| To
help celebrate the 30th anniversary of Garbage Pail Kids, the Topps Company
licensed* its GPK franchise to several companies to manufacture during the
2015S2 GPK card release including: Funko (POP! toys; 13 figures), IDW (comics;
5 issues; micro comics cancelled), Mighty Fine (apparel; unknown), Trick or Treat
Studios (Halloween costumes; 4 masks - ZEKE Freak, Creepy CAROL, Bony TONY and
ALI Gator plus a Hallowe'en prop - Glowing AMBER) and Steve Jackson Games (dice
games; 1 game; 1 cancelled). The GPK items released varied drastically in popularity,
but Funko seems to have hit it out of the park with their POP! vinyl figures,
capturing the true nostalgic essence of the 80's sticker fad. Per Wiki: Funko was founded in 1998 by Mike Becker at his home in Snohomish, Washington. ... In 2005, Becker sold Funko to its current CEO, Brian Mariotti, who moved its offices to Lynnwood, Washington, and significantly expanded the company's licensed product lines. In 2011, Funko began selling their Pop! Vinyl line of figurines.  Def'n: License — A business arrangement in which one company gives another company permission to manufacture its product for a specified payment amount and amount of time. The irreverent gross-out brand Garbage Pail Kids is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with the launch of a comprehensive licensing program. The Topps Company, which introduced the Garbage Pail Kids sticker cards back in the 1980s, is leading the way for the anniversary with a commemorative sticker card series set to hit shelves in July. Other licensees on deck include Mighty Fine, Funko and IDW Publishing, alongside Steve Jackson Games and Trick or Treat Studios. “We're so happy to be joined by Mighty Fine, Funko, IDW and others to commemorate GPK's 30th birthday,” says Adam Levine, head of outbound licensing, Topps. “These best-in-class licensees have expressed a fan-level of excitement at producing new, groundbreaking GPK products. This speaks to the brand's enduring legacy and the continued obsession among fans of a beloved '80s brand that they grew up with." Steve Jackson Games’ limited edition Super Snot Shots game is the first product to hit retail, and is followed this spring by the Garbage Pail Kids Disgusting Dice game; while IDW recently launched its first-ever Garbage Pail Kids comic (more are planned for 2015), Funko will launch toys and figurines and Mighty Fine is collaborating for anniversary apparel. Topps will further support the anniversary and product range with a comprehensive PR campaign that includes social media outreach, media coverage, publicity and promotional activities that will be on-going throughout the year. |
| RELEASE
PERIOD : JULY 2015 To help celebrate the 30th anniversary of Garbage Pail Kids, the Topps Company licensed its popular property to several companies to manufacture during the 2015 Series 2 GPK card release, including Funko, whose first wave of figures included their attention-grabbing 10" SUPER SIZED POP of the iconic ADAM Bomb character and an assortment of twelve Mystyer Minis vinyl figures. However, no regular-sized Funko POP!s were created for this particular wave release.  GPK VINYL FIGURE : ADAM BOMB 10" SUPER SIZED POP! The iconic GPK mascot, ADAM Bomb (item # 5581), received a well deserved super-sized FUNKO POP! vinyl figure model measuring 10 inches in height and is a wonder to behold. Blasted BILLY is definitely not 'too big for his britches' (or 'boots' in the UK), living up quite nicely to his popularity ranking. The 'Imperial' blue box itself, which includes a new red GPK acronym trademark, makes a great display case for the figure and includes the 30th anniversary artwork by Joe Simko on the side with a suggested retail price of $29.99 each. Big Bad Toystore gave the following product description: "Our Adam Bomb 10” figure is the true centerpiece to our Garbage Pail Kids homage! The figure utilizes high quality material and clean design to portray the iconic foulness of Adam Bomb’s character!"  GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURES FUNKO also produced an assortment of 12 different GPK characters (item # 5538), ranging in size between 3 to 5 inches in height, covering several different Original Series sets including (L-R, T-B): Acne AMY (OS2), Bony TONY (OS4), Nasty NICK (OS1), NAT Nerd (OS5), ADAM Bomb (OS1; a smaller version compared to the 10" figure available), Tee-Vee STEVIE (OS1), New Wave DAVE (OS1), ALI Gator (OS3), Hot SCOTT (OS2), Savage STUART (OS1), JAY Decay (OS1) and Leaky LINDSAY (OS2) ... all with amazing detail and the quality of product you would expect from FUNKO. The figures come sealed within OS1 pink-colored boxes with a new, blue GPK acronym trademark with a suggested retial price of $9.99 each. Several online stores had the following product description: "Keeping these GPK a Mystery is a must … But these are not so Mini! They are 3-5” of disgustingly adorable, sickeningly sweet, vinyl like you’ve never seen." and "They trashed the '80s and 30 years later, they're here for you to collect. Each one of the 12 available Garbage Pail Kids figures is 3-3/4" of disgustingly adorable, sickeningly sweet vinyl like you've never seen. Classics like Acne Amy, Ghastly Ashley, Leaky Lindsay, and Bony Tony have never been so vivid! Each figure has a 1:12 rarity! Blind mystery box packaging." GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURES CASE All twelve characters could be purchased together in a case box which guaranteed one of each character of the set, which is a nice alternative if collecging all of the characters and dealing with mystery and blind boxes. The characters, once again, include Acne AMY (OS2), Bony TONY (OS4), Nasty NICK (OS1), NAT Nerd (OS5), ADAM Bomb (OS1; a smaller version compared to the 10" figure available), Tee-Vee STEVIE (OS1), New Wave DAVE (OS1), ALI Gator (OS3), Hot SCOTT (OS2), Savage STUART (OS1), JAY Decay (OS1) and Leaky LINDSAY (OS2). The figures come sealed within OS1 pink-colored boxes with a new, blue GPK acronym trademark and the box itself creates a wonderful store counter display case with the iconic exploding ADAM Bomb GPK character and a suggested retail price of $99.99 for the whole collection. |
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The first Sneak Peek that FUNKO had a license with
Topps for their Garbage Pail Kids product contained the FUNKO logo and a partial
GPK image, with the original ADAM Bomb mascot painting by JOHN Pound superimposed
over JOE Simko's painting.  * — The main 30th Anniversary Mascot painted by GPK artist Joe Simko was used for various packaging designs and advertising for Topps licensing program for products by Funko (POP! toys), IDW (comics), Mighty Fine (apparel), Trick or Treat Studios (Halloween masks) and Steve Jackson Games (games). The artwork also finds itself as the first two title/checklists cards within the 2015S2 30th Anniversary base set as cards 1a ADAM Bomb and 1b Blasted BILLY III.  * — The initial Concept Artwork for the FUNKO Garbage Pail Kids vinyl figures. The original product had a regular sized FUNKO POP! ADAM Bomb figure and the 12 smaller figures as regular sized FUNKO Mystery Minis ... both items became larger for the actual release. The concept artwork could first be located within the Toy Fair catalog and later images were released online.  * — The 1st Series set can be found with two, significantly Different-sized heads and production locations. The figures molded and 'Made in China' (FM#) have a larger cranium, whereas the figures molded and 'Made in Vietnam' (DRM#) have a much smaller noggin.  * — In July and August, right after the July 2015 release date for the FUNKO GPK product, Kool Toys and Games sold a Limited Edition run of 100 super-sized ADAM Bomb figures for $49.99 that contained GPK artist Joe Simko's autograph on the box side near the artwork he created for the 30th anniv. release; signed on 07/25/2016. The autograph also came accompanied by a character sketch; one or more of the 12 Mystery Mini characters. The product description details.  Adam Bomb (Garbage Pail Kids) 10" Pop! Vinyl Figure Hand Signed by Joe Simko - LE/100 Kool Toys and Games is proud to announce the 1st autographed figure in what will be a continuing series of exclusive hand signed memorabilia. Adam Bomb 10" Pop! Vinyl figure by Funko, hand signed by Garbage Pail Kids artist Joe Simko. Limited edition of only 100 pieces. Each figure includes: - Photograph collage of Joe during the signing, - Individually Numbered Kool Toys and Games Authenticated Hologram, and - Letter of Authenticity with Matching Hologram.  Joe will sign his full signature on the side of the Adam Bomb box near his artwork, along with a unique hand drawn doodle on the front! Joe Simko is a MASSIVELY talented illustrator who has contributed to Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages trading cards. His latest work can be seen on the Adam Bomb box! Even though the Garbage Pail Kids turned 30 this year, they still remain a pop culture phenomenon. The figures will be signed during a private session in late July, and shipped out first week of August. We can not take requests for special inscriptions or artwork. |
