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Along with Joe Simko and Brent Engstrom, David Gross is one of the main artists behind the current Garbage Pail Kids sets. He’s done dozens of GPKs to date, with his biggest contribution set to happen in the 2018S2 set. David is popular on Facebook with collectors for sharing not only the final paintings once release, but also the rejected concepts Topps doesn’t use. I sat down with David at Gross Card Con in Las Vegas. We talked about the lifecycle of a GPK, his thoughts on digital vs. traditional painting, and some changes to GPK he’s lobbied Topps for.

GPKNews – I think more than ever in 2017 GPK collectors have really gravitated to your work. I know you are a Wacky Packages guy, but how much fun are you having working on the GPK brand?

David Gross – I love working on the Garbage Pail Kids, I’m actually enjoying working on them little more than the Wacky’s lately. I’ve been doing probably 2 to 1 Garbage Pail Kids at this point.

GPKNews – You continue to post your rejected concepts on Facebook with each release. GPK collectors continue to get a kick out of the ones Topps decides not to use. What’s more fun for you, coming up with the concepts and the rough, or the final paining of the card and seeing your concept in its final form?

DG – I like both of them. I’d probably say painting them. I stay up all night and talk to Brent, we just paint all night.

GPKNews – How much time on average does it take for a GPK to come to life? From the initial concept, to the pencil rough, color rough, back and forth with the Art Director, and then the final painting? How much time do you spend on each retail card?

DG – I start with a thumbnail sketch. I just start drawing out a general idea until I get the right pose. Then I probably spend about an hour sketching it out in pencil. Then another hour or so on the final pencil. Then paintings can run anywhere from 4 hours for the rushed to get it done overnight online ones, to if I have time, I’ll spend two days on some. The halloween set we recently did I spent almost 3 days on every painting, because I had time on that one. It was a lot of fun to be able to do that again.

GPKNews – I know you are a big music guy, so you had a lot of fun working on Battle of the Bands. I think the work you did on the Halloween set might have been your best last year? What set did you enjoy most working on in the last year?

DG – Easily the Halloween set. Having the time and the subject matter was my favorite.

GPKNews – I know you work a lot behind the scenes with the people at Topps to give the GPK collector a voice. Is it hard to get Topps to understand what the longtime collector wants?

DG – They will listen but they also have the bottom line, so its been difficult to get them to do what collectors feel they should be doing . With Colin for example, he has a tough job because he has to answer to people above him. So he has to make their demands work, collectors demands work, and artists demands work. Its a stressful job. We try our best to do what we can. I think there will be some more changes coming up. I’ve been pushing a lot of stuff and hopefully they will come through.

GPKNews – In the second half of last year I think there’s been some progress towards what collectors are looking for. Especially in the concepts and art, and a little in set structure. Its baby steps, but steps nonetheless. Do you sense some of the things GPK collectors ask for are starting to become a reality?

DG – First thing I’m hoping we get backs, back. I think thats the number one thing, if I’m reading what collectors want the most. I think the Classic set was a good idea that they dropped the ball on a couple things on that by not having backs on there and the arrow and everything else on there that everyone wanted. I think they did learn a lesson on there from the Wacky Packages Old School set. That one sold out in three days. I think if they do another Classic set, they will look at that and try to fix some of the problems.

GPKNews – I’ve asked a few artists this, and wanted to get your thoughts. Right now retail GPKs still must be painted, but Colin has allowed some digital work in the online sets. What thoughts do you have, specifically when it comes to GPK art, on creating cards digitally vs. the old fashioned way?

DG – When I first started doing it, the first things I sent to Topps were digital. That was way back in 2003 or 2004. First thing they said to me was can you paint them, I said yeah of course. So I sent in samples of them painted, and that’s how I got the job doing Wacky’s. I’ve always painted everything, except occasionally on the Wacky’s I do some of the lettering digitally. For the most part I even paint all the lettering on those. I don’t really have an interest in the digital artwork, and never do it myself.

GPKNews – Do you think we will see the day where the main way of creating GPKs or the like are done digitally?

DG – I hope painting continues to rule the day. I don’t think people will want all digital paintings. If you don’t get the textures right they look weird. I’ve seen some stuff where the figures look like the backgrounds. You need to be able to differentiate all the textures. I just think the hand painted quality is much nicer.

GPKNews – Finally this is your second GCC here in Vegas. How does this one compare to the first? How has the fan interaction been?

DG – Great, this has been much better than the first one. The layout of the room is much easier to talk to people. I get to talk to the other artists, which I didn’t get to do last time all lined up in one long row. I have people on both sides of me in front and back, its been great. Last year I brought the rejected books, I started drawing them and I never looked up in two days This time I took some orders, draw them at night, bring them back the next morning so I’ve been able to have a lot more interaction this time around.

Smokin’ Joe McWilliams hit the ground running with Garbage Pail Kids in 2017, and collectors have been really pleased with his work. While Joe is new the the GPK world, he’s worked for Topps for a number of year’s as one of the Wacky Package artists. I sat down with Joe at this year’s Gross Card Con is Las Vegas. We talked about how he got his start with Topps, the differences between painting GPKs and Wacky’s, and his new upcoming website venture.

GPKNews – While you recently just started working on GPKs, you’ve been working with Topps on Wacky Packages for a while now. When did you first start working for Topps, what was your first project? How did you get your foot in the door at Topps?

