Several changes occured for the
3rd Series Garbage Pail Kids release — aka Original Series
3 or OS3, for short — with
the most impactful being the inclusion of another full-time freelance artist for
the front side of the cards, next to artist John Pound, but the set remained very
cohesive due to the art direction. Tom Bunk who worked on the reverse card artwork
for the OS1 and OS2 releases, and had experience working solely on the Gross Bears
Big Bad Buttons set, was brought on board to work on card fronts for the OS3 release,
as well as Topps testing out employee Mae Jeon from the Art Department —
whom had worked on “paste-ups, mechanicals, photo airbrush work, baseball
card designs, printing schedules & etc.” per art director Mark Newgarden
— to fill in for any touch-ups, deadlines or emergencies; this would be the
only main GPK set Jeon worked on along with the Giant Series release. Production
of GPK had increased twofold and the NPD Department heads and above wanted additional
hands-on for assurance purposes and be able to roll out future sets as fast as
possible. This, coincidentally, was a complete surprise to John Pound who was
not aware of these changes until after the official street date release and he
saw the changes in person, or rather, in hand.

•

ARTISTS : JOHN POUND, TOM BUNK & MAE JEON
WRITERS
: MARK NEWGARDEN & ART SPIEGELMAN

88
CARD SET : 82 BASE + 6 VARIATIONS
VARIATIONS : 84a, 84b, 110a, 110b, 113a
+ 113b
132 TOTAL CARD SET : 88 CARDS + 40 CHANGES + 4 ERRORS
CHANGES :
40 COPYRIGHT + 4 DIE-CUT ERRORS

•

Other
changes included a trademark line (© 1986 TOPPS CHEWING GUM,
INC. PRNT. IN U.S.A.) added to the front of puzzle pieces and puzzle preview
cards for the second and third production runs of the release; with any sealed
pack it’s impossible to identify the production run or what cards the pack contains
with any amount of certainty since retail and hobby pack codes are hidden when
sealed and both were packaged within the same product code boxes. The copyright
may have been added at some point mid-production; a “-02-” uncut sheet
may exist without the copyright trademark line on the front of the cards.

Topps dealt with the supply and demand by printing some packaging product
in Canada for the third print run while OS4 was beginning production in the U.S.;
the Canadian cards tend to have slightly rougher, jagged edge, similar to the
OS4, OS5, OS9 and OPC OS1 cards with Canada information on the wrappers. The OS3
set is the only GPK release with the original curved header to have a red or blue
registered trademark ® symbol printed in either red or blue to match the GPK
title colour instead of black; the new banner-style header for OS10-OS15 have
the red or blue trademark symbols, as well. The resetting of the press and the
die cutting machine resulted in several die-cut errors for this release for the
later production runs.

UNCUT
SHEETS — 132 CARD SHEET — 11 x 12 FORMAT
CODE 4-490-05-01-6 —
NO COPYRIGHT LINE ON FRONTS
CODE 4-490-05-02-6 — COPYRIGHT LINE ON FRONTS
IMAGE: COLLECTOR LONNIE CUMMINS

•

DISPLAY
BOX — VARIATION 1 — CODE 1-490-40-01-6
DISPLAY
BOX — VARIATION 2 — CODE 1-490-40-02-6
: CANADA
MAIN ARTWORK : JOHN POUND — SIDE ARTWORK : TOM BUNK
BOX DESIGN
: BRAD KAHLHAMER

•

WAX
WRAPPER — VARIATION 1 — CODE 0-490-21-01-6
— 25¢ CHEAP
NOTE: 2
VERSIONS — T-SHIRT OFFER or SWEATSHIRT OFFER
: MADE & PRINTED IN U.S.A.
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK — DESIGN
: BRAD KAHLHAMER

WAX
WRAPPER — VARIATION 2 — CODE 0-490-21-02-6
— NO PRICE
NOTE:
2 VERSIONS
— T-SHIRT OFFER or SWEATSHIRT OFFER : MADE &
PRINTED IN U.S.A
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK — DESIGN : BRAD KAHLHAMER

WAX
WRAPPER — VARIATION 3 — CODE 0-490-21-03-6
— 25¢ CHEAP
NOTE: 2
VERSIONS — T-SHIRT OFFER or SWEATSHIRT OFFER
: GUM MADE IN CANADA
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK — DESIGN : BRAD
KAHLHAMER

CASE
BOX — 24/48 ct. —
PRODUCT #490-3

CODE 2-490-39-01-6 — UPC
41116-00490

RETAILER
AD POSTER — CODE 4-490-08-01-6 — SIZE 10 x 14 INCHES
NOTE:
OS1 COLOR LAYOUT W/ ‘3RD SERIES’ CORNER BANNER ADDED
ARTWORK : JOHN
POUND — DESIGN : BRAD KAHLHAMER