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PERIOD : JUNE 2016 To help poke fun at the Presidential candidates in GPK format, the Topps Company further licensed its popular parody franchise to the Funko vinyl figure company. The two figures were modeled after two 2016S1 Apple Pie (In Your Face!) characters released in an exclusive online GPK set via Topps.com during February 2016. Item # 10507, DONALD Dumpty, was modeled after card 1a of 9 painted by artist Joe Simko from the 2016 Presidential Candidates sticker set and item # 10508, Billary HILLARY, was modeled after card 8a of 9 painted by artist Brent Engstrom from the same set.  GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURE From the 2016 presidential campaign trail, Donald Dumpty, as a stylized Garbage Pail Kid vinyl from Funko! Figure stands 3 inches and comes in a window display box. Check out the other GPK Vinyl figures from Funko! Collect them all!. NOTE: Althought part of the 'REALLY BIG MYSTERY ? MINIS' line, due to size, the packaging has a display window.  GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURE From the 2016 presidential campaign trail, Billary Hillary, as a stylized Garbage Pail Kid vinyl from Funko! Figure stands 3 inches and comes in a window display box. Check out the other GPK Vinyl figures from Funko! Collect them all!. NOTE: Althought part of the 'REALLY BIG MYSTERY ? MINIS' line, due to size, the packaging has a display window. |
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The Funko figures were modeled
after images taken from the New Hampshire Special Edition
set of the eighteen 2016 Presidential Candidate subset cards that were released
on Topps online for a 24hr period on February 9th and 10th of 2016. The set and
Funko packaging was modeled after the Classic GPK Patriot stickers set with the
red-white-and-blue banner style logo and nameplate with all-new images not found
in the Apple Pie (In Your Face!) set. NOTE:
t hese images can be found
on the side of the Really Big Mystery Minis box packaging.   * — The Funko toys all start out as a Prototype figure. The character and image is created digitally and then sculpted. The smaller characters are often one color, in this case blue, with the attachments in a different color, in this case yellow.  * — In August and September, a few months after the June 2015 release date for the 'Presidential' FUNKO GPK product, Kool Toys and Games sold a Limited Edition run of 60 'Really Big Mystery Minis' DONALD Dumpty figures for $49.99 that contained GPK artist Joe Simko's autograph on the box front accompanied by a character doodle sketch. Kool Toys and Games also sold a Limited Edition run of 75 'Really Big Mystery Minis' DONALD Dumpty figures for $34.99 that contained GPK artist Joe Simko's autograph only (no character doodle sketch). The edited product description details:  Signed by artist Joe Simko w/ Hand Drawn Doodle - L.E. of 60 Artist Joe Simko has signed 60 of these figures on the window panel of the box and hand drew a doodle of Donald Trump as a Garbage Pail Kid. Each doodle also includes a unique or humorous quote. There are 10 different quotes (6 figures each), and it is completely random as to which one you will receive. The different quotes are: 1 - Make America Great Again!, 2 - I'm building a wall around Taco Bell, 3 - Don't Be A Loser, 4 - Eat Trump Steaks, 5 - I'm Huuge!, 6 - I'm not made in China, Vietnam - Yes, 7 - My hair is real, 8 - No Rosie O'Donnell Allowed, 9 - Toupee, or not Toupee, That is the question, 10 - You're Fired Signed by artist Joe Simko - Limited Edition of 75 The Donald Dumpty vinyl figure is based off the Garbage Pail Kids trading card of the same name. The card, which parodies presidential candidate Donald Trump, was only available for a limited time as an online exclusive through Topps. The figure is approximately 3" tall and is part of the "really big" Mystery Minis line by Funko. Each figure includes; -Individually Numbered Kool Toys & Games Authenticated Hologram, -Certificate of Authenticity with Matching Hologram Number, -Collage of photographs from our