Joe McWilliams – I was a Wacky Packages fan from the original series back in the 70’s. I missed the feeling opening a pack of Wacky’s and that excitement you get, the smell of the gum and everything. So, I decided back in 2005 to start designing my own Wacky Packages. I had 3 or 4 of them done when I heard that Topps was doing All New Series Wacky’s. I sent them a letter and showed them the ones I had done. The letter said “Dear Wack-jobs, I collected your Wacky’s as a kid, thank you very much. I can prove it because I have all the scars in my mouth from the razor sharp gum. I’m a successful artist and I would love to waste my time doing Wacky Packages. Until Mad Magazine calls and I’ll know I’ve hit rock bottom.” Two weeks later I get a message from Jeff Zapata saying I just got a letter from you. That was for ANS 3, I got 15 gags in there, a couple got painted by John Pound and other artists. The first one I painted was Coka-Cobra. I couldn’t believe in all the years of Wacky Packages nobody had done the largest brand on the planet. I figured if I can land this, I’m in, be part of the history. I wrote what I thought was a good joke, and they liked it. I painted five different versions of it to familiarize myself with the paints and to try to get it right. I sent the best one in and its kind of become my iconic original Wacky. I painted Wacky Packages for all the ANS series.

I was also holding down a full time job. When they asked me to do the Garbage Pail Kids, I couldn’t do that. Then a few years later I left that job and became freelance only in 2013, and said hay I’ll do GPK now, throw some of that my way. It took them until 2017 before I could figure out how to get into the door submitting ideas for the online Trumpocracy series, and they said yes paint that, paint that, and that. Then I did sketch cards. Then, for for Battle of the Bands they asked me to submit ideas and I got 7 base paintings in that, then the same for We Hate the 80’s, I got a couple paintings that one. I’ve submitted a bunch of designs for the next series, and I have a couple of approvals there.

GPKNews – How aware of GPKs were you as a kid? Did you collect?

JM – I was a Wacky’s guy. When Garbage Pail Kids came out, I was a senior in high school. My only connection to it was, I didn’t even know GPK at that point, but I know Cabbage Patch Dolls were out. I was in journalism class and we had to do a video of a news broadcast. I was the anchor and I did a story on we lost this year’s crop of Cabbage Dolls due to cabbage rot. I brought up a doll with spaghetti hanging off of it for the parody there. That was my first attempt at that kind of humor on that subject. I knew all the other kids were into the GPK at the time, but I was into girls and drinking by then, I wasn’t collecting them.

GPKNews – You’ve done a number of GPK cards in the last couple of retail sets. Collectors also really seem to enjoy your pack inserted sketch cards. Are you having fun working on the GPK brand?

JM – I am, because its not a lot of lettering which gets tedious on the Wacky Packages. Painting all those little letters are painful on your fingers. Designing the cards is a fun job. They can go anywhere and do anything, I like that. Doing big characters is a lot more fun then doing tiny stuff.

GPKNews – Besides the subject matter, how are painting GPKs different than Wackys?

JM – You can get a lot more expression in them even though there is a standard look. Because you are dealing with a much larger character, they can bend reality with the things they are doing. There’s really nothing that is off limits. I’m less of a body joke person and I love exploring the twilight zone aspect of it. If I can slip a common social comment in there somehow I kind of like that, but I don’t want to go political if I can avoid it. Listening to the fans, I know they love the kids rather than the Garbage Pail adults so I’m trying to keep my mindset there.

GPKNews – You are going to be launching a new website, monstersgopop.com. Tell me a little bit about the site? What will collectors find there?

JM – I’m wanting it to be a watering hole for collectors to go to find all the original art for these card series, and then a lot of these personal card sets these artists are doing on the side. The main thing is the art gallery side of it. You can get original art and art prints directly from the artist. I will not be the middle man. I’m just giving them the shelf space. When you want to buy a piece from somebody it will just link right to them to make that purchase. So collectors don’t have to go searching each different guy, trying to figure out how to get in touch with them and find their work. We don’t have to auction it off, we can just make an art gallery. Thats the main idea.

GPKNews – Have you seen the 30 Years of Garbage movie that Joe and Jeff directed? What were your thoughts of the movie?

JM – I thought it was really well done. I love the history of it. I love seeing the other artists being interviewed in their studios. I’m a fan of seeing what materials they work with, how they setup. I just think that’s really interesting.

GPKNews – This is your second GCC in Las Vegas. How does this one compare to the first? Do you enjoy meeting and chatting with the fans?

JM – It’s good now that I’m officially in the club, and everyone’s seen my sketch cards and appreciated them and like the way I’m going with that. I’m an old school Mad Magazine reader so that black, white, and gray approach is a holdover to how I was taught from Mad Magazine illustrations. That response has been really really well.

GPKNews – Finally what is your favorite GPK?

JM – I’ll always love the monsters, but Joe Blow of course, the name sake. They did it right by naming the kids because everyone has their namesake favorite. I like Creepy Carol a lot. I don’t think she gets enough love among the monsters. Hairy Harriet, she’s fun to draw. She’s got a lot to work with. I usually trim her beard or cutting herself up somehow. I used to do a lot of hair illustration back in the 80’s, rock band type of stuff, so I got good at doing masses of hair. I enjoy that.