RELEASE
DATE : NOVEMBER 2011

The GPK Flashback
3 was released in late 2011 by the Topps Company, Inc. and shipped during the
month of October for an early November release — only eight months after
the Flashback 2 set; a span of a year exists between the FB1 and FB2 releases.
The GPK base set is comprised of 66 nostalgic characters by mainly veteran artists
John Pound and Tom Bunk, including the Lost GPK subset that consists of four unpublished
images, for a total of 160 base set cards, with twin names, rounded out by the
ten Where Are They Now? artwork subset, portraying classic GPK as they would appear
today. The series is art directed by Colin Walton with supervising editor John
Williams; various returning OS and ANS artists (see checklist), as well as newcomer
Jason Edmiston.

ARTISTS : JOHN
POUND, TOM BUNK, , JAMES WARHOLA, DAVID BURKE, HOWARD CRUSE, BRENT ENGSTROM, DAVID
GROSS, MARK PINGITORE, JOE SIMKO, LAYRON DEJARNETTE, JASON EDMISTON
WRITERS : HOWARD CRUSE, COLIN
WALTON, JUNE GONZALES, ETC.

170
CARD SET : 170 BASE CARDS
868 TOTAL CARDS = 170 Base Card Stickers (including
Lost GPK, WATN? and ADAM Mania cards) + 170 Green Parallel + 170 Pink Parallel
+ 170 Silver Parallel + 170 Gold Parallel + 5 Motion 3D Cards + 9 Sketch Cards
(9 Different Artists) + 1 Autograph Card + 3 Bonus Stickers + 1 Printing Plate

Each pack, with a suggested retail price of $1.99
contains 8 sticker cards on 14 card stock and a chance to come across a 3-D Motion
card (inserted 1:12 packs, ADAM Boom 1:85), an ADAM Bomb Adam Mania card (1:8),
an original Printing Plate card (1:2,635), an artist Sketch (1:467) or ADAM Bomb
Autograph card (1:7,700) and four levels of parallels; Gross Green border (1:2,
Adam Mania 1:24), Punk Pink border (1:3, Adam Mania 1:48), Silver border (1:6,
Adam Mania 1:96) and Gold border (1:62, Adam Mania 1:990). The set also contains
three bonus base cards that can be found within Blister packs.

HOBBY
& RETAIL PRODUCTION RUNS
PACKAGE ARTWORK
: JOHN POUND
DISPLAY BOX : 3 VARIATIONS
WRAPPER : 3 VARIATIONS

*

BOX
CODE : 1-757-50-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-11757-2 — 24 PACKS
CASE CODE
: 2-757-60-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-21757-9 — 8 BOXES / #757-11H
HOBBY
ADVERTISEMENT POSTER (10.5″ x 17″) – NONE PRODUCED
WRAPPER CODE
: 0-757-54-04-1 — UPC 0-41116-01757-5
NOTE:
PACKS WITH NO ‘H’ SYMBOL OR PRICE — 8 CARD CT.

*

RETAIL
PRODUCTION RUN

VALUE
PACK DISPLAY BOX CODE : 1-757-50-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-41757-3 — 18 PACKS

VALUE PACK CASE BOX CODE : 2-757-50-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-51757-?
VALUE
PACK / RACK PACK CODE : 0-757-54-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-31757-6 — 24 CARDS
+ POSTER (1 of 5)

[NO PIC]

BOX
CODE : 1-758-50-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-11758-? — 24 PACKS
CASE BOX CODE
: ? — UPC 0-41116-21758-? — 8 BOX / 24 PACK CT. — WAL*MART CANCELLED?

WRAPPER CODE : 0-758-54-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-01758 -?