private signing with Joe  Two visual hints and information were posted to social media the two days leading up to the September 2nd release and a blind, pre-order sale was available the day before, on September 1st with a 15% discount, (L) Wednesday Image w/ DONALD Dumpty Peaking onto the Page and (R) Thursday Image w/ DONALD Dumpty Shadow Image: 1 - Garbage Pail Kids (Hmmm....Funko AND Garbage Pail Kids...that kinda narrow its down), 2 - There's only 1 figure, but there will be 2 different versions available... The first version, will be a limited edition of 75, which will be hand signed by a Garbage Pail Kids artist. The second version, will be a limited edition of 60, which will be signed by the very talented GPK artist AND include a one of a kind hand drawn GPK doodle AND quote. Of the 60, there are TEN different variants that you could get, each with a different quote. The figure will go on sale this Friday, September 2nd at 9pm est, but hardcore collectors can blind pre-order tomorrow at 9pm est and get 15% off! The LE/75 will retail for $35, and the LE/60 will retail for $50. As always, each figure will includes a KTG individually numbered hologram, a COA with a matching hologram, and a collage of photographs from our private signing. * — On July 15th, 2018 Kool Toys and Games sold a Limited Edition run of 50 'Really Big Mystery Minis' BILLARY HILLARY vinyl figures for $34.99 that contained GPK artist Brent Engstrom's autograph on the box front accompanied by a character doodle sketch. The signature and doodle were created using a blue permanent ink to corresponde with the political packaging.   Product Description: Kool Toys & Games is proud to announce the 12th autographed figure in our continuing series of exclusive hand signed memorabilia. Billary Hillary Garbage Pail Kids Vinyl Figure Signed by Brent Engstrom w/ Doodle. Amazing and talented artist Brent Engstrom has signed less than 50 of these figures for us on the window panel of the box, and hand drew a doodle of the Billary Hillary GPK. Each figure includes: Individually Numbered Kool Toys & Games Authenticated Hologram, a Certificate of Authenticity with Matching Hologram Number, and a Photograph of Brent signing the figures. |
| RELEASE
PERIOD : NOVEMBER 2016 Funko surprised collectors with a second unannounced Mystery Minis release a year and a half after Series 1. Twelve more Garbage Pail Kids characters to add to the collection of wonderfully scuplted molds. The figures come sealed within OS2 blue-colored boxes with the new, red GPK acronym trademark with a suggested retail price of $9.99 each. Several online stores had the following product description: "The popular parody stickers from the '80s are coming back to Mystery Minis! Open the blind box to find one of the classic GPK characters, like Buggy Betty, Brainy Janie, and Beasty Boyd! Collect them all!"  GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURES FUNKO produced an assortment of 12 different GPK characters (item # 10845), ranging in size between 3 to 5 inches in height, covering several different OS sets including (L-R, T-B): Buggy BETTY (OS1), Beasty BOYD (OS9; should have yellow hair), Brainy BRIAN (OS2), Crater CHRIS (OS1), Eerie ERIC (OS3), Mean GENE (OS1), Brainy JANIE (OS1), Split KIT (OS2), Richie RETCH (OS5), Fryin' RYAN (OS2), SY Clops (OS2) and KIM Kong (OS1) ... all with amazing detail and the quality of product you would expect from FUNKO. GPK VINYL (REALLY BIG) MYSTERY MINIS FIGURES CASE All 12 characters could be purchased together in a case box which guaranteed one of each character of the set, which is a nice alternative if collecging all of the characters and dealing with mystery and blind boxes. The characters, once again, include Buggy BETTY (OS1), Beasty BOYD (OS9; should have yellow hair), Brainy BRIAN (OS2), Crater CHRIS (OS1), Eerie ERIC (OS3), Mean GENE (OS1), Brainy JANIE (OS1), Split KIT (OS2), Richie RETCH (OS5), Fryin' RYAN (OS2), SY Clops (OS2) and KIM Kong (OS1). The figures come sealed within OS2 blue-colored boxes with the new, red GPK acronym trademark and the box itself creates a wonderful store counter display case with the iconic exploding ADAM Bomb GPK character and a suggested retail price of $99.99 for the whole collection. |
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An early look at the Concept Artwork for the FUNKO
Garbage Pail Kids vinyl figures 'S2'; Series 2. This image most likely taken from
