Tag Archives: Artists

10 Questions With…Garbage Pail Kids Artist Michael Barnard

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Michael Barnard is part of the new breed of GPK artist. Not only has he done sketch cards, but also final artwork for numerous online cards. While his professional life has been built around creating artwork for t-shirts, his first love is Garbage Pail Kids. I sat down with Michael at Gross Card Con in Las Vegas. We talked about how he got started with Topps, how his passion with GPK began, and him being a proponent for digital artwork.

GPKNews – You started doing GPK sketches for Topps with 2016S1 American As Apple Pie set. How did you get on with Topps and doing GPK sketches?

Michael Barnard – I grew up with Garbage Pial Kids like most people. I loved them and they made me want to become an artist. I always had a thing for them. I went off and got my career started as an artist, and here and there I picked up a few packs. Looking at some of the ANS stuff got the fires burning again. I contacted a few of the guys on Facebook, Joe Simko and Brent Engstrom, and asked them who do I get in touch with, how do I get my foot in the door. They gave me Colin’s info in New York. So I came up with four originals, and mocked them up like the real ones with the logos and names and everything. I took those and a few other samples of my work and mailed them to NY. About 7-8 months later I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to do sketch cards.

GPKNews – What other card sets have you worked on for Topps or other companies?

MB – I’ve only done work for Topps. I’ve done one Wacky set, the MLB set. I’ve done many of the Star Wars sets, and a handful for The Walking Dead, but Garbage Pail Kids are my favorite.

GPKNews – What are your memories of GPK as a kid? Did you collect?

MB – I was the perfect age when these came out, I was about 9 or 10 years old. I’d say maybe 3rd series was most popular when I was able to buy them on my own. I can remember taking my lunch money and skipping lunch so I could go buy some afterwards. We had a general store next door to the house I grew up in. The lady that ran that place always carried Garbage Pail Kids. She use to let me come in and work once a month dusting off the canned goods and sweeping the floors. She would pay me in Garbage Pail Kids. She would give me complete boxes and complete sets. To this day I still have every one of them. I have thousands of OS cards from back in the day. I was into them big time.

GPKNews – In 2017 Topps added you to the lineup of final card artists for some of the online sets. I believe you had 17 cards published last year. What would 10 year old Michael have thought if he knew he’d be a GPK artist someday?

MB – My 10 year old self’s head would have exploded. It’s funny to watch my parents because they remember watching me as a kid and being so obsessed with these things. I think they are as tickled as I am that I get to work on this stuff. Its really kind of surreal. Its awesome! I take it very seriously, every sketch card I do, everything. It means a lot. It’s a big deal.

GPKNews – You are a proponent of working digitally. All your online cards were created on a computer. What are your thoughts on creating artwork digitally vs. the old fashioned way?

MB – I look at the digital stuff as a tool. I mostly design t-shirts for a living and I work with a lot of screen print companies, and in that industry it has to be digital. That’s kind of become my comfort zone. I went to a very traditional art school in Columbus, Ohio, so I do paint, I do draw, I do a lot of stuff by hand. I’ve just gotten a lot more comfortable and faster doing it digitally. I don’t know, I can see why people would still gravitate towards the more traditional oil paintings. I love that stuff too. I don’t know, I think a lot of people don’t understand how the digital stuff is done. The way I do it, with the stylist and tablet, there’s a brush stroke for everything you see. It’s still painted, its just a little different with the pixels. I think they translate better to the actual cards. I think they look cleaner and more crisp. I’m more comfortable doing digital stuff because I think I’m faster at it, but I love to paint too. I think there’s a place for both of them. I think when digital stuff is done right it can look really good.

GPKNews – What tools, software/hardware, do you use for your digital artwork?

MB – I use a Macintosh, Photoshop and Illustrator. Mostly for Garbage Pail Kids, this kind of stuff, its done in Photoshop using the different brushes. I have a Wacom tablet and stylus. The stylus is pressure sensitive so you can airbrush. If you go in there and get the details you can zoom in high resolution and really get nice detail. I use mostly Photoshop on the Mac.

