PRODUCTION ARTWORK — BITS & BOBS BACKSTORY —ANNOTATED NOMENCLATURE

DEFINITIONS TAKEN IN PART FROM THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY









BASE CARDS: 379a—417b

379a LOCKED DORIAN = Locked Door. def'n: Lock — A mechanism used to secure a door, lid, etcetera. To fasten or become fastened with a lock. def'n: Door — An entranceway to a room, building, or passage. 379b SIDNEY KIDNEY — Rhyme; the forename Sydney with the word 'kidney'. def'n: Kidney — A pair of organs in the dorsal region of the vertebrate abdominal cavity that function to maintain proper water balance, regulate acid-base concentration, and excrete metabolic wastes as urine. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's FULL BLADDER/FULL DIAPER gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. As documented on the backside of the final artwork, '379 JOINTS & CRACKS', the image illustrates a new, reworked iteration of the GPK character—as demonstrated within the new model sheets—that showcases a now hardened doll, with different facial features, and four digits on each hand; as outlined within the settlement agreement between Topps & the OAA to look less like CPK. The artwork depicts a GPKid bursting at the seams (& diaper/pants), attempting to gain entrance to a double-padlocked 'MEN's bathroom door. The gag is further driven by the character attempting to pull with his arms—whilst pushing with his legs—on the same hatchway; but the door is giving in and curving outwards, regardless. For this to actually work, the character's leg or legs would need to be pushing from the doorframe (or wall). Curiously, the entryway must be some kind of swing door, or nonsealable door, since it contains no latch nor actual closing mechanism. — The GPK character not only has two reverse card back variations, resulting in three different card backs for both names, but is also 'PUZZLE K' for one of the two 21-piece collated puzzles, as well as the display box's side character.

380a VERMIN HERMAN — Rhyme; the forename Herman with the word 'vermin'. def'n: Vermin — Any of various small animals or insects, such as cockroaches or rats, that are destructive, annoying, or injurious to health. 380b GULLIVERED TRAVIS = The book title 'Gulliver's Travels'. def'n: Gulliver, Lemuel — Hero of voyages to four imaginary regions in Jonathan Swift's satire Gulliver's Travels. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's INSECT INFESTATION gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. Although no apparent 'cracks & joints' are seen, as the previous character, the artwork depicts a GPKid being tied down by a troop of 'army' ants. An army ant (over 200 tropical species) is an aggressive predatory group of nomadic ants, commonly known for their 'raids', that forage for their prey in large columns. In the distance, the row of ants can be seen marching two-by-two, army-style, but ants tend to go marching in one-by-one. The parody is based off artwork from an 1860s edition of Gulliver's Travels, written by Jonathan Swift (& cover illustration by ?), however, there have been quite a few pieces of artwork depicting the traveler's predicament over the many years. The story (and original title, Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Lemuel Gulliver) starts out with a shipwrecked Gulliver on the Island of Lilliput, whose inhabitants are six inches tall. There are almost 70 ants depicted, and rather than seven or so tufts of hair having been staked down, the parody takes the satire further and shows individual strands of hair being spiked down. Both images show a successful take down and stake down for the army regiments, but the GPK image takes it another step further by portraying a high-flying flag where the 'body of land' has been conquered. — I'd like to point out that the 'parked' bike—leaning against the mortar-brick wall—has the less dangerous, flat, but slightly ridged, plastic pedals that your feet would often slip off of, especially when wet... rather than metal pedals with their small, gripable spikes, that—if your foot did slip off—could and would rake your leg shin raw.

381a GROUND CHUCK = Ground chuck (aka beef). def'n: Ground — Past tense of grind. def'n: Grind — To crush. To operate or produce by turning a crank. def'n: Chuck — A cut of beef extending from the neck to the ribs. 381b LEAN JEAN — Rhyme; the forename Jean with the word 'lean'. def'n: Lean — Not fleshy or fat; thin. Containing little or no fat. Meat with little or no fat. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's PUMP & GRIND gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. To make this concept work the character couldn't be a plastic doll, let alone a cloth doll, but had to be made of flesh & blood. The artwork depicts a GPKid self-operating and double-fisting a manual meat grinder while sitting within the metal basin, and pleasantly watching his own pulverized contents being pushed out. The no eyelids & oval eyes on the new GPK design make the characters look very surprised to any eye-opening experience. Per rough sketch (via Garbage Archive), by director Art Spiegelman, the self-operating purveyor of fine meats is seen with their head being pressed down on by a human hand (red ink), but the idea was dropped for the final product. On second review, the character has his head more downcast, facing the bloody outcome (black ink) and a table clamp suggested ('blue' ink). Dripping red blood was also added as a final touch to the end product. Again, no cracks or joints present within the character. — In general, Mark Newgarden often worked one-on-one with Tom Bunk, and the same can be said for Spiegelman and Warhola; with the later often driving into New York City to go over the artwork in person either at Topps or in the evenings over at Spiegelman's place. A very similar concept was created in late '84 or early '85 for the Gross Bears (Big Bad Buttons) release, but had remained unused until printed on card for the 2017 Series 1 release as number 'L3' BURGER BEAR. It's not entirely known if Spiegelman was aware of this unused concept in early 1987 though.

382a GOOD-BYE HY — Rhyme; the forename Hy with the phrase 'Good-bye'. def'n: Good-by or Good-bye — Used to express farewell. 382b FAREWELL MEL — Rhyme; the forename Mel with the word 'farewell'. def'n: Farewell — Used to say good-by. A good-by. A leave taking. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's CITY COFFIN gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid laying mysteriously dormant, but actually deader-than-a-doornob on closer inspection. Per Warhola's tight pencil, the concept had a regular Joe Schmoe placed in a regular-looking coffin, along with the other 'trash', amongst several garbage cans. A rat, spills, splatters, grafittied names, and extra garbage was added to the scene of the crime, but the character itself was changed to a mobster-like individual dressed in a pin-striped suit with an Italian-like mobster haircut. To carry the parody further, the bins were made to look like metal garbage cans, and the casket was given the same treatment, with several garbage can handles added. An evergreen funeral wreath, usually adorned and decked out with flowers, is a symbol of continuity (the circle of eternal life), but looks like a discarded Christmas wreath instead. The smiling figure, with open eyes, shows signs of livor mortis; aka hypostasis = the blue-purplish discolouration that develops in the skin of dependent parts of the body after death has visited your doorstep. — Additionally, thrown garbage is strewn throughout the painting, including banana peels, splattered egg shells, spills on the ground, and gunk remnants after something has smacked the brick wall. The names 'JOE + PAUL(INE)' and 'LEROY [ARROW THROUGH HEART]' were also scrawled on the facade, but it is unknown if these hold any special meaning to the artist or not. Cracks were also added to the head and hand of the character.

