Comic Book Pick 7/20/22

  The comic book I am most excited to read this week is...
MADBALLS VS. GARBAGE PAIL KIDS #1

(W) Sholly Fisch (A) Jason Crosby (CA) Joe Simko
For the first time ever, the "heavyweights of gross" have combined forces in a massive merchandising blitz that pits the Madballs against the Garbage Pail Kids-winner take all! As part of this blitz, Dynamite presents the comic book crossover of these iconic 1980s brands! For over three decades, Madballs and GPK have both been known as the "grossest of the gross," co-ruling counterculture with their pun-heavy names and subversive humor. This all-new limited series event presents the first time these two delightfully crude forces have ever crossed paths! Written by Sholly Fisch, each issue features three incredible covers by legendary Garbage Pail Kids artist Joe Simko, series artist Jason Crosby, and a special trading card team-up cover created specially for this momentous meeting of the (depraved) minds! 
SRP: $3.99
Synopsis Provided By: PreviewsWorld.com 

GPK: We Hate The 80s

I had seen this new series of Garbage Pail Kids on a few other retro blogs over the past few months. Then I finally saw them for sale at a local Target store and had to pick up a pack for myself! First of all I am a sucker for Garbage Pail Kids. The nostalgia attached to these cards is priceless to me, so anytime I get to open a new pack, I have to take that opportunity. Secondly, this series is dedicated to parodies of people and things that made the 80s so great! I opened the pack with excitement and this is what I got...

Once again, I understand that there have always been a version "A" and a version "B" of every card, but I can't help but feel a bit cheated that the majority of the cards in my pack were of the same variety. Not a complaint, just an observation. Here we get a few of the "Goldbergs" cards that represent the fantastic retro sitcom that is currently airing on ABC.

Next up we have a few homages to Mr. Rogers, Trapper Keepers and a "Phlegm" boarder parallel of the Lisa Frank school supplies. I love the artwork on these cards and wish I had picked up more. These are classic Garbage Pail Kids fun! 

Here is where I feel this series and multiple series of GPK before this fall flat. The card backs! Why do they continue giving us these bland, boring, non creative card backs!!! Why not return to the days of the "Wanted" posters, comics or "Underachievement" awards? Heck, I would even be happy with a puzzle piece on the back! This setback not withstanding, overall I was pretty happy with this TOPPS card set and will probably pick up a few more packs. 8 cards/stickers for $1.99 is not too steep a price to relive some great childhood memories. Plus I want to see if I can snag one of those amazing "80s Wax Pack Parodies" or Goldberg autograph cards!

GPK Card Review: Adam-Geddon

I don't know how many times I can state this, but I am a sucker for Garbage Pail Kids cards. I collected these stickers back in the 80's during the height of GPK Mania! So, every time I see a new series by Topps on the shelves, it gives me a nice warm feeling inside. It brings back the nostalgia of stopping at the local corner store with my Dad and picking out a pack. Naturally I recently purchased a pack of GPK: Adam-Geddon cards. Here's what was inside:

Stuffed Stephan, Whipped Kareem, Noah Room & Francis Fungus. I did enjoy the Whipped Kareem & Noah Room cards. They seemed like they could have fit into any retro GPK release. The Francis Fungus, just seemed lazy to me. I understand after all these years it is gonna be difficult to come up with fresh ideas, but I expect a little more out of my Garbage Pail Kids. I was not too happy to receive an A & B variation card of pretty much the same character in a 4-card pack, but it's not unheard of in a pack of GPK. I'll let that slide.

Here's where my biggest beef was with this new Adam-Geddon release. The backs are so plain and terrible! GPK is famous for their great backs that included everything from puzzle pieces to mini comics to fake awards. This unoriginality drives me nuts. I will not spend anymore money on this Topps release. Let's forget this nastiness and bask in the greatness that is the 80's GPK card backs!