GPKNews – Right now I know all retail GPKs are still painted Do you aspire one day to work on a retail set? If you ever get the chance, would you push to create cards digitally?

MB – I would do whatever they want. I enjoy doing digital stuff, but doing them with the acrylic paints, I love doing that too. I just did a couple this week. I would do whatever he wants. I’d be glad to do it.

GPKNews – This is your first GCC. Have you ever done any other cons as an artist?

MB – Nope, this is it. Like I said I mostly do t-shirts for a living, I actually make a pretty good living doing that. I’ve never really had to do cons, or setup, or really promote myself. This is really more just for fun. Its been awesome. Its been great to come out and meet everybody, and put a face behind the Facebook profiles for people I’m use to talking to. Its been a blast.

GPKNews – What are you thoughts about GCC? How as the GPK fan interaction been for you?

MB – The show has been absolutely incredible. I didn’t really know what to expect, how much stuff to expect to move. I did more yesterday than I expected for the whole event. Its been great, absolutely awesome. Everyone has been so cool. Its like sitting here and talking with 30-40 long lost friends, everyone has the same interests, its really been cool.

GPKNews – At the show you are selling some of your own cards and prints. Do you have any other projects in the pipeline either with your own work or for another company?

MB – I’m always looking to add to my prints. I’ve got this thing going with my 80’s themed prints. I’ve really been itching to work on a Princess Bride print. I’ve also done these mini canvases with the matching easels that are done with acrylics. People really seem to love those, so I’ve been buying up a bunch at the hobby shops. I’ve submitted some gags to Topps for some of the upcoming sets. There’s always something in the works.

GPKNews – Finally, do you have an all time favorite Garbage Pail Kid?

MB – All time favorite? I’m going to have to say, ever since I was a kid I’ve had a thing for April Showers. Something about the colors in that, the blue with the lightening bolts. I don’t know, when I was a kid there was something almost glowing about that artwork, I love that one. A lot of the OS stuff, they trigger memories and really speak to me. I don’t know if I have a specific favorite one, but if I had to pick one, that would be it.

Collectors Enjoy Weekend at Gross Card Con

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Gross Card Con has wrapped up, and the event left collectors and artists both overjoyed with the results. The show took place within the larger Vegas Toy Con at the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas this past weekend. The second Garbage Pail Kids inspired show drew a record 16 current and former Topps GPK/Wacky artists. This was more then the first Vegas show, GPK-Con, held in the summer of 2016. Collectors and artists came from around the country, and even Europe to attend the event. Here are the highlights from the weekend.

Artists

The highlight of the show was the amount of artists who attended the con. Former original series artists Tom Bunk and James Warhola were both in attendance. This was the first Vegas Con for Warhola, and the second for Bunk. Both were selling original artwork and prints, as well as signing autographs for collectors. Warhola had on display one of his popular large GPK paintings he’s done. Current GPK artists, Joe Simko, Brent Engstrom, David Gross, Layron DeJarnette, Smokin’ Joe McWilliams, and Michael Barnard were all in attendance. They all brought various prints, original artwork, and even their own card products to the show to sell. David Gross debuted his second Rejected GPK Concepts book at the show, a popular item. Former Topps artists Jeff Zapata and Mark Pingitore were also on hand. Pingitore debuted his Nintendopes Series 1 set at the show. GPK sketch artists Chad Scheres, Jon Gregory, and Chenduz were also on hand selling their own products and even doing sketches at the show for collectors. Chenduz came to the show all the way from the Netherlands for his first GPK con in the US. Finally, Wacky Packages collectors also had plenty to choose from. Not only was Smoking Joe selling Wacky art, but artist Joe Grossberg was also on hand offering his Wacky inspired toys and art.