383a ITCHY MITCH — Rhyme; the forename Mitch with the word 'itch+y'. def'n: Itch — A skin sensation causing a desire to scratch. A restless desire or craving. 383b RAKED JAKE — Rhyme; the forename Jake with the word 'rake+d'. def'n: Rake — To scrape with or as with a rake. A handled garden tool with a row of projecting teeth at its head. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's SCRATCH-UNTIL-YOU-BLEED gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid using a hand-shaped back scratcher (notice the four fingers) to reach a spot to relieve themselves of the itch. Strangely, scratching triggers your skin sensory nerves to send mild pain signals to your brain, which makes your body release the pain-fighting chemical serotonin, which then can cause things to feel even itchier... so the more you scratch, the more you want to itch it. The relief is so great that it's causing the character's eyes to roll to the back of their head; or rather, upwards. Of course, as the nomenclature suggests, the character is going beyond scratching themselves and is raking their skin bloody raw instead. The 'STAR' symbole equals GOOD pain. — The original colour rough showcases several changes during the production process. From top to bottom: the blonde tuft of hair remains, but the rest of the head is now bald with a huge crack that has been added... the eye colour has been changed from blue to green... the baby's pacifier has been removed & replaced with a single tooth and an extra saliva drip... and a joint has been added to the character's arm.

384a FLAMIN' RAYMOND — Rhyme; the forename Raymond wih the word 'flame+ing'. def'n: Flame — The zone of burning gases and fine suspended particles that forms as a result of fire. Something flamelike. 384b HOT TODDY = Hot toddy. def'n: Hot — Pungent; spicy. Warmer than is normal. def'n: Toddy — A drink consisting of liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's FLAME CHURNING DRINKING FOUNTAIN (10-22 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid attempting to use a park's drinking fountain in order to quench his thirst, but is brutally burnt to a charred crisp instead. Per Pound's tight pencil artwork, the original fountain shows the flame shooting straight upwards (erased spot) but later revised to shoot more forward, towards the victim. The character's oval eyes are basically melting out of his face, and you can see the character's scorched bald head better within the tight pencil; the billowing smoke was lowered a bit for the final artwork. There does appear to be another layer of 'heat' above the flame within the tight pencil artwork, but this did not show up within the final image. — Both cards can be found with a part of the artwork missing, leaving a white 'square' area under the GPK banner, to the right of the billowing smoke, and to the left of the banner ribbon; a sample is seen on the main OS10 page. — As with many international releases that took place after the OAA settlement agreement in 1987, and listed under the GARBAGE GANG trademark (usually a rough translation), a new rectangle banner was attached over the original card layout, which covered any artwork underneath, instead of overlaying it.

385a PHIL 'ER UP = "Fill 'er (her) up."; Gas station phrase. Parody of the Cambell Soup 'Kids' mascot. def'n: Fill — To make or become full. def'n: Filling Station — A gas station. def'n: Up — From a lower to a higher position. 385b CHUCKIN' CHARLIE - Charlie; CH forename to go with the word 'chuck+ing'. def'n: Chuck — To throw out; discard. slang. To vomit. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's ASSEMBLY LINE BARF (10-23 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid slouched over an industrial assembly line, barfing into soup containers. Per tight pencil artwork you can just make out two 'erased' areas where the concept was revised, where the character was holding two utensils, most likely wooden ladle spoons. The chracter is suggestively a parody of the main Campbell Soup 'Kids' mascot that wore a chef's hat, often held a soup ladle, wore a white apron, and a kerchief (backwards). Another update was adding a joint to the arm, which appears to have been a change that took place prior to the initial thumnails and concepts were produced; adding miscellaneous cracks and joints. It's humourous to note that the work clock states 6:10pm (or am?), so either the young child labourer is working past their shift, working 2nd shift, working a late 3rd shift, or started an early 1st shift... or is working all three. — The two cards can be found with two different backs; the same comic but with either a red or a blue 'THE GARBAGE GANG' banner. A new brand name most likely created in case the lawsuit had made Topps change the GPK title. The cards can also be found with an incorrect die cut, where during a resetting of the press, the die cut was flipped upside down (for the red GARBAGE GANG banner). — An acetate card was auctioned through the Topps Vault in 2005, where card 385b had the nomenclature of 'LUKE Puke' rather than the published Chuckin' CHARLIE name. This was most likely changed considering the same nomenclature was already used for the OS5 release (for card character 170b LUKE Puke).

386a SNOTTY DOTTY — Rhyme; the forename Dotty to go with the word 'snot+ty'. def'n: Snot —slang. Nasal mucus; phlegm. 386b FROZEN FLO = Frozen flow. def'n: Frozen — Very cold. Preserved by freezing. Rendered immobile. def'n: Flow — To move or run freely in or as if in a stream. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's FREEZIN' SNEEZIN' (10-24 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid frozen stiff after a hefty sneeze, thrusting the character upwards and somewhat airborne, in flight formation. An unintentional farmer's blow on crystal crack. Some time has passed since the flow of snot had frozen; there are several inches of snow on top of the character's posterior, multiple icicle formations at the tips of the two gloves, and to the boots & scarf, plus the character's face is blue-faced frozen. Speaking of changes during any revisions... besides the change in face colour, the only other major change is the background colour, which may have just signified a nighttime atmosphere for the colour concept, but other changes may have occurred.

387a FATTY MADDIE — Rhyme; the forename Maddie with the word 'fat+ty'. def'n: Fat — Plumpness; obesity; ample; well-stocked: A fat larder. Thick; broad; large. 387b CORA CORSET — Semi-rhyme; the forename Cora with the word 'corset'. def'n: Corset — A close-fitting undergarment, often reinforced by stays, worn to support and shape the waist and hips. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's GIRDLE (GIRL) (10-03) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid during the finishing touches of lacing up her corset. Although the concept was titled 'GIRDLE' (= a band worn around the waist to circle and confine), the image and nomenclature both indicate that the corset is better suited, pun intended. A girdle tends to be a piece of elastic undergarment worn around the waist (and often buttocks) to help shape and slim the body. Whereas, a corset is centered at the waist and encompasses from the hips through the lower ribcage, and cinched in order to give an (often severe) hourglass shape. A corset is much more stiff, containing metal boning material, grommet holes & lacing, so tends to be more expensive. This particular corset is considered an 'overbust', which also provides support to the breasts. As seen within the 'pain'-ting, a corset can be very uncomfortable and painful, and quite the struggle—hence the 'concentration tongue'—to lace up by oneself.