BOX CODE : 1-758-50-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-71758-1
— 24 PACKS
CASE BOX CODE : ? — UPC 0-41116-81758-? — 8 BOX /
24 PACK CT. — TARGET
WRAPPER CODE : 0-758-54-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-61758-4

BOX CODE : 1-758-50-03-1 — UPC 0-41116-41758-?
— SPECIALTY MARKT; 16 PACKS
CASE BOX CODE : ? — UPC 0-41116-51758-?
— 8 BOX / 16 PACK CT. — RITE AID, ETCETERA
PEGHOOK WRAPPER CODE
: 0-758-54-03?-1 — UPC 0-41116-31758-3

GRAVITY
FEED BOX CODE: 2-759-03-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-11759 -? — DOLLAR STORE /
4 CARDS
GRAVITY CASE BOX CODE: 2-759-94-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-21759-?

GRAVITY WRAPPER CODE: 0-759-54-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-01759-?

BLISTER
PACK CODE : 5-759-30-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-61759-1
NOTE: PACK w/ B1, B2
or B3 BONUS CARD; TARGET / 2 PACKS
DISPLAY BOX : 2-759-60-0?-1 — UPC 0-41116-71759-?
CARDBOARD
CASE BOX : 2-759-94-0?-1 — UPC 0-41116-81759-?
WRAPPER CODE : ?

GRAVITY
FEED BOX CODE : 2-771-03-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-11771-3 — TARGET / 8 CARDS

GRAVITY FEED CASE BOX CODE : 2-771-94-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-21771-?
WRAPPER
CODE : 0-771-54-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-01771-1

[NO
PIC]

GRAVITY FEED MINI BOX CODE :
2-771-03-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-31771-? — WAL*MART / 8 CARDS
GRAVITY
FEED CASE BOX CODE : 2-771-94-0?-1 — UPC 0-41116-?1771-?
WRAPPER
CODE : 0-771-54-0?-1 — UPC 0-41116-?1771-?

CANCELLED

BONUS BOX CODE : 1-939-50-01-1 — UPC 0-41116-31771-?

BOX W/ B4 BONUS CARD; WAL*MART
BONUS CASE BOX CODE : ? — UPC ?
BONUS
WRAPPER CODE : ? — UPC ?

CANCELLED

BONUS
BOX CODE : 1-939-50-02-1 — UPC 0-41116-21939-?
BOX W/ B5 BONUS CARD;
TARGET + TOPPS ONLINE
BONUS CASE BOX CODE : ? — UPC ?
BONUS WRAPPER
CODE : ? — UPC ?

*

PROMO
MATERIAL + PRINT & ADVERTISING

DEALER
VIRTUAL PREVIEW SHEET BROCHURE (8.5″ x 11″) – PDF ONLY
DEALER SELL
SHEET (8.5″ x 11″) + ANNOUNCEMENT – PDF/DIGITAL ONLY
ARTWORK : JOHN
POUND

TARGET DISPLAY SHEET – EXCELL
MARKETING – NONE

NON-SPORT
UPDATE AD
GPK AD : DEC 2011 – JAN 2012; VOL 22, NO.6

NON-SPORT UPDATE AD
GPK CARD REVIEW : DEC 2011
– JAN 2012; VOL 22, NO.6

— The
third and final GPK Flashback set has done away with the checkerboard and 8-bit
borders of the FB and FB2 sets, respetively; the set can be found with a Solid
Yellow Border that does not distract from the artwork. The set is very
reminiscent of the 2nd Sgorbions Italy release with the yellow border theme. It
can also be pointed out, by comparison, that the tone adjustment for the Flashback
3 set is several times better than the original Flashback set.

—
The newly introduced ADAM Bomb Autograph
Card, a rare signed card by John Pound, is the original ADAM Bomb character
from the OS 1st Series without a card number or ‘PEEL HERE‘
arrow; the updated GPK banner header is used. Original series artwork by John
Pound is found on the backside as well; with the signature spot blank on the frontside
within the nameplate. The card is inserted one out of every 7,700 packs.

—
The Where Are They Now? subset
puts several original GPK characters into nowaday scenarios, twenty-five years
later as young adults. This is the only all-new artwork created for the Flashback,
throwback set created by Tom Bunk, Joe Simko, Brent Engstrom, Mark Pingitore,
Layron DeJarnette, Jason Edmiston and Dave Gross. The card set has the original
character card images on the backside although both card backs only have the ‘A’
names but no ‘B’ names and a new banner is placed on the mock-up image.

