RELEASE PERIOD
: JANUARY 2016

The first, full-fledged
thematic set, titled GPK ‘American as Apple Pie—in Your Face’, aka
2016 Series 1 (‘2016S1’) Yearly set, was released by Topps, Inc. in the winter
of 2016 and distributed in January, with a 01/20/2016 release date; roughly six
months after the 30th Anniversary (aka 2015S2) set that was released in
July 2015.

The GPK set includes all-new artwork or contributions by artists
Tom Bunk, John Pound, Brent Engstrom, Joe Simko, David Gross, Mark Pingitore,
JungHwa Im and Colin Walton (editor, art director, writer and brand manager);
as well as several additional artists that assisted with autograph and sketch
cards along with concept ideas. For the first print run, each foil or plastic
pack, with a suggested retail price of $2.49, contains ten sticker cards, except
for the Hobby Collector Edition box which packs contain six stickers per pack
with exclusive premium content.

MOCK-UP
IMAGE — MAIN ARTWORK : JOHN POUND — LOGO DESIGN : COLIN WALTON

220
A+B CARD SET : SUBSETS BASE CARDS
SUBSETS : 84
American As Apple Pie + 18 America’s Pastimes + 18 Americana Swept Under the Rug
+ 18 Americana Devolved + 18 American Icons + 18 American Inventors + 18 U.S.
Historical Moments + 18 2016 U.S. Summer Olym-picks + 10 2016 Presidential Candidates

TOTAL BASE + CHASE INSERT CARDS + ONLINE CARDS
1,608 Total Cards = 220 Base Card Stickers + 220
Puke Splatter Parallel (R) + 220 Pee Splatter Parallel (Target gravity feed) +
220 Spit Splatter Parallel (H) + 220 Bruised Splatter Parallel (HC) + 220 Bloody
Nose Splatter Parallel (HC) + 220 Gold Dust Parallel + 18 Classic Patriotic Stickers
(R jumbo pack) + 6 Gross Bears bonus (Wal*Mart value box) + 6 Bathroom Buddies
bonus (Target value box) + 8 Comic Covers (H) + 8 Horror Stickers (H) + 10 Patriotic
Patches (HC) + 4 ADAM Americana cards (blister pack) + 1 Artist Relic (HC) + 1
Standard Sketch (R) + 1 Panoramic Sketch (R jumbo pack) + 1 Dual Artist Panoramic
Sketch (HC) + 1 Die-Cut Sketch (H) + 1 Loaded Puzzle Sketch (R value box) + 1
Artist Autograph + 1 Printing Plate

RETAIL:
Splatter Parallel card (green Puke 1:1 [retail exclusive], yellow Pee 1:4
[Target gravity feed exclusive], gold Dust 1:44; 50 per subject), Printing
Plate card (1:1,536; value box bonus card Printing Plate 1:?; jumbo pack bonus
card Printing Plate 1:?), Artist Autograph card (1:200), Standard Sketch card
(1:266)[retail exclusive], Panoramic Sketch card (1:401; 100 total)[jumbo
pack exclusive], Loaded Puzzle Sketch card (1:68; 250 total)[value box
exclusive], Classic Patriot Sticker card (2:1)[jumbo pack exclusive],
Gross Bears (3:1)[Wal*Mart value box exclusive], Bathroom Buddies (3:1)[Target
value box exclusive], Bomb/Boom Americana cards (1:1)[blister pack exclusive].

HOBBY: Splatter Parallel card (blue Spit 1:4
[H exclusive; 99 per subject], gold Dust 1:44; 50 per subject),
Die-cut Shaped Sketch card (1:158; 500 total)[H exclusive], Comic Cover
card (1 per box)[H exclusive], Horror Sticker card (1 per box)[H exclusive],
Printing Plate card (1:1,536), Autograph card (1:200), Comic Cover card (1:24),
Horror card (1:24).