WHOLESALER
SELL SHEET — PRODUCT #490 —
SIZE 8 x 11 INCHES
BOX ARTWORK : JOHN POUND — PACK & SIDE ARTWORK
: TOM BUNK

WHOLESALER
ORDER SHEET — CODE 4-999-40-01-6 — SIZE 8 x 11 INCHES
FEBRUARY 1986
— GREEN SELL SHEET PRODUCT — #494; OS1
GPK BOX ARTWORK : JOHN POUND

WHOLESALER
ORDER SHEET — NO DEAL CODE — SIZE 8 x 11 INCHES
WRAPPER OFFER —
BAZOOKA COMIC; OS3 THRU OS9 RELEASES
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK

WHOLESALER
SELL SHEET — BAZOOKA DEAL CODE #324 — SIZE 8 x 11 INCHES
NOTE:
BRIGHT IDEAS ALSO PRODUCED SPIRAL MEMO PADS & NOTEBOOKS
FOLDER
ARTWORK : JOHN POUND & TOM BUNK

1986 SERIES 2 FOLDERS; SECOND RELEASE
#5 Roy Bot & Ashcan Andy (inside images – WANTED: Garbage Man,
Kid Brother, Big Sister)
#6 Live Mike & Stormy Heather (inside images
– WANTED: Garbage Man, Kid Brother, Big Sister)
#7 Adam Bomb & Sticky
Rick (inside images – WANTED: Candy Store Owner, Slob, Kid Sister)
#8 Babbling
Brooke & Pat Splat (inside images – WANTED: Candy Store Owner, Slob, Kid Sister)

RAK-PAK
BOX — PLASTIC PACKS — CODE 1-935-37-02-6
NOTE: A
RARELY SEEN DOUBLE-STACKED GPK HEADER
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK —
DESIGN : BRAD KAHLHAMER

RAK-PAK
— PLASTIC PACKS —
CODE 0-935-67-01-6
NOTE: A RARELY SEEN DOUBLE-STACKED GPK HEADER
ON THE BACKSIDE
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK — DESIGN : BRAD KAHLHAMER

RAK-PAK
BOX — CODE 5-935-44-01-6
NOTE: FOUND WITH OS2, OS3 and/or
OS4 SINGLES; 1986 RELEASE
RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK

RAK-PAK — CODE 1-935-93-01-6
NOTE: CARDBOARD SLEEVE INSERT —
WITH PUNCH HOLE
NOTE: FOUND WITH OS2, OS3 and/or OS4 SINGLES; 1986 RELEASE

RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK

RAK-PAK
CASE BOX — CODE 2-935-41-02-6 — PRODUCT #935-1

•

JUMBO
PACK — CODE 1-935-93-01-6
NOTE: CARDBOARD SLEEVE PACK
INSERT — WITHOUT
PUNCH HOLE
NOTE: FOUND WITH OS2, OS3 and/or OS4 SINGLES; 1986 RELEASE

RENDERED ARTWORK : TOM BUNK

~
—
The original final Artwork
Piece completed by John Pound for cards 118a Half-NELSON and 118b Glandular
ANGELA was completed before the OS3 release, but was later re-worked by artist
Mae Jeon for training purposes, who worked in-staff as a Topps employee within
the Art Department, based off of tight pencil artwork by artist John Pound. For
the Jeon finished artwork, the female hair color, clothes style and color, and
muscled arm position were changed; the final artwork can be found within the ‘Art
Gallery’ section above.

—
The Final Artwork for cards 89a Hurt CURT and 89b
PAT Splat, 94a Bruised LEE and 94b Karate KATE and 116a Eerie ERIC and 116b Berserk
KIRK were completed by artist Tom Bunk, based off of tight pencil artwork by artist
John Pound, where Bunk made changes in poses and details as instructed by the
NPD department. The human GPK head, arm and clothes seen in this John Pound tight
pencil were removed for the card character 116a Eerie ERIC and 116b Berserk KIRK
for the final artwork by Tom Bunk; this particular piece was created during the
2nd Series set and possibly the other two concepts as well.

—
Per John Pound’s notations and references, the images used for the Giant
Series card #7 ‘Why Fight It?’ was a previously unpublished artwork piece
intended for the 3rd Series (OS3) set. The subject matter may have pushed it out
of the regular sets into a special set, possibly due to the Cold War that stretched
from 1979 through 1985 and its lasting after effects.

—
This John Pound Unpublished GPK (3-29) was
completed late in 1985 and was intended for the OS3 set. Topps decided the piece
was innapropriate and ended up pulling the artwork from production. The piece
was originally intended for the 3rd Series set with only one bullet through the
hat and the character holding a ‘PLAYBILL’ which was changed to ‘SLAYBILL’ for
the OS5 card with Abe’s hat with two bullets and one bullet through his forehead,
but the piece was also removed late in production. See the ‘Art Gallery’ above
and the OS5 page for additional images and information.