5 Random Trading Cards: Vol. 3

Today I'll be taking you back to the days of cardboard cards, stale chunks of pink chewing gum and wax wrappers...again. We will be taking a look at 5 old trading cards! I loved collecting cards as a kid. Baseball, Ninja Turtles, Superheroes it didn't matter. I just loved opening a pack and smelling the gum and seeing if you had opened a pack with new cards or more doubles! The stickers were always the premium pieces, but having a few extras to trade never hurt. Let's open this pack of awesomeness and take a look at 5 random cards from the 80s & 90s:

 Reboot (Fleer, 1995)

Back in the mid 90s this cartoon was revolutionary. It was fully animated with computer graphics and the story line, while being kid friendly, still had enough edge to appeal to older viewers. I watched a few episodes here and there, but was never an avid viewer. I own these cards due to the packs being included in the before mentioned Dollar Tree Comic Value Packs.

 Garbage Pail Kids: All New Series 3 (Topps, 2013)

If you have read my blog recently, you can tell that I love Garbage Pail Kids. Me and my older brother collected them as kids and any time I see a new series on the shelves, I have to pick up a pack for nostalgia's sake. This card stood out to me because of the inclusion of the original GPK, Adam Bomb. That guy is classic! Also, the Spider-Man inspired comic on the back of the card was brilliant!

 Nintendo Sticker Collection (Merlin, 1992)

Who didn't have one of these sticker albums back in the 80s & 90s? They covered everything from Ninja Turtles to Major League Baseball to Beetlejuice! The books were fun and the packs of stickers were usually around $0.25 each. So it was a cheap way to keep us kids entertained. I like this sticker not only because it's from Nintendo, but because of the old school Gameboy box art. I never played Dynablaster. Maybe I'll have to find a copy?

 Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Topps, 1983)

Oh Star Wars. The common bond that everyone had in common. Every kid was a Star Wars fan. From nerds to jocks everyone could agree that Star Wars ROCKED!!! I did collect these cards as a kid. Return of the Jedi is probably my favorite Star Wars movie. I know most people will pick Empire Strikes Back as the superior film, but this was the movie I watched religiously as a bright-eyed young kid. In my opinion, this card is great because it depicts the Sarlacc Pit in all it's glory, before Lucas added tentacles and a beak! Why was that necessary? 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (Topps, 1992)

The most despised of all the Ninja Turtles movies, until Michael Bay came along. Ninja Turtles 3 suffered from a lot of problems. Poor story, bad costumes and rushed production. It was still Turtles, so I bought into it and tried really hard to like this movie, but I just can't. After the greatness of the first 2 Turtles flicks this was a huge disappointment. I have a few of these cards in my collection and really do like these art cards, but it's not enough to redeem TMNT 3 from how bad it was.

In October A Winner Was Me!

Wayyyy back in the month of October of 2016 the website Action Figure Barbecue held a little "Toy Bloggers United" contest. Pretty much a post would be put up on the website with a question at the end. Some included "What Toy Scared You As A Kid?", "What Is The Perfect House For Trick or Treating?" and "Have You Ever Dressed Up As Your Favorite Toy For Halloween?". Of course I jumped on the opportunity for free stuff, answered these questions and BAM, I was hit over the head with some Halloween memories that I had forgotten about. Like the time my mom made me go out as an Oreo Cookie and my brother as a Rubik's Cube! In the end, I wound up winning one of the 3 prizes and here's what was in the box!