HOBBY COLLECTOR PREMIUM EDITION:
Splatter Parallel card (blue Spit 1:4 [H exclusive; 99 per subject],
black Bruised 1:1 [HC exclusive], red Bloody Nose 1:3; 75 per subject
[HC exclusive], gold Dust 1:44; 50 per subject), Patriotic Patch
card (1:73)[HC exclusive; 50 per subject], Artist Relic card (1:61)[HC
exclusive; 99 per subject], Dual/Double Artist Panoramic Sketch (1:362;
100 total)[HC exclusive], Printing Plate card (1:241), Artist Autograph
card (1:65), Die-cut Shaped Sketch card (1:158; 500 total)[H exclusive],
Comic Cover card (1 per box)[H exclusive], Horror Sticker card (1 per box)[H
exclusive].

HOBBY
& RETAIL PRODUCTION RUNS
MAIN BOX
+ WRAPPER ARTWORK : JOHN POUND
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS : BRENT ENGSTROM, ETC.
DISPLAY BOX : 4 VARIATIONS + 2 BONUS BOXES
WRAPPERS
: 9 VARIATIONS

*

‘CLICK’
TO VIEW SHEETS — PRODUCT RELEASE DIGITAL SHEETS — PAGES 1-23

*

HOBBY
PRODUCTION RUN

DISPLAY BOX — PKG004621 — UPC 8-87521-04382-8
— 24 PACK : ‘H’ ON BOX
NOTE: 8 COMIC COVER CHASE CARDS
CARDBOARD CASE
— PKG004632 — FGC001855 — UPC 8-87521-04383-5 — 8 BOX / 24
PACK CT
FOIL PACK— PKG004617 — UPC 8-87521-04381-1 — ‘H’ ON
WRAPPER; $2.49

*

COLLECTOR
PREMIUM EDITION PRODUCTION RUN

DISPLAY BOX — PKG004626 — UPC 8-87521-04385-9
— ’24 PACK’ + ‘H’ ON BOX;
NOTE: 8 HORROR / 8 COMIC COVER CHASE CARDS
BOX
ART INLAY — PKG004627 — ARTIST BRENT ENGSTROM
CARDBOARD CASE —
PKG004640 — FGC001856 — UPC 8-87521-04386-6 — 8 BOX / 24 PACK COUNT

FOIL PACK — PKG004619 — UPC 8-87521-04384-2 — $2.49 SRP; ‘H’ ON
WRAPPER

*

RETAIL
PRODUCTION RUN

DISPLAY BOX — PKG004622 — UPC 8-87521-04388-0 — ’24 PACK’ ON BOX;
TOPPS ONLINE; $59.99 SRP
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PCK00? — FGC001857
— UPC ? — 24 PACK / 8 BOX
FOIL PACK — PKG004613 — UPC
8-87521-04387-3 — $2.49 SRP

PEGHOOK
DISPLAY BOX : PKG004623 — UPC 8-87521-? — ’16 PACK’ ON BOX (TOPPS ONLINE)
: $39.99 SRP
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PKG00? — FGC00? : UPC
? — 24 PACK / 8 BOX
FOIL PACK — PKG0004615 — UPC 8-87521-?
— $2.49 SRP

VALUE DISPLAY BOX — PKG004624 — UPC 8-87521-04436-8 — $9.99 SRP;
TARGET
NOTE: THREE BATHROOM BUDDIES CARDS
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PKG004638
— FGC001863— UPC 8-87521-04437-5 — 16/4+1 COUNT
FOIL PACK —
PKG00? — UPC 8-87521-?
BONUS CARD FOIL PACK/WRAPPER — PKG004612

VALUE
DISPLAY BOX — PKG004625 — UPC 8-87521-04438-2 — $9.99 SRP; WAL*MART/TOPPS
ONLINE
NOTE: THREE GROSS BEARS CARDS; NO PRICE ON BOX
CARDBOARD CASE BOX
— PKG004638 — FGC001864 : UPC 8-87521-04439-9 — 16/4+1 COUNT