VIP Experience

Once again GPK Super VIPs had many extras available to them at the show. While there was no exclusive artist dinner this time around, Super VIPs were treated to dinner Thursday night. They also were given a few goodies. They all were given a custom GPK Funko character. Each Super VIP received a different GPK Mystery Mini figure that had been enhanced. They also received a custom black & white sketch, and a copy of the show exclusive card set. Super VIPs and regular VIPs also could attend the show dinners on Friday and Saturday night. This was a chance for the VIPs to eat with and chat with the artists. While the weekend dinners were attended by all Toy Con VIPs, its interesting to note that 25%-30% of the attendees were GPK artists and collectors.

Artist Q&A

As a wonderful last second addition to the show, 8 artists held a Q&A session Saturday afternoon for GPK collectors. Warhola, Bunk, Zapata, Simko, Engstrom, Gross, DeJarnette, and McWilliams were all in attendance with Zapata leading the discussion. Approximately 75 GPK collectors were in hand as Bunk and Warhola both talked about their artistic influences growing up. They shared stories about their time at Topps, and the beginning of their involvement with GPKs. The entire panel answered questions on their art influences, digital vs. painting, and even a question regarding the grossness of GPKs. Engstrom even shared there is one final painting that has a real bug squashed into the painting!

Saturday Social

For the first time a collector/artist social was held at the West bar in the casino. The social replaced the Bowling night/breakfast that was held at the first Con. Roughly 30 artists and collectors attended the late night event. This allowed collectors and artists alike to visit and share stories about their Vegas adventures!

GCC Wrap-up

The second Vegas GCC had a different vibe than the first show for a number of reasons. The layout of GCC was completely different this time around. This time all the artists were located in one room at the show. They were also right in the middle of the show, instead of off in a separate corner. This change was an overwhelming success in the eyes of the artists. Artists were close enough this year to visit with each other, something that was tough during the first show. Being in the middle of the show, as well as the flow of the room setup, seemed to make the GCC artists more accessible to the general attendees at the show. This brought more foot traffic past their booths compared to the first show. I spoke to multiple artists who were really pleased with how they did at the show. More than one artist told me they made more money the first day of this year’s show than the entire first show. The entire show seemed very successful for most of the artists.

The artists weren’t the only group satisfied with the show. Collectors had a great time at the 2016 GPK-Con. That was the first chance many of them got to meet not only the artists, but collectors they’ve been interacting with for years. This year’s GCC had a different feeling at the show. I heard the word, “family”, multiple times throughout the show from not only collectors but artists alike. Of course there were new artists and collectors in attendance. This time however, collectors were coming back together. Artists, many who had met for the first time face to face in 2016, were now also seeing familiar faces again. Throughout the weekend GPK collectors and artists had a blast trading, busting boxes, socializing with each other, and just hanging out enjoying the company of others who share the same interests. GCC was like 150 of your closest friends getting together for the weekend.

I spoke with Super Toy Con Executive Producer, Andy Goodman, to get his thoughts on the show. On weather Super Toy Con/Gross Card Con was a success Andy shared, “The show was a huge success, as was our mini GPK meet. Gross Card Con brought out more collectors and more artists then the last go round in 2016. It was great to see the artists and collectors on the same grounded level, talking, sharing feedback and just sitting down for a bit of social interaction. Hopefully, someday Topps will see the engagement this type of event brings to the community of their collectors and will support the gathering in some fashion.” I asked Andy if they had plans to continue to offer GCC in the future. “I am sure we have not seen the last of a gathering. Weather we move the show to a different venue in Las Vegas or state is yet to be determined, but we will continue to bring the collectors together as we can. Also, don’t forget to block out the first weekend of August on your calendar, as there will be a few artists attending the east coast Central Pennsylvania Collectors Con in Harrisburg, Pa. More info coming soon!”

Schedule for Upcoming Gross Card Con Takes Shape

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Update: In a late addition to the GCC schedule, there is now a Q&A seminar with the artists. According to the official schedule the talk will be from 4:00-5:00 at Convention HQ on the 2nd floor.