the Funko catalog of upcoming sets displayed at the annual Toy Fair reveal, much
like the 'S1' before it. For
the actual release: Crater CHRIS (OS1) does not come with a tube of 'zit goo',
Brainy JANEY (OS1) has her test tube, KIM Kong (OS1) has her peeled banana, Mean
GENE (OS1) does not have a stick of dynamite or a semi-automatic rifle, Split
KIT (OS2) does not have his gun and Eerie ERIC (OS3) now has a bone.  * — The Funko POP Mystery Minis GPK figures as seen within the Funko Catalog, item numbers 10845-1 through 10845-12. NOTE: CONCEPT [ARTWORK] IS SUBJECT TO LICENSOR APPROVAL. LICENSES MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ALL TERRITORIES. This may be the the reason for the removal of the weapons located within the mock-up images above.  * — No Super-Sized POP GPK Character has been announced/released to this date. |
| RELEASE
PERIOD : MAY 2018, OCT 2018, + MAR 2021 Although Funko Garbage Pail Kids figures was absent for the year 2017 they are back for 2018—maybe not with a vengeance, but with five regular-sized POP vinyl figures—albeit, all returning characters, released in May 2018. The May release contains four characters from the first Mystery Minis 2015 release; ADAM Bomb (OS1), Acne AMY (OS2) and NAT Nerd (OS5), as well as Beasty BOYD (OS9) from the 2016 Mystery Minis release. All characters are based off of paintings by GPK god-father artist John Pound. The iconic ADAM Bomb figure gets a limited edition GITD Chase figurine. A metallic ADAM Bomb version was released for the New York Comic Con in October 2018 and shared with Toy Tokyo, limited to 3000 pieces. There are four different sticker versions for this limited edition character; see the 'GPK History' section below for further details. With the license agreement with the Topps Company, Funko has been releasing Garbage Pail Kids product for several years. Starting in 2015, during the 30th anniversary, with further installment releases in 2016 and 2018. The last set of four GPK POP!s were released in 2018, also rendered from their Mystery Minis counterparts, but collectors are still hoping for a third Mystery Minis release. Much like the first installment, the four new POP!s take character inspiration from the first two Mystery Minis releases and has a scheduled March 18, 2021 release date. A surprise fifth character, also released previously as a Mystery Mini, was announced for the ECCC 2021 convention with a March 2, 2021 street date.       GARBAGE PAIL KIDS VINYL POP FIGURES — WAVE 1 The May and October 2018 releases contain four characters from the first Mystery Minis 2015 release; ADAM Bomb (OS1), Acne AMY (OS2) and NAT Nerd (OS5), as well as Beasty BOYD (OS9) from the 2016 Mystery Minis release. In popular POP fashion, ADAM Bomb has a glow-in-the-dark Chase variation that can be found with a 1 out of 6 ratio, per case load. The London Toy Fair reveal stated: "GPK makes its Pop! debut with fan favorites like Clark Can’t, Beastly Boyd, Ghastly Ashley, and Adam Bomb! Please Note: Final Images Coming Soon. Coming in May! " — SRP $9.99ea.           GARBAGE PAIL KIDS VINYL POP FIGURES — WAVE 2 The March 2021 release contains five characters from the first two Mystery Minis releases; ADAM Bomb (OS1), Acne AMY (OS2) and NAT Nerd (OS5), as well as Beasty BOYD (OS9) from the 2016 Mystery Minis release. Instead of a metallic convention variant, as with the first GPK wave, an entirely new character was announced for the virtual Emeral City Comic Con 2021 by Funko, although the physical ECCC event had been rescheduled for December 2021. The POP!s suggested retial price for the GPK figures ran between $11—12.50 each, depending on the source, and cheaper if on sale, but the convention POP was $15. |
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An early look at the Concept Artwork for the FUNKO
Garbage Pail Kids POP vinyl figures; this image was taken from the Funko catalog
of upcoming sets displayed at the annual Toy Fair much like the previous Mystery
Minis releases. Although mentioned, the Chase variant is not pictured; he's pretty
red-in-the-face about it. —
Around March 04, 2021, two
digital 'tight pencil & ink' Artwork Pieces of
Funko POP character JAY Decay surfaced on the internet; a B&W version and
a color rough rendition. The artwork notes 'TM & © TOPPS 2021', but the
sneak peek pics posted in December 2020 show the completed toy prototypes, so
the trademark line and signature date seem off. |