FOIL PACK —PKG00? — UPC 8-87521-?
BONUS CARD FOIL PACK/WRAPPER :
PKG004612

GRAVITY FEED BOX — PKG004628 — UPC 8-87521-04394-1 — 10 CARDS PER
PACK; TARGET
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PKG00? — FGC00? — UPC 8-87521-?
— ?
PLASTIC PACK — PKG004614 — UPC 8-87521-04393-4 — $2.49
SRP

GRAVITY FEED BOX — PKG004360 — UPC 8-87521-04441-? — 4 CARDS PER
PACK
NOTE: SPECIALTY MARKETS; DOLLAR STORE
CARDBOARD CASE BOX : PKG00?
: FGC00? : UPC 8-87521-04442-? — ?
PACK — PKG004616 — UPC 8-87521-04440-5
— $.99 SRP

VALUE
JUMBO PACK — PKG004620 — UPC 8-87521-04431-3 — $4.99 SRP
NOTE:
18 CLASSIC PATRIOT CHASE CARDS
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PKG00? — FGC00?
— UPC 8-87521-? — ?

BLISTER
PACK — PKG# NA — UPC 8-87521-04705-5 — 3-PACK $9.99 SRP; TOYS ‘R’
US
NOTE: 4 ADAM BOMB/BOOM CHASE CARDS
CARDBOARD CASE BOX — PKG00?
— FGC00? — UPC 8-87521-? — ?

*

SECONDARY
MARKET PRODUCT (NON-TOPPS)

BLISTER
PACK : UPC 8-87521-02478-0 — $2.99 SRP; THREE PACK w/ 2014S1, ETC. : TARGET,
ETC.
NOTE: MAY CONTAIN A STICKER OF THE
JUMBO VALUE PACK UPC 8-87521-04431-3 ON BACK
NOTE:
“The products in this package have been purchased directly from the manufacturer
or purchased from the secondary market and repackaged for retail sales by The
Fairfield Company.” Distributed by The Fairfield Company, A division of Excell
Marketing [Target, etc.] 5501 Park Ave, Des Moines, IA 50321

GRAVITY
FEED: UPC 8-87521-UNK — $.99 SRP; 4-PACK; DOLLAR TREE, ETC.
NOTE: DISTRIBUTED
BY THE FAIRFIELD CO., EXCELL MARKETING? 2016S1 + 2016S2 PRODUCT

—
The major mascot character for the series, created
by veteran GPK artist John Pound, was painted for the OS3 set for cards 110a Snooty
SAM & 110b U.S. ARNIE; A classic parody of the iconic 1917 U.S. Army recruitment
image Uncle Sam (initialized as U.S.) painted
by J.M. Flagg, picking his nose rather than pointing to the general public. Flagg’s
art, in turn, was based off of the 1914 British ‘Lord Kitchener Wants You’ advertisement
poster. The image can also be located within the 2011 Flashback Series 3 set as
cards 15a & 15b, within the GPK Poster set as poster #17 Garbage Pail Kids
Want You and in this set within the Classic Patriot Stickers subset as cards 1a
of 9, 1b of 9 & Patch Card 1 of 10.

*

—
An Art-Process
Case Study: artist Brent Engstrom contributed more than 45 paintings and
60 concepts to the American As Apple Pie (in Your Face!) Garbage Pail Kids set,
including four images from the previous FrightRags t-shirt release and two images
from the IDW comic release. Engstrom starts his work with a digital B&W sketch
which is then placed within a GPK template as a color rough that displays the
GPK header, nameplate and the retired ‘PEEL HERE’ arrow and sticker die-cut; thus
giving a size comparison and placement presentation. The final artwork is manually
painted, scanned and submitted to Topps. Shown below is this process from start
to finish for Engstrom’s parody of the famous Times Square photo V-J Day in
Times Square (by Alfred Eisenstaedt on August 14, 1945 in New York City) for
U.S. Historical Event Stickers 7a of 9 Evil EDDIE & 7b of 9 Navy NICK; the
character is going in for the kiss-of-death instead of mouth-to-mouth. The background
was suggested and added after concept approved. The final artwork and the Topps
mock-up card are also pictured.