In a little over two weeks, Garbage Pail Collectors from around the country will converge on Las Vegas for Gross Card Con. Gross Card Con is part of the larger Vegas Toy Con being held at the Circus Circus Hotel from Feb. 23-25. This is the second gathering of GPK collectors in Vegas. In the summer of 2016, GPK-Con was held in Vegas, and at the time was the largest gathering ever of GPK artists and collectors. GCC is set to break that mark this year with even more guest artists. Scheduled to attend are 14 current and former artists. Highlighting the show will be the appearances by Original Series artists Tom Bunk and James Warhola. Both artists played integral parts in the first 15 series of GPKs. This will be Bunk’s second appearance, while a first for Warhola. Almost all the current final card artists will also be in attendance. Returning to Vegas are Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, David Gross, Layron DeJarnette, Joe McWilliams, and Chad Scheres, while Michael Barnard will be attending his first show. Former Topps artists Jeff Zapata and Mark Pingitore also are returning for their second show. Sketch artists Jon Gregory (2nd) and Vincenzo D’ippolito (1st) will also be in attendance. Finally Wacky Packages artist Joe Grossberg round out the lineup, making his first appearance.

What events will collectors have to look forward to while at the show? What type of ticket is best for you? Read on for a quick FAQ of the rundown on this year’s Gross Card Con.

What type of ticket do I need?

There are three types of tickets being offered for the event. For the most serious GPK collector there is a Super GPK VIP ticket. These tickets are now sold out, so if you missed them you are out of luck! The GPK VIP ticket cost $750, and these few lucky collectors get 4 nights hotel, tickets to the show, early admission, dinners Thurs., Fri., and Sat., a B&W sketch, and the GCC card set, and more! Second, there is a regular VIP ticket. For $150 these ticket holders get admission all 3 days, early admission, and dinners Fri. and Sat. Finally, there is a general admission 3 day or individual day tickets available. The 3 day pass retails for $25, while single day admission is available; Fri. ($10), Sat. ($15), Sun. ($15). A tip for collectors, try checking Groupon for discounts on basic VIP and general admission tickets, you might just get a nice discount!

What hours is the show open?

The show is open Fri. 4:00 PM – 9:00PM, Sat. 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Sun. 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Holders of the GPK VIP or basic VIP tickets will be able to get in one hour early to the show each day.

What should I expect at the show?

Being a larger toy convention there will be plenty of booths setup selling toys. You will see lots of cosplayers, and even indy professional wresting shows! But you are there for GPK! All GPK artists will be in one area of the show. This allows collectors to have kind of a home base to visit with artists, see people they’ve only spoken with online, and maybe even do some trading! All 14 artists will be in the same area. In addition Clint Coleman and GPK & Wacky Warehouse will have a table set up again selling all things GPK.

Is there an artist Q&A session?

Unfortunately this time around there will not be a separate artist seminar. Due to space restraints, show promoters were not able to facilitate a Q&A session this year. However, all the artists are very approachable and really do love talking to collectors.

Yes there is a late addition to the schedule. The artists will be getting together on Saturday from 4:00-5:00 for a Q&A session. According to the schedule the seminar will be located at Convention HQ on the second floor.

I’m a VIP holder, I get dinner(s)?

Yes, one of the big perks of the big GPK VIP package is an exclusive dinner with the artists on Thursday night. Ticket holders be sure to check your package details for time and location of the dinner. All GPK VIP and basic VIP holders also receive a ticket to the show wide VIP only dinners on Fri. and Sat. nights at 6:00 PM. General admission ticket holds must separately purchase tickets for the Fri/Sat dinners if they want to attend.

What other GPK events are there?

Saturday night there will be an evening social event at the West Bar inside the Circus Circus casino at 11:00 PM. The event is open to all collectors. While there is a breakfast mentioned on the event flyer, that event has been cancelled. Show promoters decided based on feedback from the previous show to leave more time open to collectors to have the freedom to do their own meet ups.

Is there a show specific card set available?