388a FACEY TRACIE — Rhyme; the forename Tracie with the word 'face+y'. def'n: Face — The surface of the front of the head. A facial expression; countenance. 388b HEADS UPTON = Heads up. def'n: Head — Upper or anterior bodily extremity containing the brain, the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws. def'n: Heads-up — slang. Warning; notice given in advance. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's GPK OF HEADS (10-01 REV) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid made up of GPK noggins, as the title suggests. There are twenty-eight visible faces, but't', I have a sneakin' hunch that there might be at least two more—one for each buttock cheek—and possibly something for the 'twig and berries' up front as well; both hidden within the confines of his diaper. Per tight pencil and colour rough, a revision is noted, but it cannot be easily discerned; we would need to see an early thumbnail or concept sketch to clarify. However, it appears to be around the two hands, which areas have been erased and redrawn; maybe to add face-fingers, and/or to have the one 'hand' changed to bite the ear on the upper leg-face. — Minus the fourteen finger and toe faces—all giving 'OH'-pen mouth suprised looks—the actual face contains a single tooth, the torso has a snot rope hanging over the diaper, the waving arm contains three faces that are barfing, wearing sunglasses & sucking on a pacifier ('dummy' if a Brit or Aussie), the dangling arm contains three faces that are smiling, grimmacing & biting, and the legs contain three faces each as well, one looking down at the other one blowing a Bazooka gum bubble & one spitting at the other leg, one being bitten, one smoking a pipe, and the other one looking angry to having been spit upon and sticking his tongue out. Early facial emoticons.

389a DIRE RITA = Diarrhea. def'n: Diarrea or Diarrhea — Abnormally frequent bowel movements. def'n: Dire — Warning of disaster. Dreadful; disastrous. Urgent; grave. 389b OVERFLOW JOE — Rhyme; the forename Joe with the word 'overflow'. def'n: Overflow — To flow over the top, brim, or bounds. To spread or cover over. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's GIANT MONSTER FIST gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid being fisted by a monster hand, reaching out from a nether region of the toilet's plumbing. Realistically speaking, the hand is too big to even fit through the toilet basin opening, but that only adds to the surreal concept and wonderful bizarreness. As is Bunk's style, the art director would have received several iterations of the same character in various degrees of change. Per three different colour roughs, the monster hand, the toilet (and even the lid pegs), the bathroom floor, the character's hair colour, the character's tennis shoes/runners, and even clothing colour are all given a varying degree of changes. Only one edit was scrawled on one of the colour roughs, the word 'FACE', possibly to make sure the eyes remained oval in shape. — From top to bottom, flying stress sweat was added to the character early, and the mouth & tongue positioning changed a bit. Some cracks were added to one arm and both legs (that are being crushed) late in production, as we have seen with previous GPK characters. The monster's hand remained relatively the same, but the degree of colour was limited to white, green & black, so it remained muted compared to the star of the show, who was innocently just trying to bang out a banger. A belt was added at some point and remained for the final image, and a piece of gum was stuck to the bottom of one of the character's shoes. Yellow water, or urine, was tested out at some point, but remained crystal clear blue at the end. The bathroom's solid green-tiled floor won out in the end, and the dropped toilet-paper roll remained on the floor, but turned to pink TP.

390a CONNECTING DOTS = As in 'Connect the dots'. def'n: Connect — To join or become joined; link; unite. To associate or think of as related. def'n: Dot — A round mark made by or as if by a pointed instrument; spot. To mark with a dot. To cover with or as if with dots. 390b TWINNY VINNIE — Rhyme; the forename Vinnie with the word 'twin+ny'. def'n: Twin — One of two offspring born at the same birth. Consisting of two identical or similar parts. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's SIAMESE TWINS, SNOT (10-28) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a set of GPKids that are connected; the siamese twins expression became synonymous with the term conjoined twins and made popular due to the infamous Siamese-American twin brothers, Chang & Eng Bunker, who were exhibited as curiosities in the nineteenth century. The artwork also portrays the two attached twins connected by a string of shared snot. They are identical down (up?) to their single hair-curl strands. Since identical twins develop from the same embryo and separate to form the same two individuals, there is a chance of being partially re-connected during the blastocyst stage, often remaining attached at the chest, pelvis, or buttocks, and at times sharing the same organs. A nice horizon line exists in the artwork, and a little carpet pattern added to the final artwork. — A slight pet peeve of mine are stories in books and movies involving only fraternal twins (separate embryos, separate sacs) who are supposed to share 'twin telepathy'... I do believe fraternal twins are extremely close and bonded, having grown up together, but they are not genetically the same person as identical twins, who's 'soul' has split, and at times even share the same placenta... but maybe it's more interesting to have a boy & girl story. Identical twins are of course born the same sex, but it's interesting to note, although a rarity, there are identical triplets.

391a GLASS ISAAC = Glass eye. def'n: Glass — Objects made of glass. A material solidified from the molten state without crystalization. def'n: Eye — An organ of vision or of light sensitivity. 391b FALSE IRIS = False eye. def'n: False — Not natural; artificial. def'n: Eye — Something suggestive of an eye. Sight; vision. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's EYES IN GUMBALL MACHINE (10-27 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid 'standing in' for an old-fashion gumball machine, but instead of gumballs, the machine dispenses eyeballs for the vision impaired. Considering there is one brown eye sitting in the dispenser slot, and the older man is inserting another quarter, the gentleman is looking to purchase a new pair of eyes. It's a gumball-machine gamble if you're going to get the same colour iris or not. You may wonder how a blind person might be able to read the 'EYES 25¢' sign/price—and a completely blind person would not be able to (unless raised in Braille)—but if you take a look at the walking cane (or stick), an all-white cane means the person is completely blind without vision, and a white cane with a red bottom (or section) means that the user has low, but some vision. That being said, a glass eye does not give you vision, so he would need to acquire an all-white cane at some point. — Per Pound's tight pencil and colour rough artwork, the concept went through at least one revision. As you can just make out in both pieces, a regular, circular gumball machine baseplate can be seen just above the replaced humanized plate made out of two feet in a similar shape. This was done to 'doll' up the metal + glass inanimate object. Pound tend's to have a somewhat square box within his production artwork used as a focal point for the subject matter. This area is a bit more rectangle in shape and lowered by a 'gumball machine' foot to extend and lower the artwork, 'raise' the character, and shorten the window section at the top—eventually covered up at a later date by the GPK banner.