*

—
Veteran GPK artist Tom Bunk is back for two new Apple
Pie (In Your Face!) patriotic images for which the color roughs are displayed
below; a parody of Archibald M. Willard’s painting The Spirit of ’76 (originally
titled Yankee Doodle ’76) and a bald eagle (sometimes called the American
eagle, the national bird and national animal of the United States) plus Uncle
Sam mash-up…plenty of puke and guts. The picture was taken in Bunk’s art
studio in New Rochelle, NY on October 16th, 2015 prior to attending the Philly
Non-Sports Card Show in Allentown, PA; the show is put together bi-annually by
the Non-Sport Update folks. Tom completed 2 new images for the Apple Pie (In Your
Face!) set and a slew of previously released and unreleased material from the
80’s.

*

—
GPK artist
Mark Pingitore completed nine new images for the
Apple Pie (In Your Face!) set with two additional images from the IDW comic release.
The final artwork deadlines by Topps were severe for this release, the artwork
suffered in some cases for the artists, but Mark only took on what he was comfortable
completing. Several of his original concepts pictured below were changed from
their original conception. The simple background concepts seem to work better
than the ‘stories’ that Topps turned them into on card. The Swept Under the Rug
‘tailpipe’ concept was drastically changed for cards 4a Hum EARL & 4b S. HUGH
Vee within the Americana Devolved subset. The ‘sock hop’ concept was fleshed out
for cards 22a Poodle SKYLAR & 22b Sock HOPE within the As American As Apple
Pie subset.

*

—
The Value Box exclusive chase
subsets stem from earlier Topps franchises; the Gross Bears (Big Bad Buttons),
released in 1985, was a parody button set of the 1980s Care Bears and the
Bathroom Buddies, released in 1996, which was a spin-off toilet humor set in the
like-ness of the GPK (and Trash Can Trolls) released in 1996. The Wal*Mart and
Topps Online Value box contains—for the first time on small card—six
images from the Gross Bears set, including a previously unpublished piece. The
Target Value box contains six cards (three twins) from the unpublished Bathroom
Buddies 2nd Series set. All artwork was also completed by artist Tom Bunk for
both sets. If received well, Topps will continue releasing the Gross Bears and
Bathroom Buddies cards in future Garbage Pail Kids sets; and I must confess, the
art director asked what items collectors might want to see as chase material and
this is what I had suggested. Please ‘click’ the images below to visit the related
parody pages for additional information on the revived releases.

*

—
A Card-Case Study:
the original artwork for the OS3 printed card 103a Wriggley RENE & 103b Curly
CARLA were finished by artist Tom Bunk in December of 1985 and finally published
within the ‘As American As Applie Pie’ subset as cards 6a of 42 and 6b of 42 (previously,
this would’ve been considered a Lost Artwork card). The artwork was re-worked
with the character sitting down and holding a snake rather than having a standing
profile. The final artwork for this printed piece retains the same number of snakes
relatively in the same position, no bite marks, with an added blue snake the medusa
character is now holding, but the stuck out tongue remains intact. This character
feels like an overflow piece from the 30th Anniversay’s ‘Lost Alternate Art’.

*

—
The Original Concept for the
U.S. Historical Event cards 5a Mountain DEWEY & 5b Gold RUSS (gold rush),
painted by Brent Engstrom, was an updated version of John Pound’s BNS1 bonus cards
B1a Mountain DEWEY & B1b BUBBA Bumpkin. Topps requested that the character
grow-up and strike gold (aka booger). The character’s pose was changed
and there were some communication issues where Engstrom re-drew the character
in his original pose but Topps just wanted him to have a clothing colour-scheme
similar to Pound’s original; still a successful execution of the character—he
could easily be a close relative with the same name if nothing else.