This year’s set is bigger than last year’s. Collectors will have a few choices this year. All 14 artists have created a card for the event, and in the case of 6 artists a second card. These 20 images will be available for sale in a few different formats. A master show set will be available at the show for $40. Cards #1-12 are regular cards done by the artists attending the show, Bonus #1-2 are the cards created by Tom Bunk and James Warhola. Rounding out the set are card #P1-P6. These are prism cards, printed on a shiny card stock. These images are the second card some of the artists created. Don’t want the whole set? Or just want extras of some? Cards #1-12 will be available by themselves for $15. While cards #P1-P6, will also be available separately for $15. The only way to get the Bonus cards is to purchase the maser set. GPK VIP ticket holders are in luck as the master set is already included in their package. There will also be a limited edition set of those same 20 images available as a proof/blank back set for $40. There are only 100 copies of the limited edition set available for purchase. Artists will also be given a number of their own cards to sell at their table and autograph/doodle on for collectors. Sets will be available at the GPK & Wacky Warehouse booth during the show. Those of you unable to make the show, should contact GPK & Wacky Warehouse after the show to inquire about purchasing any leftovers. Check out some images of the card art that artists have shared already!

What will the artists have available?

Ahhh that’s another article…..coming later this week! Tune into GPKNews to check out some of the goods the artists will be showcasing at the show!

Artsits to Offer a Variety of Art/Cards at Gross Card Con

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With just two weeks to go until Gross Card Con hits Las Vegas, collectors are anxious to find out just what will be available to them at the show. Artists have been finalizing their plans over the past few weeks. There is a large variety of things being offered from original GPK artwork, roughs, sketches, personal artwork, cards, and more! See below for items the various artists are planning to have available at the show!

Tom Bunk will be attending his second Las Vegas show. Tom will be bringing a number of original GPK artwork pieces for sale!! See pictures below for some of the pieces available at the show. Fantastic stuff available from Mr. Bunk!

Joe Simko will have a full assortment of products available. The highlight being the Indican version of the 30 Years of Garbage DVD. Indican hasn’t quite yet officially released the movie on DVD yet. There have been a few pop up on eBay, but its not widely available. The Directors will have a limited number of DVD available at their booth. The Director’s cut DVD, which was previous available to backers of their Indigogo campaign, will also be available at the show. Both versions of the DVD will be available for $25.

Joe will also have original GPK and Wacky Packages paintings, a variety of original sketch cards, Cereal Killers sticker cards, Stupid Heroes trading cards, and his Sweet Rot books. He will also be available for custom sketch work on blank sketch cards, printing plates, blank comic covers, or “blank human faces”. Joe will also be selling some great custom comic covers at the show.

Brent Engstrom will be at his second Vegas show. He will have a couple of prints for sale. He will also be signing autographs and doing sketches as time permits.

At the first GPK-Con David Gross sold his popular Rejected GPK concepts book. With GCC comes version 2 of the book! David will be selling both versions of the book at the show. If you purchase the book you also get a sketch done on the inside. Pre-orders of the book are available by contact him directly prior to the show. In addition to personal prints, David will be taking orders on sketches on both official and personal stock.

Mark Pingitore will be debuting his latest set at GCC, Nintendopes Series 1. The 18 card set will go on sale for the first time at the show. Mark will also be taking orders for sketches on his brand new sketch blanks, themed from some of his previous sets. Besides the new items, Mark will also have his previous sets, pins, sticker sheets and original art available for sale.

Jeff Zapata will be back for his second show in Vegas. Jeff will have new prints and original artwork at the show. Jeff will also be debuting two new t-shirts he designed. He will also have a limited number of 30 Years of Garbage DVDs available for sale.

Layron DeJarnette is also back for his second Vegas show. He will have original art, exclusive prints, and exclusive cards for sale. He will also be giving away free posters and cards with each purchase!

Jon Gregory will have many original portraits and artwork available. He will also be taking sketch commissions at the show. Free gift with each commission! You won’t want to miss the free gift!

