomb, today’s picture shows Joe Blow, Mad Mike, and Hot Scott. They also said the box will contain a poster. No word yet on pricing. Be sure to checkout Creepy’s website tonight at 7:00 PM Central to light up your world.

Update: Creepy posted another image on their social media channels for what appears to be an Adam Bomb desk lamp. The lamp along with the Series 3 collectors box will be available tomorrow via their website.

After just releasing three new GPK shirts earlier this month, Creepy Co. is keeping the new GPK merchandise flowing. This morning via their social media channels they shared an image of a new OS 3 box collection. Previous boxes of OS 1 & 2 contained enemal pins. This time however the company says there will be different items in the box. No other details were released. It appears the launch will be this Thursday, most likely at 7:00 PM Central time. I’ll update this post as more info is released.

Shipping Delayed on GPK Meme Online Set

For weeks now GPK collectors have been eagerly awaiting shipment of the GPK Meme On Demand set. Topps offered this online exclusive set back in September. The set quickly sold out of all 500 copies available. However, collectors have begun to get restless as almost two months have passed with no shipping notice from Topps. Today Topps sent out an email to collectors that ordered the set stating there was a problem with the production of the set. They email says shipping should be expected within two weeks. Within the email is says, “there is a delay on the balance of orders shipping.” What is not known is if that means some collectors will get their orders weeks before others. Collectors will hopefully have these in hand in time for Christmas.

New Creepy Co. GPK Merchandise Coming This Week

Update: Creepy revealed the 3rd new shirt they will have available later today. Richie Retch gets added to the roster. The shirts should go live this evening at 7:00 PM Central time.

Update: This morning Creepy Co. posted they will have three new shirts available this Wednesday, including a blue OS 2 wrapper shirt.

Creepy Co. is at it again. On Friday they announced via their various social media channels there is a mini-GPK launch coming this week. The picture associated with the posts features Alien Ian. The only other hints are hashtags for #GPKminirelease, #alienian, and #marsattacks. Their GPK-mini releases usually feature only 1-2 products, usually a t-shirt with some restocks. There is no release date mentioned. Typically Creepy releases merchandise on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM Central time. I will update this post throughout the week as more info becomes available.

GPK Oh the Horror-ible Dollar Tree Packs/Boxes Hit Store Shelves

Thank to GPK collector Luke Parks for being the first to post images and let the community know that Dollar Store packs/boxes are now out for 2018 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids Oh the Horror-ible. These no-frills packs are a tradition every release. These are only made for Dollar Tree stores. Each pack comes with 4 base cards, with a SRP of $1.00. There are no “hits” in these packs, no parallels, no inserts, etc. Collectors buying these like having an unopened pack/wrapper for their collection. The boxes are also sought after for collectors wanting empty boxes. They resemble the old gravity feed boxes, just a little smaller. Collectors were not sure if Topps was going to continue to produce the Dollar Store packs, since the Target Gravity Feed boxes were cancelled beginning with this release. However, it appears the tradition will continue. Be sure to hit up your local Dollar Tree for some base card love.

Officially Licensed Adam Bomb Statue Coming Soon?

There is a new high end licensed Adam Bomb statue in the works, and it’s huge! The figure is still in the planning stages, and the developers are looking for feedback from the Garbage Pail Kids community on a number of topics. The figure is being developed by Hobby DB with assistance from GeePeeKay.com. Hobby DB is newer in the GPK scene. Their website is focused on chronicling all types of collectibles. Matt Oldweiler, owner of GeePeeKay.com, is part of Hobby DB’s Advisory Council for GPKs. (Full disclosure, GPKNews.com has a working relationship with GeePeeKay.com, but has not been involved with this project.) Together they have been working for months with manufacture Power Up Factory on this first of its kind entry in the GPK marketplace.

The figure is officially licensed by Topps, and Topps has already approved the design. The developers are aiming for a high end extremely detailed figure. Their goal is to remain true to the original art on the Adam Bomb card. The figure stands a mighty 14″ tall, and is on a weighted base with an embossed nameplate. The figure also has LED lights inside the mushroom cloud to make it shine bright. The figure is made from hard molded resin. Both a blue jacket Adam Bomb, and red jacket Blasted Billy are being considered for production. The figure will also come with an exclusive Adam Bomb card featuring the original rough art from John Pound.

So how do you get one? Not so fast….This is where you the GPK collector can have some actual input on the product. With this being a very high end detailed collectible, the developers are looking for feedback from collectors on a number of topics. In the survey there are questions on what’s important to you in a high end statue, a number of questions on pricing, and finally questions gaging your interest. Final production in part will be based on results of this survey, so let your voice be heard. Head over to GeePeeKay.com’s Facebook page now to take the survey.

Jago Studios Reveals Extended Trailer for GPK The Game

Jago Studios didn’t waste any time is meeting their Halloween promise to release a new trailer for their upcoming mobile game, GPK The Game. Early Wed. morning people who applied to be a game tester received an e-mail announcing the winners of the contest. Additionally, a new 30 second expanded trailer appears on gpkthegame.com as well as their Youtube channel.

The trailer is broken down into three main sections that explain the main facets of the game, all while keeping a Garbage Pail Kids theme. The trailer starts off much like the previous shorter 5 second version. First they promise you can “Collect your favorite cards”. What is shown next is many of the character screens. Adam Bomb, Tee Tee Stevie, Half Nelson, and Brainy Janie are all shown with various abilities and their junk. Next up we get what appears to be where you can see your card collection. Many more characters can be seen here.

