INFO

GLOSSY VS MATTE

In the early Original Series 1, cards were printed with either a shiny (glossy) or flat (matte) finish. Glossy versions of certain cards are significantly rarer and more valuable.

ERROR CARDS

These include pink spiral error, yellow snow, iPAD, white square, die-cut, green printing error, long green shadow, and black eyelash printing errors. A highly sought out printing error is the "No Number" variant of Semi Colin (OS 9) which is missing it's card number in the upper-right of the card. For details on each error check this out the archives.

BANNED

SCHIZO Fran (Original Series 2) was pulled and renamed FRAN Fran due to controversy over using the term referring to Schizophrenia as a result this is the first card with more than two names.

C Cards

Speaking of multiple names, C Cards are a third character name variant. tricky to spot at times - I've only landed one!

PARALLEL TIERS (The "Rainbow")

Parallels use the same artwork as the base card but feature different border colours or textures. In modern sets like these are often serial-numbered, the rarity does change in certain sets but here is a common breakdown:

• Refractors: The standard shiny "foil" version of a card.
• Atomic / Prism: Features a "cracked ice" or geometric shimmer pattern.
• Color Borders: The rarity usually follows this hierarchy however some variation occurs:
• Booger/Puke Green (#/299)
• Phlegm Yellow (#/150)
• Spit Splatter Blue (#/99)
• Pink (#/75)
• Orange (#/50)
• Bloody Nose Red (#/5)
• Fool's Gold/Superfractor (1/1)

In GPK Chrome Series there are also heaps of different types of refractor cards.

A bookend card is when the serial-numbered card is the 1st or last card of that particular print run and can be more valuable, so an example for Booger Green borders is 1/299 or 299/299!

"Chasing the Rainbow" - Some collectors chase every different colour borders for one character!

SKETCH

1-of-1 hand drawn original pieces from GPK artists! These are the big chases - imagine hitting your favourite character hand-drawn, a unique art piece that only YOU own!

• Standard Sketch Cards: Single, standard-sized trading card featuring a unique hand-drawn sketch, often signed by the artist
• Shaped Sketch Cards: Cut into unique shapes rather than standard rectangles, often fitting the theme of the character
• Panoramic Sketch Cards: Double-wide cards featuring a larger, horizontal scene
• Triptych/Puzzle Sketch Cards: Three separate cards that, when placed together, create a single, larger image
• Loaded/Colour Sketch Cards: High-detail, full-color sketches, often considered more desirable than pencil or black-and-white sketches

Hit a sketch card but can't read the signature checkout a directory of artists with an example of their signatures on GPKNews https://gpknews.com/gpk-artist-directory/#r

PRINTING PLATE

You have a shot at pulling an actual metal printing plate used to manufacture a card. There are 4 colours of printing plates per card/character: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black however each plate colour is a 1/1 in existence. Find all 4 colours of the same card to complete a "Plate Rainbow".

Over all my time of collecting I've hit 4 sketch cards and zero printing plates.

If you've ever seen or pulled a "jersey card" from sports cards relic & patch cards are the same idea!

PATCH

These cards are custom made fabric patches or emblems embedded into the card.

RELIC

These cards have a physical object or piece of object embedded into the card either celebrating GPK history or GPK artists. Some include: Stamps, Vintage Wrappers, shirt pieces, seat fabric, Coins, Earth/Man-made materials.

Both patch and relic cards are MUCH thicker than your average card - like 4 times thicker, coming in at around 130pt to 180pt!

Wacky Packages are the direct ancestors of Garbage Pail Kids, and the two brands share a deep creative DNA. While GPK parodies people (specifically the Cabbage Patch Kids), Wacky Packages parodies consumer products like laundry detergent, cereal boxes, and candy.

The Connection: How GPK was Born

The link between the two isn't just a similarity in humor—it's a direct lineage.

• The Original Idea: In 1985, Topps was planning a new series of Wacky Packages. Artist John Pound painted a parody of a Cabbage Patch Kid to be included in that set.
• The Spin-Off: Topps executives saw the painting and realized the concept was strong enough to be its own standalone brand. They pulled it from the Wacky Packages lineup, and Garbage Pail Kids Original Series 1 was born.

Wacky Packages Inserts in GPK Sets

Topps frequently includes Wacky Packages Inserts as a tribute to this shared history. These inserts usually come in two forms:

• GPK-Themed Wacky Packs: These are product parodies that exist within the GPK universe. Instead of just a generic cereal parody, the "product" being made fun of is related to a specific GPK character.
• Crossover Art: These inserts often feature a famous GPK character (like Adam Bomb) appearing on a Wacky Packages-style product (like a "Blasted Billy" energy drink).

GPK-THEMED COLLECTOR ITEMS

Just when you thought you knew all the wacky items GPK can offer, there's still MORE! GPK tends to offer unique collector items exclusive to Collector Boxes- to diversify your collection of course! Some examples of the items I've acquired are: Iron on Patches (Book Worms), Luggage Tags (GPK on Vacation), tiny GPK Tombstone Figurines (Revenge of Oh the Horror-ible!).

My GPK collecting started at a card show in 2019 where I picked up a binder of a small collection of GPK cards ranging from Original Series 3-15 with 1 card that really caught my attention Rusty Bolts 484b. As an avid robot lover this card was AMAZING to me. I got the binder for a steal and honestly haven't seen many GPK single cards in the wild since then. After picking this binder up, I searched Toronto high and low but no where had GPK cards. Surprisingly, I finally found some modern sealed at a local card shop and I BOUGHT EVERYTHING THEY HAD! Four collector boxes: We hate the 80's, We hate the 90's, Battle of the Bands, and Oh! The Horror-ible plus all their singles. It was glorious! Since then I've kept up with most modern releases, skipping a couple and at times just not able to get access to popular sets here in Canada or having to pay a small fortune on cross-border fees and tariffs. Which is why I hope to make GPK cards more accessible and working towards creating the largest GPK singles shop in Canada!

MY FIRST ADAM BOMB

One of my best pick-ups was finding an Adam Bomb OS1 card on an eBay auction in Canada winning the auction for $1.99!!

Many moons ago I had a plan to become a Youtube content creator by starting a Pokémon & GPK channel. I hadn't opened Pokémon since I was a kid in the WoTC era, so I bought a bunch of product and started filming.

Two things happened, 1. I opened XY Evolutions and had no idea about the modern Pokémon (ex & Mega) nor the new break cards and 2. I had a hard time RIPPING EVERYTHING- the sealed collector in me cringed at the thought of not keeping any sealed. So I canned the idea of becoming a Pokémon star but kept going and made some GPK videos - I was never really good at it though.

Life eventually got busy with all those adult pressures and even though I never stopped collecting I didn't put as much energy into it - UNTIL NOW where I get to share my love of collecting with YOU through my tiny closet hobby shop!

Garbage Pail Kids autograph cards are rare and prized possessions that add a layer of prestige and value to a collection.

Unlike standard cards, these have been physically handled and signed by the original artists who created the iconic, gross-out imagery - legendary illustrators. I love that all the artists have their own style and flair in their illustrations much like popular Pokémon artists.

For a collector, owning an autograph is like owning a piece of GPK history, as it represents a direct link to the creative minds behind the series' 40-year legacy. A piece of art in tiny cardboard form!