—
Although there is no hobby box poster for this release,
there are five Collectable Posters that come folded
and packaged within the new GPK Value Packs ($4.99 / 24 Cards + Poster); these
packs are very reminiscent of the OS2 thru OS4 Rack Packs (minus the poster).
The posters measure 12in x14in and can be found with the following characters
with nameplates: Up CHUCK, Fryin’ RYAN, Snooty SAM, ALICE Island, and SALLY Suction.
It seems more logical to remove the nameplates and have the GPK header remain
intact.

—
The 3-D Trading Cards for this
GPK set, much like the FB2 set, are a step above the previous hologram motion
cards. A total of five 3-D cards can be found for the release; the cards can be
found 1 out of every 12 packs at random, except for the ADAM Boom 3-D card can
only be found 1 out of every 85 packs.

—
The set also features four levels of Parallel
Chase Cards to collect that mirrors the yellow border, 160 base card set.
These chase card parallel sets can be found in either a Green Gross border card
inserted 1:2 packs, a Punk Pink border inserted 1:3 packs, a Silver border card
inserted 1 out of every 6 packs or a Gold border set inserted 1:62 packs. The
ADAM Mania level Of parallels is a bit rarer as follows: Green 1:24
ratio, Pink 1:48 ratio, Silver 1:96 ratio and Gold 1:990 ratio. For each different
parallel, the color of the border, logo background and nameplate are always the
same.

—
The Censored beer can
on the OS2 charcter cards 7a Disgustin’ JUSTIN and 7b Vile KYLE have the ‘BEER’
label removed from the can as compared to the OS2 47a Disgustin’ JUSTIN and 7b
Vile KYLE cards; the images are uncensored for the Chrome OS2 set released in
July of 2014.

—
Card characters 12a Gorgeous GEORGE and 12b Dollar
BILL no longer have a different sized Stacked Nameplate
nor a smaller GPK header to accommodate the die cut sticker as the OS2 set for
cards 73a and 73b; the die cut was oval in shape, matching the actual U.S. dollar
bill shape. However, more of the ruffled shirt can now be seen for the artwork.

—
Card 22b Hy GENE has the word ‘Hy’ in larger case letters
and placed in a Bold Status, HY Gene, whereas the
name ‘Gene’ is not in bold and contains smaller case letters. Card 36a BUCK Puck
has the name ‘Buck’ in smaller case letters and not in bold lettering, whereas
the word ‘puck’ is placed in bold with larger case letters.

—
The second Prestigious GPK Award
goes to the character card Toothie RUTHIE which can both be found as a base card
twin in the original Flashback set as numbers 40a and 40b as well as in the Flashback
3 set as bonus card number B3. However, since the character was used as a Where
Are They Now? topic, it is traditional to find these same characters as the bonus
cards within the Flashback realm; by comparison, the tone adjustment for the Flashback
3 set is several times better than the original Flashback set.

—
The set contains two separate Checklists,
one for the A-name cards, and another for the B-name cards. As with ANS6, ANS7,
and the FB and FB2 sets, this is the fifth release that has a checklist outlined
by the color blue. The other blue phenomenon, the GPK logo is always blue in the
set, there is no red GPK card logo on ANY card fronts. The ADAM Mania subset are
the only cards with the GPK banner header in the light blue color of yesteryears
as well as the ADAM Bomb Autograph card.

—
GPK Veteran Artist
Tom Bunk contributed three final artwork pieces for the GPK Flashback 3
Where Are They Now? (WATN?) subset. Below are a few roughs found in some of their
earliest stages for cards 71a Stormy HEATHER and 71b APRIL Showers accompanied
by Mark Pinigitore’s concept, cards 78a CHRIS Mess and 78b SANDY Clod and cards
80a BERN-Out and 80b Dim-Bulb BOB; this version has the characters eyes open with
a different mouth expression. Art director Colin Walton wanted to get rid of the
wrinkled-skin characters of the previous two Flashback releases. More images can
be seen within Tom Bunk’s ‘Bunk Sale’ Flashback section.