From there the trailer moves into the section where you can, “Battle till you barf”. Screens are shown with some of the battle scenes and the cards attacking, untimely resulting in victory. Finally, the game shows you can, “Earn tons of junk”. In true GPK form it appears items and power-ups are labeled as junk. What else would a good GPK battler need?

Jago Studios announced there were over 1100 entries for their game tester contest. In a bit of a surprise, they announced that due to the overwhelming response they expanded the winners list to 10. The following people were announced as winners; Melanie R. in Lexington, IN; Michael M. in Colleyville, TX; Joseph T. in Johnson City, TN; Travis T. in Murrieta, CA; Jason H. in Mankato, MN; Randy M. in Aurora, CO; RJ H. in Nevada County, CA; David H. in Folsom, CA; Jennifer H. in Cincinnati, OH; and Jono S. in London. Jago also promises more contests to come in the months ahead.

GPK the Game is set to launch in early 2019 and will be available in both the Apple App Store and Android Google Play.

Collectors Receive GPK Promo at Philly Non-Sport Dinner

Collectors attending tonight’s dinner at the Philly Non-Sports card show got an early Halloween Treat. All attendees received two officially licensed cards, one GPK and one Wacky Packages. The GPK card, Pumpkin Heddy, was painted by Joe Simko. The back is numbered 1 of 4. The back advertises collectors can complete their set at next year’s spring Philly Non-Sports show. The Wacky card was painted by Fred Wheaton. Collectors were also treated to a talk by artist Smokin Joe McWilliams during dinner. Thanks to Collector Dave O. for the images!

Artists Start Work on 2019S1 GPK We Hate the 90’s Sketches

Topps is cutting it tight with the next retail GPK release. 2019 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 90’s is just three months away, and sketch artists are just now starting to receive sketch blanks. Much the same formula is being followed by Topps compared with the last release, 2018S2 Oh the Horror-ible. However this time artists have a much smaller window to complete sketches.

Despite the base cards being complete for months, Topps took a long to time announce the next retail set, all while keeping a January release day. This has caused sketch deadlines to be very tight for artists this time. Sketches must be completed by 11/19, which gives artists less than a month. This might hurt the overall quality of the sketches in the set, as many artists have stated they won’t be able to do color sketches due to time constraints. One change Topps made this time around to the sketches is the amount requested. The number of sketches per artist is down compared to previous releases. Its not clear if the numbers are lower because of production or number of artists. Artists this round will be doing less Regular and Loaded sketches. Each artist is being asked to complete, 30 Regular, 5 Loaded, 6 Die-cut, 3 Panoramic, and 3 Tryptych sketches.

Topps is going green for this set. Each sketch features a green Garbage Pail Kids banner, with the regular size sketch having a green nameplate for the signature. There is also new artwork featured on the sketch backs. A Brent Engstrom painting of Grunge Greg, which was first shown on the sell sheets, appears on the back of the regular, panoramic, and tryptych sketches. The tryptych sketch also features new artwork with a gag based off of the popular desk toy 3D Pin Art.

The confirmed sketch lineup so far looks to equal or even exceed the number of artists from the previous set. Oh the Horror-ible had a record 58 artists complete sketches. So far 53 of the 58 artists have confirmed they will be completing sketches for We Hate the 90’s. The returning artists are: David Acevedo, Simone Arena, Ro Garcia Astorga, Quinton Baker, Michael Barnard, Bobby Blakey, John Brewer, Emma Burges, Neil Camera, Pat Chaimuang, Daniel Contois, Jasmine Contois, Sobot Cortez, Jason Crosby, Shawn Cruz, Dave Dabila, Vincenzo D’Ippolito, Joe Dobbins, Joey Fitchett, David Gacey, Shane Garvey, Patrick Giles, Daniel Goodroad, Dennis Gortakowski, Kelly Greider, Jason Heil, Lowell Isaac, Robert Jimenez, Rickey Kipfer, Paul Mangione, Mike McHugh, Rory McQueen, Joe McWilliams, Chris Meeks, Lily Mercado, Ryan Moffett, Rich Molinelli, JM Monserrat, Victor Moreno, Jay O’Leary, Darrin Pepe, Steve Potter, Todd Rayner, Cathy Razim, Chad Scheres, Brent Scotchmer, Matt Steffens, Mike Stephens, Floyd Sumner, Gregory Tilson, Dan Burn Webster, Gavin Williams and Clinton Yeager. David Gross, Jon Gregory, Simon Jacobsohn, Bryan Abson, and Kevin Lea will not do sketches for this set for various reasons. Usually Topps also adds a healthy number of new artists to the mix. However, there have been no new artists who have come forward saying they are working on the set. There are however, some returning artists. Coming back after taking a break are Barry Nygma, Anthony Skubis, and Magnus Von Robotsson. This brings the current total of sketch artists to 56. This article will be updated as new artists are confirmed.

The rules around sketches has remained largely the same as the previous release. Once again artists must send their artist return sketches back to Topps with their pack inserted sketches. Topps will approve, and mail back to the artists, who can then distribute them after release date. The “banned sketch” list continues to be the same. Artists are not allowed to sketch cards featuring Stan Lee, Gene Simmons, the Hundreds set, Riot Fest set, and all Disney properties including Star Wars and Marvel.

Let hope sketch previews start sneaking out from artists in late December and early January as release date approaches. 2019 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 90’s is set to release in stores on Jan. 16, 2019.