Smokin Joe McWilliams will be at his second Vegas show, and he will have a lot of items available! Joe will have some original paintings for both GPK and Wacky Packages available. He will also be taking sketch commissions on both official GPK/Wacky blanks, and his personal stock. He will be promoting his new website MostersGoPOP.com. The website features original artwork from a number of artists. At the show he will have some stickers and mini prints of some of the artwork features on MonstersGoPOP. Finally Joe will be selling stickers and posters from a new line he created called, Giving Fingers. There will be something for everyone at Smokin’ Joe’s table!

Chad Scheres will have his Monster Art Card set at the show for sale. Each set will be $20 at the show. The set consists of 10 cards, and is limited to 50 made. With each set there is a chance at a sketch or original 8×10 monster drawing. He will also have a number of monster themed enamel pins and patches available for sale.

Attending his first Vegas show, Michael Barnard will have a set of 6 original cards he created from past GPK concepts. The set will cost $25 at the show. Michael will also have a set of four GPK inspired 8 X 10 prints available for $20. He will also have many other original prints available for $10 each at the show. You will be able to purchase both together for just $40.

Vincenzo D’Ippolito is also attend in first Vegas show. Making a special appearance from overseas, he will be taking commissions on sketches and comic covers. He will also have an original print available for sale.

Joe Grossberg will be attending his first Vegas show. GPK fans might not be as familiar with his work, as he has primarily worked on the Wacky Packages brand for a number of years. Joe is very innovative in creating his own Wacky inspired items, and he will have many available at the show. He will have 3 exclusives available at the show. A Wacky action figure, a mini toy set, and a mini comic will all make their debuts at the show. The toys are similar to a previous Wacky Holiday Treat toys he created back in 2015 and 2016. In fact Joe will be giving out his Wacky Holiday Treats postcard set with a purchase of $5 or more. Joe will also be promoting his Joe G ParoTee online store at the show. He will be premiering a new ParoTee design at the show, and will have ParoTee cards to give out with each t-shirt purchase from his store.

Clint Coleman will have his GPK & Wacky Warehouse setup at the show, offering all kinds of GPK items for sale. His table will also be the place to purchase the show exclusive card set.

The countdown is on! Better save those pennies for next week’s show!

 

2018 Series 1 GPK We Hate the 80’s Sketch Card Preview

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Sketch artists for 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids We Hate the 80’s received their sketch blanks months ago. For the most part artists received them with their sketch blanks for 2017S2 Battle of the Bands. Some artists completed their sketches weeks ago, while others are still working hard to complete due to many other commitments. The deadline for artists completing sketches for We Hate the 80’s is quickly approaching in early December. Artists who have completed their work have started posting their sketches after getting approval from Topps. A record high 55 artists will complete sketches for the first set of 2018. I will keep a running post below as artists share sketches. (Note that all sketches must be approved by Topps before being inserted into packs. Also, Topps will hold sketches back for replacements.) All photos courtesy of the artist, their Facebook page and/or website. 2018S1 GPK We Hate the 80’s will hit stores on 1/17/18.

Updated 12/20/17 (Showing sketch previews from 29 of 55 confirmed artists.) Continue reading 2018 Series 1 GPK We Hate the 80’s Sketch Card Preview→

2017 Garbage Pail Kids Classic Sketch Card Preview

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While there has been no official announcement around the Garbage Pail Kids Classic online set, the work still continues. So far 32 artists have been confirmed to be working on sketches for the set. The deadline for artists to return sketches to Topps is 9/27. Some artists have already completed their sketches and are starting to show them off. Look for more artists to show sketches in the next couple of weeks. I will keep a running post below as artists share sketches. (Note that all sketches must be approved by Topps before being inserted into packs. Also, Topps will hold sketches back for replacements.) All photos courtesy of the artist, their Facebook page and/or website.