—
GPK Next-Gen
Artist newcomer Jason Edmiston, a commercial
illustrator, contributed one final artwork piece for the GPK Flashback
3 WATN? subset. Below is the original tight pencil sketch for cards 73a Phony
LISA and 73b MONA Loser based off of Mark Pingitore’s original concept
piece (to the right); the image in general speaks volumes of society’s over-scrutinizing
behaviour and an individual’s lack of privacy.

—
The 1986 Giant Stickers card
backs are continued within the Flashback 3 set with the front and card backs for
#12 (front only) through #15—not including #14 back; #1 through #12 (back
only) can be located within the first Flashback set. The images for the fifteen
Giant Sticker set can also be found on Mini Giant Cards released within retail
jumbo packs for the 2015S2 ’30th Anniversary’ GPK set; these particular cards
can no longer be considered ‘giant’, per se. Joe Simko and June Gonzalez contributed
all the writing for the card backs; a continuation of the Fakebook, Facebook parody
from the previous release.

—
GPK Next-Gen
Artist Mark Pingitore sketched out several
concept pieces for the WATN? subset that did not make it into the set, including
the following image showcasing OS2 character 74a MARK Bark and 74b Kennel Kenny
after being neutered wearing An Elizabethan collar; also known as an E-cone or
just plain cone. Besides supplying several concepts for other artists to complete,
Pingitore also completed two of the WATN? titles himself for cards 72a Jolted
JOEL and 72b Live MIKE (the concept can be seen on the FB2 page) and 79a Scalped
RALPH and 79b Bone-Head FRED.

—
GPK Next-Gen
Artist Brent Engstrom contributed
one final artwork piece for the GPK Flashback 3 set which can be seen on
the ‘Artwork Gallery’ page. Below is the original tight pencil sketch for cards
76a JACK O. Lantern and 76b DUNCAN Pumpkin from the WATN? base card subset; it’s
nice to see these older GPK characters with five fingers again. Engstrom also
worked on all ten themes and digital work for the ADAM Mania cards for this release.

—
The previously unpublished artwork for the Lost
GPK cards 67a and 67b through 70a and 70b were pulled from various sets
within the Garbage Pail Kids canon; pictured and described below are the images
and where they originally stemmed from:

Cards
67a Prickly PETE and 67b Thorny BARB stem from a rejected concept piece by Tom
Bunk in late 1985 and intended for the OS3 set released early in 1986; one of
the first pieces Tom completed after switching from a card-back artist to a card-front
artist. This same concept was later reworked and used within the Trash Can Trolls
pardy card set released in the summer of 1992; painted by Pat Pigott that became
cards 25a Prickly PETE and 25b Thorny BARB. Coming full circle in 2011, the twin
cards now share the same name.

Cards
68a Arach NED and 68b Web JEB is an unpublished Tom Bunk GPK character that was
painted in 1986 and was intended for the OS4 release; it is very reminiscent of
the John Pound artwork for OS3 cards 98a CHARLOTTE Web and 98b DIDI
T.; it is unknown whether the selected names were on the original artwork.
A scan of Bunk’s original photograhic slide from the 80’s was used with the character
having a bald head; the painting was touched-up later in-house at Topps where
they added the yellow hair for the final product which was never published at
the time.

Cards
69a Shadowy SHELIA and 69b Vaporized VAL is a previously unpublished piece painted
by John Pound in 1986 and also intended for an earlier GPK release. The image
can be found in Mark Newgarden’s 2006 book ‘We All Die Alone’ which pays a very
small tribute to his time working at Topps. The single word above the painting
states ‘OUT’; it would not make the cut. As a nice happy ending, minus the image
of the painting, the selected names for the 2011 published cards are the first
two asterisked suggested names below the original artwork. Another cool name listed
was ‘MEGAN Megaton’.

Cards
70a Dunkin’ DUNCAN and 70b WILL Hung also keep the same names from their original
intended release. The 1989 unreleased OS16 GPK image was painted by John Pound
as card number 651a/b and did not find its way within the published 2003 ANS1
card set; but is fortunately out of the well and seeing the light-of-day in 2011.