 Comics: Ghost Rider Rides Again #2 (1991) & The Pirates of Dark Water #2 (1991)

 Garbage Pail Kids (2003), Casper Puzzle, Christmas Puzzle & MLP writing pad

 Halloween Makeup: Tooth Black Out & Hair Color Spikes

 Misc. little guys (Aliens, Robots, Dr. Doom, Prince Phillip & Weird Finger Puppet)

 Skull Air Freshener (Vanilla Scent), Lego Stickers, Pinky and the Brain pad & mouse pad

 POGS!!! Limited Edition Collector Series w/ bonus Casper Pog & Skull Slammer

Spiders, Lizards & Frogs

Also included was a Star Wars Black Series Snowtrooper figure. Thank you again to the fine folks at Action Figure Barbecue. I will enjoy my major award. Please check out the AFB website. It is full of AWESOME toy reviews and I saw some stuff on there that I didn't even know existed! It's a good read. You won't want to miss out on the layers of action figures, pumpkins, and superheroes, covered with a rich chocolatey coating at Action Figure Barbecue!

5 Random Trading Cards: Vol. 2

Today I'll be taking you back to the days of cardboard cards, stale chunks of pink chewing gum and wax wrappers...yet again. We will be taking a look at 5 old trading cards! I loved collecting cards as a kid. Baseball, Ninja Turtles, Superheroes it didn't matter. I just loved opening a pack and smelling the gum and seeing if you had opened a pack with new cards or more doubles! The stickers were always the premium pieces, but having a few extras to trade never hurt. Let's open this pack of awesomeness and take a look at 5 random cards from the 80s & 90s:

Batman: Saga of The Dark Knight (Skybox, 1994)

I really enjoyed these cards when they came out. This 100 card set followed the events of Batman's life starting from the "Year One" story arc to the point where Batman regains his identity after Bane breaks his back. The cards are not just reprints of comic pages, but new art from some big names like Matt Wagner and Phil Jimenez. Saga of The Dark Knight also had some sweet chase sets including Spectra-Etch cards and the first SkyDisc!

The Creators Universe (Dynamic Entertainment, 1993)

I never bought any of these cards growing up and do not really know much about this set. From what I've seen, I believe Dynamic Entertainment grabbed a bunch of comic creators and let them create their own characters. They then turned these into a 100 card set. The card I found is a foil chase card of Adam Kubert's character Sgt. Major Acre, a British spy subjected to experiments by a group of terrorists. I don't think I'm interested in collecting this set?

Garbage Pail Kids Flashback: Series 2 (Topps, 2011)

This isn't exactly a retro card, but it is a reprint of "Off The Wall Paul", a character from GPK Series 2. I don't know why it is titled as "Sewer Sue"? I remember having this sticker when I was 5 years old and putting it on the bottom drawer of my dresser along with other Garbage Pail Kids. When we would play with our Ghostbusters action figures, they would walk by Paul and we would pretend they were in some sort of haunted museum!

Power Rangers: Series 1 (Collect-A-Card, 1994)

Who didn't like Power Rangers back in the early 90s? My little brother was a huge fan. So, I enjoyed these guys through his fandom. I was a little "too old" around that time to like things like this, but I still made time to play Power Rangers with my little brother and collect the cards. This one features Bulk & Skull, the bullies/comedy relief of the show. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would have been stale if not for this dynamic duo!

Spider-Man II: 30th Anniversary Set (Comic Images, 1992)

Comic Images put out a ton of cards sets just like this in the 90s and they all looked the same! Whether it was Punisher, X-men or Youngblood the cards had the same look. The front had bright art with little background and no boarder and the backs were 2 colors with a side pic and short story/description. I'm not knocking it, but a little variety between sets would have been nice. Also, most of Comic Images sets like Spider-Man II included "Prism Cards" as their chase set. I opened each pack hoping to get one of these with no luck! I guess that's the thrill of the chase...card!

Pop Culture League Challenge: Blind Baggin it!

This week's challenge is titled "Buying Blind". Who doesn’t love gambling on a blind box or mystery package? I for one, love it...if the price is right!

I found these Garbage Pail Kids Minikins blind bags at the Dollar Tree the other day. Who could pass these up for only $1! These were released by Topps in 2013. Each pack comes with 4 figures and 4 stickers. The reason I picked this pack is because I could see it had Nasty Nick the vampire from series 1 in it! Perfect for this time of the year!