—
Card artwork by John Pound for cards 110a Snooty SAM and 110b U.S. ARNIE can also
be found within the poster set as #17 ‘Garbage Pail Kids Want You’; A classic
parody of the iconic 1917 U.S. Army recruitment image Uncle
Sam (initials U.S.) painted by J.M. Flagg, picking his nose rather
than pointing his finger to the general public, which was based off of the 1914
British ‘Lord Kitchener Wants You’ advertisement poster.

—
The four Tom Bunk Unpublished
Garbage Pail Kids artwork pieces were conceptualized in December of 1985
and were created during the OS3 production period. Topps ended up rejecting the
artwork concepts and remained unpublished in this original format. In July of
2015, Topps released their 30th Anniversary set that contained a Cutting Room
Floor subset with two of the images for the beetle-boy and vampiress concepts
re-envisioned by artist Tom Bunk; as cards 1a Beatle BILL and 1b Pest PAUL and
2a Vamp IRANIA and 2b Evil ELVIRA.

—
A Card-Case Study: the following artwork for the
printed card 103a Wriggley RENE and 103b Curly CARLA were finished by artist Tom
Bunk in December of 1985. The artwork was re-worked with the character sitting
down and holding a snake rather than having a standing profile. Compared to the
standing b/w tight pencil to the final artwork, only two snakes hold the same
position, the character is cut off at the waist and a tongue sticking out has
been added. The sitting position character color rough retains the yellow background
and the same number of snakes, but with a much different wardrobe selection, compared
to the final artwork and retains the same number of snakes relatively in the same
position, no bite marks, with an added blue snake — the stuck out tongue
remains intact.

—
Although
OS1 cards 9a Boozin’ BRUCE and 9b Drunk KEN highly suggest Alcohol
Assumption through imagery and nomenclature, OS2 cards 47a Disgustin’ JUSTIN
and 47b Vile KYLE were the first images to have the ‘BEER‘
label placed within the artwork; the 2011 Flashback Series 3 removes this label,
but the 2014 Chrome Series 2 images remain uncensored. The original final artwork
for the reverse OS3 card backs for 106a Fowl RAOUL and 106a MACK Quack has the
label removed for the final image and has ‘DELETE BEER‘
written over the card proof; possibly to avoid any backlash concerning alcoholism
(… but parental punishment is fine). Later GPK artwork has suggestive ‘BEER‘
consumption displayed with the word ‘ROOTBEER‘.

—
In 1975, Topps released the
Wanted Stickers set and in 1986 Topps released the
OS3 Garbage Pail Kids set and revised the older artwork for the card backs, ten
years later. Artist Tom Bunk created the new reverse art for the card backs while
Mark Newgarden rendered the writing to bring it up-to-date. Out of the forty-two
Wanted Stickers, eighteen of these concepts were used in the OS3 set and fifteen
were used in the OS4 set. The OS3 titles: Barber, Principal, Class Bully,
Mother, Slob, Dentist, Candy Store Owner, Doctor, Garbage Man, Neighbor, Father,
Teacher’s Pet, Big Sister, Teacher, Kid Brother, Liar, Kid Sister and Cheapskate. Wanted
Stickers titles not used in any GPK set: Disc Jockey, Baby, Maid, Telephone
Operator, Taxi Cab Driver, Door-to-Door Salesman, Butcher, T.V. Repairman and
Policeman. See the OS4 page and ‘Reverse Card’ gallery section above for more
information.

—
In 1980, Topps released the
Wanted Posters set with sharper artwork and expanded
the writing from the 1975 release Wanted Stickers and In 1986 Topps released the
OS3 Garbage Pail Kids and revised the older artwork for the card backs, five years
later. Artist Tom Bunk created the new reverse art for the card backs while Mark
Newgarden rendered the writing to bring it up-to-date. Out of the twenty-four
Wanted Posters, eighteen of these concepts were used in the OS3 set and three
were used in the OS4 set. The OS3 titles: Barber, Principal, Class Bully,
Mother, Slob, Dentist, Candy Store Owner, Doctor, Garbage Man, Neighbor, Father,
Teacher’s Pet, Big Sister, Teacher, Kid Brother, Liar, Kid Sister and Cheapskate. Wanted
Posters titles not used in either GPK set: School Flirt, Butcher and T.V. Repairman.
See the OS4 page and ‘Reverse Card’ gallery section above for more information.

NOTE:
‘WANTED!’ CHANGED TO BLACK AND ‘FOR CHILD ABUSE’ CHANGED TO RED FOR THE POSTER.