*

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 1).
For the U.S. Summer Olym-Picks cards 4a Stinkin’ STELLA & 4b Rowin’ ROWENA
which character comes from the OS8 set, the original character was OS4 cards 131a
Stuffed STEPHEN & 131b RUTHERFORD B. Hay showcasing the crows found on the
card image; the octopus out of water and going faster does add a level of humor.
The original concept for U.S. Summer Olym-Picks cards 6a BOWEN Arrow & 6b
ARCHIE Archery, whose characters stems from the OS8 set, had OS1 character 34a
KIM Kong & 34b ANNA Banana using the bow and arrow with her feet while brachiating,
but the cupid character was used instead, shooting his brain out instead of his
heart—it’s strange he’s standing on his two feet instead of flying. The final
was painted by JungHwa Im, along with U.S. Summer Olym-Picks cards 8a Tongue Tied
TIM & 8b JOEL Vault, a character from the OS2 set whose earlier concept showcased
the character with his damaged tongue and in a different position (A red GPK banner
and yellow nameplate would have made this card ‘pop’ more).

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 2).
The original concept for America’s Pastime for cards
3a CHARLOTTE Web & 3b Basket BERTHA, a character from the OS3 set, was placed
on top of the web-created basketball hoop (the number 8 feels reminiscent of the
red hourglass-shape on the black widow spider’s underbelly); another variation
has the character under the basket holding a ball with a fly stuck to the hoop-web—I
feel this alternate version works the best for translation. The OS1 character
of America’s Pastimes for cards 7a ART Apart & 7b Tackled TED showed the character
busted up on the field rather than being tackled and busted. The ‘zero’ number
jersey speaks volumes.

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 3).
For the American Inventors subset, one of the two
twin names is either the inventor or patent holder for the product and/or person
being parodied—see the Comprehensive Checklist below for more information.
The original concept for 4a Hurrying HARVEY & 4b Portable JOHN was more of
a ‘movement’ gag, the character/item being movable; Topps had Engstrom add customers
running after him and some stench steam and flies. The first concept for 6a Say
It Ain’t So JOE & 6b Toilet Paper RAUL (roll) had the dispenser empty; an
easier gag to get than Topps changing the toilet paper head going from happy to
sad with the impending bottom wipe (the empty toilet paper roll could still have
been left on the wall). The 9a Loud LEO & 9b Atomic BOB (bomb) concept remained
the same, but is cool to look at.

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 4).
The Historical Event OS8 character for cards 8a
Inter STELLA & 8b First STEPH (step) had an alternative concept that was mirror-imaged
and a much smaller space shuttle in the background. The Americana Swept Under
the Rug original concept for cards 3a Monster CHUCK (truck) & 3b BUCK Truck
was flying solo through the air before burning buildings and smoke were added,
but the final image was less devestational—the final artwork’s yellow background
and purple buildings is coincidentally very similar to Tom Bunk’s As American
As Apple Pie characters 5a U.S. ARNIE & 5b Bald EDGAR (eagle). The Americana
Devolved character for cards 7a Ripped JEAN & 7b FIONA Fashionista (not pictured)
was a male figure—and a price tag was requested to be added by Topps. Topps
also had Brent replace the steak with the character’s tongue for the As American
As Apple Pie cards 3a BILL Grill & 3b CODY Cook and changed his mean look
to a normal, happy-go-lucky GPK expression.

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 5).
The As American As Apple Pie character for 7a Party
MARTY & 7b Two-Party Cyst TIM (very unusual constructed nomenclature) were
originally two separate concepts brought into the same concept with the characters
in a brawl before they took on the nostalgic OS2 ‘Split KIT’/’Double HEATHER’
pose of yesteryears. Topps had a knife added to the cards for 11a ANDY Apple &
PATON Pie (not pictured); this character was an instant contender for a box character
for the set. Topps also had burning money added to the character’s hands for cards
13a Capital CAL & 13b U.S. BILL Ding (not pictured); Brent added the cigar.
The original character for 14a Brawling BARB & 14b MISSY America was more
reminiscent to OS3 characters ALICE Island/Liberty LIBBY with garbage and her
crown made of barbed wire; Topps had the dog-pile of contestants added to the
image with cuts and bandages along with a severed hand. Very unlike Topps, the
fecal geyser for cards 17a OLE Faithful & 17b Yellow STONE was changed to
the normal hot water of a regular geyser; the image doesn’t pop as much on card
without the fecal stream.