392a ANN CHOVIE = Anchovy. def'n: Anchovy — Any of various small, edible, herring-like saltwater fishes. 392b SARDINE CANDICE = Sardine can. def'n: Sardine — A small herring or related fish, often canned in oil. def'n: Can — A metal container. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's SARDINE CAN gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid prying its 'lid' or 'top' off, like opening a sardine can. The phrase "To blow your top" means to become very angry, and "To blow one's lid" is to lose one's temper, but this character is simply using a keyed-style tin process to open the top of their head revealing a row of sardines, and proceeding to snack on them. The character is pretty dressed up, in a nice patterned, collared top with lacing on the arms, a green bow, and fuzzy pink socks. An extremely interesting item to note is the off-model addition of six eyelashes to the character's eyes, which is very unique and possibly a parody of a sardine can mascot perhaps. Also, similar to the character's three fingers (and thumb), the fork has only three tines, instead of four. — I had reached out to John on May 13, 2024, to enquire about the very intriguing eyelashes, that Pound usually would have coloured in, so I wasn't sure if it was done inhouse, "I was wondering if this was part of your production artwork? I thought perhaps it might be parodying a sardine can 'mascot', since it's so out-of-character (or off model) for GPK." John got back to me the next day, stating, "Not sure what my idea was for the eyebrows, but looking at it makes me think maybe I would do really light colored hair, so I outlined them. Instead of filling them in. To contrast with the little dark eyebrows."

393a JESS EXPRESS — Rhyme; the forename Jess with the word 'express'. def'n: Express — To send by rapid transport (rapid direct transportation). Direct, rapid, and not making local stops. An express train, bus, etc. 393b CHOO-CHOO TRINA = Choo-choo train. def'n: Train — A string of connected railroad cars. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's SUBWAY CAR gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid 'dressed' as a dilapidated transportation train car, that has seen better days. Per Bunk's original tight pencil artwork, a majority of the concepts and ideas translated over to the final artwork, including the teenager leaning out of the window tagging the side of the train, and the older female character being held up at gun point, but a bottle being tossed out the back window is all the way outside the car rather than inside. The character's face for the final artwork has two fully opened and operating eyes, two little lights and facial cracks added, along with 'ADAM BOMB' tagged on his chin. Most of the spray-painted names and words remain the same, including 'SNOT', 'BARF', '(BAD) BEN' (possibly named for Tom's infant son), 'HOT ROD', EERIE ERIC', 'JAY DECAY' (listed twice for the final), but 'STINKY JEFF' replaced 'BAD BOB' (which was moved), and changed to 'JUNKY JEFF' and the kid is now tagging 'STINKIN...' instead. Additional nomenclature includes 'SHORT MORT', 'ARMPIT BRITT', 'PEEPING TOM' (possibly named for the artist), and a few random names such as 'TIM', 'BERRY', etcetera.

394a BARB WIRE = Barbed wire. def'n: Barbed wire — Twisted strands of fence wire with barbs at regular intervals. 394b PLAY PENNY = Playpen. def'n: Playpen — A portable enclosure in which a baby can be left to play. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's "PLAY"PEN gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid entrapped within a high-security holding enclosure. The permanent structure is placed in the center of a living room within a peaceful coastal neighourhood, as seen through the picture-esque windowscape. The structure warns of "DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE", is walled & surrounded by barbed wire and two floodlights. In comparison to civil clothing, prison unforms are visually distinctive in order to identify any escapee as a prisoner. Early prison garments had vertical stripes, to represent prison bars, and later iterations had horizontal stripes or a bright solid colour. The 19th century prison garb looked almost like pajamas and was accessorized with a pillbox hat. The character on house arrest is wearing blue-and-white pinstriped clothing while his fellow inmate, potential best friend, and sleepmate, the sad teddy bear, dons a red-and-white pinstriped uniform. The barred playpen might also be the prisoner's crib as well, choosing one of the four cold corners for his sleeping quarters. The non-free range area is adorned with a plethora of vintage and newer toys, including a spinning top, toy block, striped ball, Mr. Potato Head, a police car (to re-enact failed getaways), among other playtime paraphernalia.

395a PAVED DAVE — Rhyme; the forename Dave with the word 'pave+d'. def'n: Pave — To cover with a hard, smooth surface for travel. 395b RUN-OVER GROVER — Rhyme; the forename Grover with the words 'run-over'. def'n: Run — (Run down) To collide with and knock down. def'n: Over — On or above and across. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's FAILED HITCHHIKER gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid whose hitchhiking attempt has gone awry, who can still be seen smiling without his spirit being smashed & broken—just his entire body. The character can be seen holding a rolled sleeping mat (might be too thin for an actual sleeping bag). The only change from Bunk's tight pencil to the final artwork is that the drooping shoelace is a bit more uplifting, along with his enthusiastic hitchhiker's thumb, and a bit of texture added to the sole of the shoes. Although no cracks appear on the flattended character, plenty have been added to the pavement.

396a CREAMED GENE — Semi-rhyme; the forename Gene with the word 'cream+ed'. def'n: Cream — To beat to a creamy consistency. slang. To hit. 396b CLOBBERED BOB — Rhyme; the forename Bob with the word 'clobber+ed'. def'n: Clobber —slang. To hit or pound with great force. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's HORSESHOES gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid being used as a stake within a horseshoes game. Horseshoes is a lawn game played between two players using four horseshoes and two targets used for calculating point tallies and set up in a yard, park, or sandbox area. The initial two colour rough images by Bunk contained six horseshoes thrown at the bust of a character buried into the ground; the first not having any stake in the background, and the second rough suggesting that a 'STAKE' and 'GRASS' be added, to the top of the head and around the character, respectively, which was noted on the right-hand margin. The third colour rough is the only image that contains only five horseshoes, the sixth horseshoe having been removed from around the character's neck and set off to the side. The tight pencil was most likely sketched to secure the overall concept prior to the final artwork being created, and reduced the number of 'seeing stars' from three to two.

397a CLEANED UP CLINT = As in "Clean up (the) lint". def'n: Clean up — The act or process of cleaning up. def'n: Clean — Free from dirt. def'n: Lint — Clinging bits of fiber and fluff; fuzz. 397b SUCKED UP STEFAN = As in "Suck up (the) stuff.". def'n: Suck — To draw in by or as if by suction. def'n: Up — Moving or directed upward. def'n: Stuff — Unspecified material. To block or stop up; plug. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's VACUUMING UP SELF (10-18 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid who's being violently sucked up by his own vacuum cleaner. The suction must be exceptional considering a cat can be seen also being vacuumed up, with it's claws out and slowing down the eventual outcome with the carpet. The vacuum cleaner is modeled after vintage or retro cleaners of the 70s which were compact and rolling floor models (three wheels). Keeping the eyebrows on the skull gives the character more facial expression. Per Pound's tight pencil and colour rough, at least one revision took place. You can just make out a second skeleton arm underneath the character's left arm holding the neck of the vacuum hose, and a second deskinned arm that has been erased above the same area. — The GPK character is also 'PUZZLE L' for one of the two 21-piece collated puzzles.