Oooooo! Creepy! I love this guy! My only complaint is that the figure does not include the "Barbie Doll" in his arms like the original card did. I understand I am asking too much from a 1 inch tall mini-figure, but I'm kind of a jerk like that! Otherwise it is pretty accurate to his 1985 card.

Also included in the "Blind" portion of the pack I got the always popular Mr. Adam Bomb, Brainy Janie and Anna Banana. For $1, these things are great! They have the squishy, rubbery feel of a Squinky, but the paint and mold detail is awesome for the size!

Also included were 4 mini stickers of each of the characters contained in the bag. Each sticker has original Garbage Pail Kid art on the front and a nice little bio write up on the back.

There are 26 Minikins to collect in this series. Each in a blue, red, green, ultra rare yellow and painted variation. If these are still at the Dollar Tree next time I make a visit, I'll probably grab another bag. I really do enjoy the suspense and surprise of a good blind bag toy!

Click a link below and find out other Leaguers thoughts on "Buying Blind"!

Green Plastic Squirt Gun talks about his "Blind" addiction

The Last Hometown discusses their collecting troubles

Alexis' Universe shows us a great collection

Toy Break is not so enthusiastic about the concept

Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool keeps it real!

Keepin It Classic: Garbage Pail Kids

Now this is what I'm talkin bout! A few weeks ago I wrote about how disappointed I was with the new "Garbage Pail Kids: American as Apple Pie In Your Face!" card set. The art was a little off and the humor of the cards was not up to par. I found these "Garbage Pail Kids: Chrome Series 2" cards at Target. They are re-issues of the original GPK Series 2 cards from 1985 with chrome artwork! 4 cards come in each pack. These are the kids I remember and enjoy so much! Let's tear into the pack and see what's inside:

 Brainy Brian & Live Mike

These cards are not re-issues of the older cards, but part of the "Returning" subset. It's like a look at what happened to each character after the original photo was taken. Live Mike's fans get a shock and an exquisite rendition of a GPK Zombie attempts to steal a bite of Brainy Brian's brain. I like these cards. It keeps the story going without loosing any of the original art flavor. It's fun to see the "After" portion of each characters story. I'm kind of glad I got these 2 cards. They are something recognizable from the 85 series with a new twist!

Pegleg Peter & Jolly Roger

Here is where a little disappointment set in. I got version A & B of the same character in the same pack. These are re-issues of 1985 cards and I understand this is something Topps has been doing with the Garbage Pail Kids from the beginning, but when you only get 4 cards per pack it is a bit of a let down to get pretty much the same card. Even the backs are identical! 

Would I buy these again? Yes! Not only is the artwork classic GPK but the inclusion of chase cards like Superfractors (1:4,666), Pencil Art Cards (1:3) and Artist Autographs (1:305) will keep me ripping open packs. I know the odds are not in my favor, but it's always good to dream.

Retro on the Cheap: Garbage Pail Kids

I found myself in the trading card area again at The Dollar Tree and felt the need to pick up a pack of Garbage Pail Kids: American As Apple Pie In Your Face! Yes, I collected GPK as a kid and stuck them to everything from my dresser to notebooks to photo albums. Every time I see a pack of these gross-out era relics I feel the need to pick one up, especially when a pack is only $1. I tore open the wrapper and here's what was inside:

 Savage Sanders (2016 Presidential Candidate Sticker)

 Art Apart (America's Pastimes Sticker)

 Garbage Pail Kim (American Inventor Sticker)

Leaky Lou (U.S. Summer Olym-picks Sticker)

I felt sort of let down by the less-than-stellar artwork on these cards. The characters seem a bit rushed and there is absolutely no background on the cards. It also seems to me that the grossness of the cards has been toned down. I feel like the charm that these cards once had is lost due to concerns over parental backlash. I would much rather prefer a re-issue of older cards to these new ones...although the Savage Sanders card did make me laugh a little.