—
Pictured below are a number of various alternative
concepts by artist Brent Engstrom prior to their
approval at Topps. Some are drastic while others are somewhat subtle (Part 6).
Topps had Brent add the OS1 character added to the
image for cards 31a Wrinkly RANDY & 31b Har LEE. The gender for cards 41a
Log Droppin’ LINCOLN & 41b LOGAN Cabin was changed from a pioneer girl to
a President Lincoln like character, the name ‘LINCOLN Logs’ may have been more
reminiscent of the popular construction toy set and the scatilogical wordplay.
The original concept for cards 42a Area 50 JUAN & 42b Cover Up CHUCK was drastically
changed for the final painting; a GPK-alien Kid was replaced by a FBI special
agent. With agents Mulder and Scully brought back to TV in January of 2016, a
good name would’ve been XAVIER Files.

*

—
Below are a few wonderfully rendered Colour
Roughs of Brent Engstrom’s for various GPKids found in the Applie Pie set.
Alhough the stunning imagery for the American Inventor character for cards 9a
Loud LEO & 9b Atomic BOB were squeezed into the
set as the creator of the atomic bomb, it could easily have found it’s way into
the ADAM Bomb/ADAM Boom Americana blister pack chase card set as ADAM Gone and
Blasted Billy VIII—I could also envision this character as a wrapper, etc.
Cards 33a Struck It RICH & 33b Crude CRAIG from the As American As Apple Pie
subset have the same background colour scheme as the 2014S1 cards 43a WENDY Chimes
& 43b Rattled RUTH; the white clouds were removed for the final image.

*

—
GPK artist
Joe Simko completed close to twenty final artwork
pieces for the Apple Pie (In Your Face!) set; he most likely would have contributed
much more but was currently hard at work on a ’30 Years of Garbage’ documentary
about Garbage Pail Kids that is set for a summer 2016 release.

—
GPK artist
David Gross took on much more work for the Apple
Pie (In Your Face!) release and completed seventeen pieces of final artwork including
additional concepts for other works. In general, if you were to take the background
out of Gross’ pieces, the concepts work just as well; with the backgrounds, they
remind me of the later OS releases back in the 80s. The ‘hoarder’ Swept Under
the Rug concept for cards 9a HUGH Hoarder & 9b COLIN Collector, painted by
Brent Engstrom, was drastically changed from the character collecting tangible
items from the OS cards to a regular GPK card and memorabilia collector.
The plethera of GPK gag plot products portrayed in Gross’ concept piece is staggering;
this would make a GREAT Giant card or GPK Poster image.

—
The original concept for cards 9a Helicopter HEATHER
& 9b Obsessed OLGA within the Americana Devolved subset portrayed three previous
OS characters as infants with the ‘helicopter parent’ hovering above (a term I
was unfamiliar with). And, the original concept for cards 23a TOM Prom & 23b
Social SAL within the As American As Apple Pie subset had a high school geek bringing
a mannequin dummy to prom instead of the girl wearing the kid’s head as a corsage.
Both of the changed concepts seem to work better in their original state and shouldn’t
have been edited in my opinion.

*

—
Artist JungHwa Im worked on
fourteen images for the Applie Pie (In Your Face!) set based off of artist Brent
Engstrom’s concepts.

—
The original DONALD Dump
character stems from the 2004 All-New Series 3 release and painted by artist Tom
Bunk. At the time, Topps still had the artists make the characters look like the
new style of GPK, however, starting in 2012 for the Brand-New Series releases,
they were allowed to make them in the CPK-likeness again. The updated image was
painted by artist Joe Simko.

—
GPK artist
Layron Dejarnette completed one final Garbage Pail
Kids piece for the Apple Pie (In Your Face!) set for cards 16a Grand GRANT &
16b CARRIE Canyon within the As American As Apple Pie subset and worked on sketch
cards for the release.

—
Returning artist Miran Kim
completed one final piece or the Apple Pie (In Your Face!) set for cards 7a Contagious
KIMBERLY & 7b Tissue SUE within the American Inventor subset.