398a SKIIN' IAN — Rhyme; the forename Ian with the word 'ski+ing'. def'n: Ski - To travel by skis, especially as a sport. One of a pair of long, flat funners attached to a boot for gliding over snow. 398b SHEARED SHERWOOD = Sheared (Sher)wood. def'n: Shear — To remove by cutting. To cut with or as if with shears. def'n: Sherwood Forest — A royal forest near Nottingham, England, where Robin Hood & his men allegedly lived. def'n: Wood — Trees or parts of trees cut up into boards, planks, etc. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's CROSS SECTION gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid skiing down a mountain slope and eventually being severed in half. The interior innards shows a perfect cross section of the character's skeletal and organ systems. There appears to be a possible heart or bloody tissue remnant on the lowest limb of the tree; although this area is on top of the GPK header within the sticker image, the red font obscures it, whereas a blue font would not have. Some liberties were taken to really drive this concept home; a tree wouldn't necesarily cut a human in half, and ski slopes tend to be within the foothills of mountains, where more trees are present, not really above the 'tree line' up in the actual mountains, but the humour of the character being that bad of a skiier and hitting the only tree is not lost on us!

399a DIRTY FLORA = Dirty floor. def'n: Dirty — Soiled; grimy. To make or become soiled. def'n: Floor — The surface of a room on which one stands. 399b GINA CLEANER — Semi-rhym; the forename Gina with the word 'clean+er'. def'n: Clean — Free from dirt or impurities. To make or become clean. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's WET MOP gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid having been turned upside down and being used as a janitor's floor mop. The character most likely came as a set with the (mop &) bucket with wringer seen in the background. The human janitor is seen vigorously mopping up the muddied footprints on the floor. The moppy, stringy-like hair is dolled up with a blue bow. Instead of just a mop handle attached to a mop-like head, the concept adds a pair of legs at the very end of the mop handle and two arms, this not making it feel or look like an inanimate object.

400a VARICOSE WAYNE = Varicose vein. def'n: Varicose — Abnormally dilated and knotted. def'n: Vein — A vessel through which blood returns to the heart. 400b ELAINE VEIN — Rhyme; the forename Elaine with the word 'vein'. def'n: Vein — To mark, form, or decorate with or as if with veins. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's VARICOSE VEINS - HEAD (10-30 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid with an ultra veiny noggin, with heavily knotted vessels. The Kid is made cute by adding a spit dribble from his single toofer and dressing him in a toddler-style 'overalls' with buttons. Per Pound's tight pencil sketch, at least one revision took place during the production stage and after the thumbnail and conceptual stage. Both the eyeball socket area and under the chin have been erased; this may have been to reduce the amount of veins and to show a bit more skin for the chin area, and smaller 'bloodshot' veins may have been touched up for the whites of the eyes. For portrait shots, Pound tends to extend the arms and torso areas for the production pieces, where you can see a bit more of the clothing section below. — The chosen mascot was used for the box and wrapper images, with the final artwork most likely noted on the backside. Both the 'GARBAGE PAIL KIDS' and 'STICKERS' banners cut off the character at the chest for both the box and the wrapper, respectively. Artist Tom Bunk would have received the packaging character early, to render the artwork for the wrapper, which explains the lengthened arms. Since a 'purplish' colour was being used for the veins, it was also used for the bib overalls, and the buttons were coloured red and the shirt blue, to possibly stick out better, and make use of the red used for the bloodshot eyes.

401a VIV E. SECTION = Vivisection. def'n: Vivisection — The act of cutting into or dissecting a living animal, especially for scientific research. 401b DISECT ED = Disected. def'n: Di — pref. Twice, double, or two. def'n: — Sect - suff. Cut; divide; bisect. def'n: Bisect — To cut or divide into two equal parts. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's SCHOOL DISECTION gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid being cut open and studied by a frog, a total role reversal from a student dissecting an amphibian. Per Bunk's colour artwork (bottom right), the frog's face is splattered with blood and the character's heart is shown as the popular heart shape (first appearing in an illustrated poem by Italian Francesco Barberino) instead of a real organ heart. The second colour artwork fixes the heart depiction, removes the facial splatter, and adds a disecting scalpel blade. One side notation states 'FIX FROG'—perhaps so the lab coat wearing amphibian didn't look like Frog and Toad—and also a sketch of a petri dish that stated, '1 OR 2'. Per Tom's updated tight pencil artwork, two dishes were indeed added & bowls removed, a "T-pin" added to the leg, to stop the from character potentially kicking, & the one in the arm moved to the hand, the frog's eyes corrected, a pair of tweezers (pinching an organ tube) replacing the scalpel, a pair of spectacles added to frog's snout, the frog's right hand removed from holding open the patient's body cavity, and the character's legs straightened out. Per final artwork, the glasses did not make the cut, the blood was removed from the tools in the background, cracks added to the leg and hand, the Kid's eyes now downcasted & watching the ordeal unfold, a fetus added to the jar in the background, and the eyeballs moved one jar over.

402a LUNCHPAIL GAIL — Rhyme; the forename Gail with the word 'lunchpail'. def'n: Lunch — A meal eaten at midday. def'n: Pail — A cylindrical vessel with a handle; bucket. 402b LUNCHBOX STU = Lunchbox stew. def'n: Lunch — A meal eaten at midday. def'n: Box — A rectangular container often with a lid. def'n: Stew — A dish cooked by stewing, a mixture of meat and vegetables with stock. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's NON-CAFETERIA FOOD gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. Much like card #401, the artwork depicts a GPKid with a bloodied hearts and guts. A strange cut-of-meat for a student to pick to eat, or for a mom to pack! Even shut inside a child's metal lunchbox, and squeezed beside a liquid thermos, the character is still very happy-go-lucky and smiling gleefully. The artwork around the open lunchbox shows a boy chasing a girl, and the two characters picking their noses. The human has his lunchbox on top of a cafeteria tray, which you don't often see if/when you bring your own lunch from home, but perhaps because they grabbed a milk. Note the small milk carton has a child 'WANTED' advert on it, rather than the much more common 'MISSING' lunchtime scare. — The card can be found with an incorrect die cut, where during a resetting of the press, the die cut was flipped upside down; the incorrect die-cut goes through the 'PEEL HERE' arrow instead of correctly underneath it. See the 'PEEL HERE : DIE-CUTS' section further below for a comparison.