Updated 9/27/17 (Showing sketch previews from 14 of 32 confirmed artists.)
Continue reading 2017 Garbage Pail Kids Classic Sketch Card Preview→

2017 Series 2 GPK Battle of the Bands Sketch Card Preview

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GPK sketch artists have been spending countless sleepless nights working on sketch cards for both 2017S2 GPK Battle of the Bands and 2018S1 GPK We Hate the 80’s. The deadline for artists completing sketches for Battle of the Bands is quickly approaching in early September. That hasn’t stopped some artists from not only completing their sketches, but also getting Topps approval. While I’ve only seen a couple of artists gain approval so far, more will be in the coming weeks. I will keep a running post below as artists share sketches. (Note that all sketches must be approved by Topps before being inserted into packs. Also, Topps will hold sketches back for replacements.) All photos courtesy of the artist, their Facebook page and/or website.

Updated 10/12/17 (Showing sketch previews from 34 of 49 confirmed artists.) Continue reading 2017 Series 2 GPK Battle of the Bands Sketch Card Preview→

Gross Card Con Coming to Las Vegas Toy Con in 2018

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The Las Vegas Toy Con has announced that within their next show will be Gross Card Con (GCC). This will be the second such convention focused on Garbage Pail Kids in Las Vegas. The first, GPK-Con, was held last Aug. as part of the Super Toy Con event. The event will take place at the Circus Circus hotel on the Las Vegas strip on Feb. 23-25, 2018.

Planning is currently underway for GPK related events and artists that will be attending. The show has not officially announced any details as of yet. An event similar to last time is expected with more artists, promo cards created by the artists attending the event, and much more. Be sure to check out the Las Vegas Toy Con website for more information, or GPKNews will being you additional details once available.

Check out our review of last years show here!

2017S2 & 2018S1 GPK Sketch Card Lineups Take Shape

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Updated 9/14 to add Derrin Pepe.

Updated 9/8 to change Jon Gregory and Simon Jacobsohn to 2018S1 only.

Updated 9/7 to add Josh Ginter, Bobby Blakey, Quinton Baker, and Pat Chaimuang.

Updated 8/11 to remove Dennis Gortakowski.

Updated 8/9 to add new artist Dave Gacey.

Updated 8/8 to add new artist Simon Jacobsohn.

Updated 8/7 to add new artist Mike Arnold.

Two months after announcing the next GPK set, 2017 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids Battle of the Bands, Topps began sending out invites this week to perspective sketch card artists. In a bit of a surprise the invites were not just for 2017S2, but also for 2018S1. Artists accepting will be shipped sketch cards for both sets at once. This will give the artists more time to complete the sketches for the 2018S1 set. With just over 3 months between sets, Topps is trying to stay ahead with the GPK brand so 2018S1 isn’t rushed.

For 2017S1 GPK Adam-Geddon, released back in January, Topps had 38 sketch artists take part in the set. Of those 38 it appears only 28 are confirmed to return for 2017S2, while 31 are confirmed for 2018S1. The following artists from 2017S1 Adam-Geddon will return for both 2017S2 and 2018S1; Simone Arena, Michael Barnard, Neil Camera, Daniel Contois, Jasmine Contois, Sobot Cortez, Jason Crosby, “GPK” Dave Dabila (2018S1 Only), Vincenzo “Chenduz” D’Ippolito, Patrick Giles, Cecilia Granata, Jon Gregory (2018S1 Only), Kelly Greider, Jason Heil, Marisol Henriquez, Lowell Isaac, Robert Jimenez, Matthew Kirsch, “Smokin” Joe McWilliams, Chris Meeks (2018S1 Only), Lily Mercado, Rich Molinelli, JM Monserrat, Barry Nygma, Steve Potter, Cathy Razim, Chad Scheres, Anthony Skubis, Matt Steffens, Magnus Von Robotsoon, and Dan Burn Webster. Six artists who worked on the last series are not returning for various reasons. Mainstay GPK artists Brent Engstrom and Joe Simko will continue to paint numerous base cards from in the upcoming series, but will not be working on sketch cards. Longtime GPK sketch artists and fan favorites Dustin Graham, Dennis Gortakowski, Ryan Moffet, and Sean Norvet all decided for various reasons to no longer create sketch cards. Finally Denis St. John is undecided.

Topps isn’t stopping there. As with the last few sets, there are many artists making their GPK debuts. The following artists have confirmed accepting the invites; Bryan Abston, Mike Arnold, Ro Garcia Astorga, Quinton Baker (2018S1 Only), Bobby Blakey, Sean Bolger, John Brewer, Pat Chaimuang, Dave Gacey, Josh Ginter, Joseph Grotesque, Simon Jacobsohn (2018S1 Only), Kevin Lea, Paul Mangione, Mike McHugh, Rory McQueen, Ande Moores (2018S1 Only), Victor Moreno, Darrin Pepe, Brent Scotchmer, Floyd Sumner, Gregory Tilson, Matthew White, and Gavin Williams. While a couple of these artists will be making their Topps sketch debut, the majority have worked on other Topps properties in the past. In most cases these artists have also been GPK collectors for a long time. The total of new artists for 2017S2 is 21, while 24 artists will work on 2018S1. The largest group of new artists in some time brings a record 49 artists working on 2017S2, while 2018S1 will break that mark with 55 artists.

While the number of sketch artists is increasing, their workload is getting smaller. Artists will be shipped the same number of sketch blanks for both sets. While Loaded, Panoramic, and Dual Artist Panoramic sketch numbers appear consistent with previous sets, the amount of regular and die-cut sketches has dropped versus 2017S1 Adam-Geddon. This can mean a couple of things. Most likely, sketch cards will be tougher to come by in the next two sets. Of course this is also all based on production numbers. While Topps has pre-order info for 2017S2, they have not solicited yet for 2018S1. There is no way to know at this point how much product gets ordered. If the products are popular and prove to sell well, then sketches will be very hard to pull. This will be especially true with the Shaped sketches which are now only found in Collector boxes. Topps has cut back by up to 66% on the amount issued to artists. We saw this with Adam-Geddon. Despite production being lower, sketch odds were longer than previous sets. Bottom line is, it keeps getting harder and harder to pull a sketch card in packs.

One improvement this time around compared to Adam-Geddon is the deadlines the artists have to complete sketches. Artists will have nearly two months to complete 2017S2 sketches, with a deadline in mid-Sept. The 2018S1 sketches are not due until early Dec., giving artists ample time to work on sketches. Artists had just over a month to complete sketches for Adam-Geddon, so the slightly longer deadlines should help the artists. Besides the deadlines, not much else appears to have changed with sketch card rules. Artist Return sketches still must be completed prior to the set’s release. Approval via scan by the Art Director must happen before they can be mailed to customers on the 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. Expect sketch previews to start showing up just prior to release after approval towards the end of Sept. 2017 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids Battle of the Bands is set to hit stores on Oct. 18th, 2017.

Sketch Artists Begin Work on 2017S2 & 2018S1 Sketches

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GPK artists began receiving their blank sketch cards in the mail this past weekend for the next two sets. The 48 artists who have accepted invites for either both or one of the next sets can now begin the long nights of sketching.

The sketch blanks for 2017 Series 2 Garbage Pail Kids Battle of the Bands features the Live Mike character from OS 2 on the back of the regular and panoramic sized sketches. The backs of the sketches are light blue, while the front of the regular sized sketch has a yellow name plate. The usual red banner returns to the fronts.

While not much is known about 2018 Series 1 Garbage Pail Kids, we have our first clue. The backs of the 2018S1 sketches feature the character Reuben Cube, card #277a, from OS 7. Rumors online have been the 2018S1 set will be 80’s themed. If that’s the case a character parodying a Rubik’s Cube certainly fits. The color on the backs is the same as the 2017S2 light blue. However one big change is to the banner. Instead of a white background with the red banner, it is a yellow background. The name plate on the regular sized sketch is pink for this series.

The rules around sketching look to have remained 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. Sketch artists will have to get busy quickly as Dual Artist Panoramic are due back Aug. 1. Artists will have much more time to complete the other cards of both sets. 2017S2 GPK Battle of the bands is set to launch on 10/18/17, while 2018 S1 GPK will launch sometime in Jan. 2018.