403a HUNTER PUNTER — Rhyme; the name Hunter with the word 'punt+er'. def'n: Punt — A kick in which a football is dropped and kicked before touching the ground. def'n: Punter — The football player that kicks the ball. 403b FRACTURED FRANCIS — Francis; FR name to go with the word 'fracture+d'. def'n: Fracture — The act or process of breaking. The condition of being broken. A break, rupture, or crack, as in bone or cartilage. BITS & BOBS: — Wray's FOOTBALL FIELDGOAL KICK gag was the only concept approved by Topps that Bill executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid kicking a football and his foot and leg being smashed to smithereens. Hopefully that leg and foot was insured. Artist Bill Wray, who later went on to do incredible work with Ren and Stimpy, was asked to draw a GPK by Art Spiegelman. "I was heavily art directed so it's hard to tell if the piece was touched up or not. I can tell that it's my painting, one of the giveaways it's mine is how the color is kind of normal, Topps wanted garish color."—Bill Wray. Because Art was so busy, he was unable to art direct Bill, so no other work was completed or commissioned. The backside, with art approved by Mark Newgarden 'OKAY BY MARK', is numbered '403' for the set and has been stamped in the lower right hand corner with a gurning face (def'n: to make a grotesque face). When Bill was questioned about this peculiar stamp, Mr. Wray had this to say, "The stamp was bought at a stamp shop (and) just used for fun. I was excited to work for Mark and Art, but Art had a baby—just after that—and I could not make him happy with my next sketch and he was very busy; so that was it." For anyone growing up on the Ripley's Believe It or Not program, this image might look somewhat familiar, J.T. Saylors' (aka Rubber Face) mug was used as their logo for their odditoriums. Thanks to collector Jason Alexander for the additional investigation and information. — Besides the one GPK piece that was created and published for cards 403a HUNTER Punter and 403b Fractured FRANCIS, another rough sketch was turned in several times but never used which was the idea of a body builder's arm with the Kid's head as a bicep muscle.

404a AIRY MAIRY — Rhyme; the forename Mary with the word 'airy'. def'n: Airy — Of or like the air. Open to the air; breezy. 404b HISSY MISSIE — Rhyme; the forename Missie with the word 'hiss+y'. def'n: Hiss — A sharp, sibilant sound. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's BIKE TIRE TUBE gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid pumping up their head as if a bicycle's tire inner tube. The tire pump is attached to one of the character's nostril holes, instead of the inner tube valve. The inner tube, that contains the character's ears and hair patch, has no less than four patched-up repairs, and four holes (including one ear hole). The character's entire body, arms plus legs, is also made out of the black, rubber material. — Strangely, and surprisingling, card #404 is the only OS10 character that has a blue Garbage Pail Kids header; the rest are ALL red. Perhaps it was changed to blue so the red hair bow wasn't lost in the header.

405a OVER-RIPE MELANIE = Over-ripe melon. def'n: Over — In addition or excess. def'n: Ripe — Fully grown and developed; mature: A ripe melon. def'n: Melon — Any of several fruits, as a cantalope or watermelon, having a hard rind and juicy flesh. 405b WALTER MELON = Watermelon. def'n: Watermelon — The fruit of the watermelon, an african vine cultivated for its large edible fruit, having a hard green rind and sweet, watery reddish flesh. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's WATERMELON gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid made up of melon and being carved up and served. The character's left arm has already been cut off and assumingly consumed, considering the amount of spitted seeds on the outdoor tablecloth (usu. made out of oilcloth or vinyl). A section of the character's head and torso has also been carved out, with at least three bites taken out of the 'flesh'/pulp of the melon, laving a pool of blood-like watermelon juice... attracting no less than ten flies to the sticky substance. A huge knife has been stuck into the character's right leg, stabbed through the 'skin'/peel of the melon as a placeholder. Art Spiegelman's rough concept (via Garbage Archive) gave an overall idea of the composition with a description of 'WALTER MELON ON PICNIC TABLE', which gave some early nomenclature for the card character. The knife, paper plates, two forks, and the table's picnic tablecloth pattern followed. The carved watermelon slice gives a nice & fun cross section of the character's face within the rind of the fruit.

406a SHOPPING CARTER = Shopping cart. def'n: Shop — A place where things are sold. def'n: Cart — A small, light vehicle moved by hand. 407b SUPER MARCUS = Supermarket. def'n: Supermarket — A large self-service retail store selling food an household goods. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's SHOPPING CART gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid being pressed down at the bottom of a grocery store shopping cart. Of course, this concept would not work if the doll was made out of hard plastic that could crack, so the character is a soft, squishy material instead, so that he could be squeezed through the cart's basket grid. The cart is apparently not equipped with a child seat section, and the parent has apparently forgetten about their existence. Per artwork, the shopper is hitting the last area of the store, the frozen food and refrigerated section, grabbing 'VIT. D MILK' and possibly ice cream next. The kid may have been drinking tomato juice at one point, the open can can be seen dripping a red liquid onto the top of the victim's head. A large portion of the groceries is not as detailed, possibly to keep your eyes drawn down to the character. A single roll of TP is usually single-ply and pretty rough on the derriére. — The trading card contains a rarer occurrence, where the Garbage Pail Kids header is used as part of the running gag; the grocery shopper, in their haste, has added it to their shopping cart.

407a CRACKED SHELDON = Cracked shell. def'n: Crack — To break or cause to break with a sharp sound. To break open or into. def'n: Shell — A hard outer covering that encases an egg, fruit, or nut. 407b WALLY WALNUT — Wally; W forename to go with the word 'walnut'. def'n: Walnut — The hard, dark brown wood of a walnut. The nut of a walnut. An edible nut. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's CRACKED WALNUT gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts an inanimate GPKid who's head is bascially a walnut and not much else. It seems like most houses had these nutcracker (& picking tools) back in the 70s and 80s, I know our did and I would play with them a lot. Per Bunk's colour rough artwork, the teeth are intact, which remains for the final artwork, a pain 'star' is added, but the eyes are squeezed tight shut, instead of just closed. Per Bunk's tight pencil artwork, the character was drawn with suggested teeth flying out due to breakage and the sheer pressure of having your melon pressed. A couple more pain 'stars' are added for the final artwork piece; often seen depicted in cartoons & comics.

WHAT IF?

408a / L16a HOLE IN JUAN = Hole in one. def'n: Hole in one — golf/noun. A shot that enters the hole on the course from the tee with no intervening shots. 408b / L16b LOUIE KABLOOEY — Rhyme; the forename Louie with the word 'kablooey'. def'n: Kablooey — informal. To suffer complete destruction or ruin, especially in a sudden or spectacular way. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's TRIGGER HAPPY gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid using his trigger-happy tongue to shoot a hole through his head. This may be a parody of an underground comix image, or even the number of suicides committed by businessmen due to problems relating to their job environment and work stress. The character was intended for card 408a Hole In JUAN and 408b LOUIE Kablooey, but much like the OS16 unpublished Tom Bunk gun piece, it was pulled at the last minute for the sensitive topic of suicide and replaced with cards 408a Lickin' LEON and 408b Rat-Sucker RANDALL. — An acetate card was auctioned through the Topps Vault in 2005, where an unpublished character with the card number 408b and nomenclature of 'LOUIE Kablooey' was posted. — The card for 408a Hole In JUAN was finally released in the Abrams 2012 Garbage Pail Kids book detailing the original series artwork for the first five GPK sets as bonus card #1 of 4.

408a LICKIN' LEON — Leon; L forename to go with the word 'lick+ing'. def'n: Lick — To pass the tongue over. The act of licking. 408b RAT-SUCKER RANDALL — Randall; R forename to go with the words 'rat-sucker'. def'n: Rat — Any of various long-tailed, often destructive rodents similar but larger than a mouse. def'n: Sucker — A lollipop. One that sucks. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's FROZEN DESSERT gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid licking a frozen rat-on-a-stick as if a customary delicacy. Per Bunk's rough colour artwork, and his usual abundance of samples, the 'ICE RAT' cart was situated within more of a tropical setting, as seen with the palm trees above and ocean in the background. The rat, or rather, what's left of him, started out as just a rat-head-on-a-stick, but soon took on the full embodiment, or his 'full body', of a frozen treat and his tail became a convenient hand-holding instrument. For the third colour rough, the kid was removed from the street side of things, the 'boardwalk', and moved to they sandy beach, on the other side of the seller's cart. This iteration also changed the character into a t-shirt, removing the botton-down shirts and bow ties. The t-shirt shows the Garbage Pail Kids acronym 'GPK', (stylized as 'G.P.K.'). The character's tongue also becomes elongated for this version, and the eyes closed to show his dreamy pleasure. The right-hand column had one suggested change that simply read 'CONEY ISLAND'. Per Bunk's tight pencil, the Coney Island area was added to the concept, mainly the Luna Park section which includes the entertainments area's roller coasters. The character's tongue appears to have canker-like sores, possibly from overlicking the rough fur and germy feet of the rodent desserts. The line '23 FLAVORS' has been added to the side of the cart (next to the ice cream cone), similar to Baskin-Robbins' 31 flavors phrase, but a number added and then flipped. Like many densely populated areas, the rats in New York City are widespread, and in NYC are considered a cultural symbol of the city. What a treat!

409a TILTIN' MILTON — Rhyme; the forename Milton with the word 'tilt+ing'. def'n: Tilt — To slope or cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline. 409b AMAZING MASON — Semi-rhyme; the forename Mason with the word 'amaze+ing'. def'n: Amaze — To fill with surprise or wonder; astonish. def'n: Maze — A network of paths designed as a puzzle through which one has to find a way. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's MOVEABLE MAZE-FACE, EYEBALLS (10-40 REV.) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid working a ball through his face-puzzle. These circular or square vintage wooden maze labyrinths tend to have a deposit slot if the ball falls through a hole during the game. The board face is the character's face, flattened, and the eyesockets are holes for the balls (or rather, eyeballs), the ears maneuvers the movement of the board. The nose is the only 'bumper' issue, and two teeth block the mouth hole. Per Pound's tight pencil artwork, the concept went through at least one revision... possibly the shortening of the teeth.

410a SCRATCHING POLE PAUL — Semi-rhyme; the forename Paul with the word (scratching) 'pole'. def'n: Scratching pole — A cat's scratching post. def'n: Scratch — To use the nails or claws to dig, scrape, or wound. A mark or wound produced by scratching. def'n: Pole — A long slender piece of wood or other material. 410b CLAWED CLAUDE — Rhyme; the forename Claude with the word 'claw+ed'. def'n: Claw — A sharp, often curved nail on the toe of an animal. To scratch or dig with or as if with claws. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's SCRATCHING POST gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid standing stoically still while pleasantly being cat-scratch-fevered. The character is peppered with a plethora of paw-claw marks. Per Art Spiegelman's early doodle sketch (via Garbage Archive), it gives a very rough concept of the character as a scratching post on a wooden plinth, the feline scratching away, and a lightsocket in the background, along with another image on the floor—possibly the food dish seen within the final artwork moved to the forefront. A ball of yarn was eventually added to the concept and the character's left ear added to the top of the plinth after having been scratched off.

411a VAN PIRE = Vampire. def'n: Vampire — A reanimated corpse that is believed to rise from the grave at night to suck the blood of victims. 411b BUD SUCKER = Blood sucker. def'n: Blood — The fluid circulated by the heart throughout the body. def'n: Sucker — One that sucks. def'n: Suck — To draw (liquid) into the mouth by inhaling. BITS & BOBS: — Warhola's VAMP BLOOD TRANSFUSION gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that James executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a "VAMPIRE KID GIVING BLOOD TO SELF" as described on Art Spiegelman's rough concept sketch. Per artwork, the 'Heart Rate Variability' chart appears to be almost off-the-charts. The self medicating vampire seems quite content in camping out for a while, laying in a comfy bed with some soft pink sleepers (with bat flaps). Plus, his vampiric friends are roosting and flying about to visit him. The open blood container does not seem very sterile, but I'm not sure how vulnerable or susceptible the undead are to pathogens. Per Warhola's head studies from 1987, James was getting down the angle of the head, and the character engaging the viewer/audience with his hypnotizing eyes.

412a MIXED-UP TRIXIE — Semi-rhyme; the forename Trixie with the words 'mix+ed-up'. def'n: Mix-up — A confused situation; a muddle. def'n: Muddle — To mix confusedly; jumble. def'n: Mix — To combine or blend. To form by blending. To join. 412b DOUGHY CHLOE — Rhyme; the forename Chloe with the word 'dough+y'. def'n: Dough — A thick, pliable mixture of flour and other ingredients that can be rolled or kneaded for pastries. A mass similar to dough. Doughy adj. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's FACE IN MIXING BOWL (10-4) gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid face-diving into a mixing bowl and the contents of their head acting as a dough-like substance. To add self-insult to self-injury, the character is hand-cranking a manual mixing instrument, rather than an electric blender. Although the doll doesn't follow the new GPK model, not having a hard plastic body and no cracks & joints, the face is so mixed up that you couldn't really identify it as a GPK v. CPK. Per Pound's tight pencil and colour rough artwork, the piece went through zero revisions, although subtle changes may have taken place between any potential thumbnail sketches and the art production by Pound.

413a BARNYARD BARNEY — Rhyme; the similar-sounding forename Barney with the name 'barnyard'. A parody of the painting 'American Gothic' by Grant Wood (1930). def'n: Barnyard — The often enclosed yard surrounding a barn. 413b DICK HICK — Rhyme; the forename Dick with the word 'hick'. def'n: Hick — informal. A gullible, provincial person; yokel. def'n: Yokel — A simple country person; bumpkin. def'n: Bumpkin — An awkward or unsophisticated person. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's AMERICAN GOTHIC gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid, or rather, a GPAdult in the same scene and stance as the 'American Gothic' painting created by Grant Wood in 1930. While Wood was visiting Eldon, Iowa, a small wood farmhouse with a single Carpenter Gothic-style window had caught his eye; he had his sister and his dentist stand in for the farmer and his daughter and visualized 'American Gothic' people with elongated faces to match the window structure. — Per Bunk's early tight pencil and rough colour artwork, the dog stuck on the farmer's pitchfork was much uglier in appearance and the daughter had a more disgusted look on her face. You can just make out the pig peeking around her elbow in this colour rough, which contained the following art direction notated off to the left of the image: 'her head smaller - mouth a little open' and 'CUTE dog'. The daugther's tongue make's a quick appearance in the second tight pencil artwork, where the dog's eye(s) is/(are) wide open. The second rough colour and final artwork shows the daughter's face with a more surprised or startled look, the dog is much cuter, and the farmhouse in a more dilapidated state.

414a UMBILICAL COURTNEY = Umbilical cord. def'n: Unbilical cord — The flexible cordlike structure that extends from the navel of a fetus to the placenta, containing blood vessels that nourish and remove wastes. 414b YO YOLANDA = Yo yo. def'n: Yo-yo — A toy consisting of a flattened spool wound with string that is spun down from and reeled up to the hand by winding and unwinding the string. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's YO-YO gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a miniaturized GPKid being used as a 'human' yo-yo with its umbilical cord being used as the string; the average length of an umbilical cord is 50-60cm, but the range is from 30-100cm. In 1866, Haven & Hettrich (of Ohio) secured a patent for a 'whirligig', whereas Donald F. Duncan bought the rights to the term 'yo-yo' in the 1920s. Note, the 'official' length of a yo-yo string is measured from the floor to the height of one's stomach or belly button, when the string is tied to one's finger, roughly 3" above the naval. The character's tongue is sticking out gleefully, and this is the first time in a while, for this set, that we see joints at the elbows and knees, but a crack is seen on the head, most likely caused by hitting the hard pavement. Two other GPK-like characters are in the background demonstrating the toy fad.

415a ERASED ERICA — Erica; ER forename to go with the word 'erase+d'. def'n: Erase — To remove (something written or drawn) by rubbing. To remove all traces of. 415b WIPED OUT WINNIE — Winnie; W forename to go with the words 'wipe+d out'. def'n: Wipe — To rub, as with a cloth or paper. To remove by or as if by rubbing. def'n: Wipe out - To destroy completely. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's ERADICATED gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a 3D GPKid being erased as if part of the 2D chalkboard. The teacher or instructor is holding a 'CHALKBOARD ERASER', erasing the mathematical equations on the board, but going well beyond the plane of the chalkboard's existence and also eradicating the student in the process. The character appears to be standing at the front of the class, reading out possible math problems and their answers. The teacher isn't listening or paying attention.

416a SHOOTIN' NEWTON — Rhyme; the forename Newton with the word 'shoot+ing'. def'n: Shoot — To hit, wound, or kill from a weapon. To discharge from a weapon. 416b SHERMAN TANK = Sherman tank. def'n: Sherman tank — The main American battle tank during World War II, weighing 35 tons with a 40 caliber cannon. def'n: Tank — An enclosed, heavily armored combat vehicle mounted with a cannon and guns and moving on treads. BITS & BOBS: — Pound's ARMY TANK gag was one of several approved concepts by Topps that John executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid riding in a baby carriage (or pram) decked out as an army tank, with caterpillar treads and a machine gun. The off-road vehicle has cut across a designated walking path, tearing up the grass. A squirrel is seen in the distance just getting out of harm's way. The infant is sucking profusely on a pacifier taking aim at anything within his destrutive path, with his finger constantly on the trigger and gun shells flying in the air. — The final card image might have the most interesting GPK header for the whole U.S. original run; the trees aren't necessarily placed over the banner, as per usual, where you can still read the logo, but they actually trauncate the header from both sides. Maybe they're camoflauge trees. Tank Cutaway: 1 – Lifting ring, 2 – Ventilator, 3 – Turret hatch, 4 – Periscope, 5 – Turret hatch race, 6 – Turret seat, 7 – Gunner’s seat, 8 – Turret seat, 9 – Turret, 10 – Air cleaner, 11 – Radiator filler cover, 12 – Air cleaner manifold, 13 – Power unit, 14 – Exhaust pipe, 15 – Track idler, 16 – Single water pump, 17 – Radiator, 18 – Generator, 19 – Rear propeller shaft, 20 – Turret basket, 21 – Slip ring, 22 – Front propeller shaft, 23 – Suspension bogie, 24 – Transmission, 25 – Main drive sprocket, 26 – Driver’s seat, 27 – Machine gunner’s seat, 28 – 75 mm gun, 29 – Drivers hatch, 30 – M1919A4 machine gun. Source: stephentaylorhistorian.com/2018/09/05/sherman-tank-inside-and-out/

417a HANGING HARRIET — Harriet; H forename to go with the word 'hang+ing'. def'n: Hanging — Something hung. def'n: Hang — To fasten or be fastened from above with no support from below. To suspend or to be suspended. 417b SWINGIN' SOPHIE — Sophie; S forename to go with the word 'swing+ing'. def'n: Swing — To move or cause to move backward and forward. To hang freely. The act of swinging. BITS & BOBS: — Bunk's AMERICAN HANG IN THERE was one of several approved concepts by Topps that Tom executed for the OS10 set. The artwork depicts a GPKid just hanging around on a swingset, but with her pigtails tied to the frame. Per Bunk's original colour rough, the school yard prank takes place during the day, and the so-called smiling victim must've been swinging for some time since there are spiderwebs forming. The colour rough was most likely a previously unused concept, since the old GPK model is apparent; ten fingers, CPK eyes, etcetera. The reworked idea sees the character within a night-time setting, a full moon & stars scenery, and crying about her lonely predicament. The character is updated with new attire, bowstrings, and some joints for her arms & legs.

— The original GPK sets all had unique die-cuts for their sticker outline,
adopted from the Wacky Packages franchise.