There
were four different items found in the United States Garbage Pail Kids
All-New Series 4 packs, and there was one additional item that could only
be found in the bonus boxes and blister packs. The hobby boxes contained
sketch cards, which could not be found in the retail boxes. Topps
titled the items for the series differently than what I will refer to
them as. The Stickers will be referred to as Cards, the Scratch
'N Stink will be referred to as Scratch 'N Stink Cards, the Tattoos will
be referred to Tattoo Cards, and the Bonus Stickers will be referred to
as Bonus Cards. I will refer to the Game Cards and Sketch Cards
no differently than Topps does. I used these titles to help clarify
which items I am discussing. The cards, scratch 'n stink cards,
and bonus cards are actually stickers on card backing, so I decided to
continue on with the same format I had been using on the website and refer
to them as cards.
I provided samples of what the cards and
items of the series look like. The first and last cards, scratch
'n stink cards, and tattoo cards are shown above. There also are
image overviews of all of the cards, scratch 'n stink cards, and tattoo
cards. The card checklist, scratch 'n stink card/tattoo card/game
card checklist, the front and back of the four bonus cards, sample scratch
'n stink card back, and sample tattoo card back can also be seen above.
All of the game cards can be see under the Game
Cards section on page 2, and a sample of the sketch cards can be seen
under the Sketch Cards section on page 2.
The purpose of the samples and image overviews is to give you a preview
of the series. Higher quality images of these items will not be
provided on this website or by request.
There are a total of 97 different characters
(51 different paintings) in the United States Garbage Pail Kids All-New
Series 4. Tom
Bunk created 15 new paintings for the series, and John
Pound created 12 new paintings for the series. There were some
additional artists painting characters for the series. John Cebollero
created 1 new painting for the series, Luis
Diaz created 10 new paintings for the series, Dave Gross created 4
new painting for the series, Ray
Lago created 3 new paintings for the series, Claude St. Aubin
created 1 new painting for the series, Mark
Sparacio created 1 new painting for the series, James
Warhola created 3 new paintings for the series, and George Wright
created 1 new paintings for the series. The characters on the game
cards were from previous Garbage Pail Kids series, but the characters
were redesigned and had a cartoon-like style. Efrain
Cintron was the artist who did the artwork for the game cards.
You may have noticed that I listed my name
in the credits section above. I had done this because I made a variety
of suggestions to Topps about the All-New Series 4. One of my suggestions
was to get the character names of cards 40a and 40b changed from "Adam
Da Bomb" and "Nuked Luke" to something else. I was
able to see a preview of the character names on the promotional checklist
that Topps had sent out (see the Promotions section
on page 4 for the checklist). Collectors did not like the name
"Adam Da Bomb" since the phrase "da bomb" was outdated.
Collectors did not like the name "Nuked Luke" because the "b-card"
character name that went with Adam Bomb/Adam Boom in the original series
was Blasted Billy/Blasted Billy II. Topps did not want to use the
new names suggested by collectors (e.g., Adam Bang, Adam Burst, Blasted
Billy III, Blown-up Billy, etc.). The Blasted Billy III name was
not used because Topps thought new collectors would not understand why
the character had the III after his name. After getting feedback
from Topps about the name suggestions, some collectors suggested that
Topps should use the original character names Adam Bomb and Blasted Billy.
I then suggested the reuse of the old names to Topps and told them that
the names would tie in with the game cards (there was an All-New Series
4 game card with the name Adam Bomb), so I was able to convince Topps
into using the two names. The majority of collectors were satisfied
with this change.
Even though there was a style guide created
(see the style guide under the Artwork section on
page 4), the various artists were still inconsistent with the Garbage
Pail Kids artwork style. While there were slight improvements with
the overall look of the artwork from the series, the artwork did not mesh
together well like in the original series. Topps used most of the
artwork that was inconsistent in style for the scratch 'n stink cards
and bonus cards. Topps had done this because they wanted the card
set to contain the best artwork of the series, and the cards were the
items that were produced in the largest quantity.
Unfortunately, there was a problem with
the print version of the series. All of the artwork was printed
much darker than the original paintings, and there was a horrible yellowish
tint that severely hurt the overall look. I was not sure if the
changes were done in the editing stage or in the printing stage, but whoever
was responsible for it should not work on adjusting the colors for any
other Garbage Pail Kids series.
There were several All-New Series 4 characters
that were fan favorites. Some of these favorites were cards: 13a
Fallen Angel / 13b Airsick Ariel, 15a Jumpin' Jen / 15b Megan Trouble,
23a Blastin' Sebastian / 23b Explosive Xavier, 33a Hollow Wayne / 33b
Jacqueline Lantern, and 36a Noah's Barf / 36b High-Water Mark. Fans
seemed to like these characters the most because of the subject matter,
detail, and artwork style. Many Garbage Pail Kids fans are also
interested in the horror genre, which is why 33a Hollow Wayne / 33b Jacqueline
Lantern was one of the fan favorites.
Just as in the All-New
Series 2 and All-New Series 3, most
of the characters in the All-New Series 4 appeared to be white.
Garbage Pail Kids cards are collected by kids from all backgrounds, so
I am not sure why the artists did not create more racially diverse characters
for the All-New Series 4. As I had mentioned in the All-New Series
2 and All-New Series 3 sections, it is a good idea to create a racially
diverse group of Garbage Pail Kids characters in order to appeal to children
from all backgrounds. Creating just a few non-white characters really
is not doing enough to appeal to all the kids/potential collectors out
there, and there needs to be more a greater effort to correct this problem.
There were first names used for new characters
in the All-New Series 1, All-New Series
2, and All-New Series 3 that were also used in the All-New Series 4.
Out of the 80 different new character names for the All-New Series 1,
94 different new character names for the All-New Series 2, 107 different
new character names for the All-New Series 3, and 96 different new character
names for the All-New Series 4; there were 49 repeated first names for
the All-New Series 4: Al (All-New Series 3: S4a Al Goredita and All-New
Series 4: 26b Al Addin' Fumes), Andy (All-New Series 3: S7b Eye-Candy
Andy and All-New Series 4: 34b Acne Andy), Anna (All-New Series 1: 14a
Little Barfin' Anna, All-New Series 3: S9a Anna Innards, and All-New Series
4: 8a Anna Cornea), Ariel (All-New Series 2: 2a Aerial Ariel and All-New
Series 4: 13b Airsick Ariel), Ashley (All-New Series 3: S1a Trashy Ashley
and All-New Series 4: 39a Nasty Ashley), Billy (All-New Series 3: B4 Hill
Billy and All-New Series 4: 40b Blasted Billy), Bob (All-New Series 2:
11a Bobble Bob, All-New Series 3: 14a Bob Gnarly, and All-New Series 4:
11a Grunge Bob), Brad (All-New Series 1: 21b Rad Brad, All-New Series
3: S5a Brad Pit, and All-New Series 4: S6b Barf Bag Brad and Promo Card
Batty Brad), Brett (All-New Series 2: 37b Wet Brett and All-New Series
4: 12a Brainwashed Brett), Charlie (All-New Series 1: 9a Cheesy Charlie
and All-New Series 4: 22b Charming Charlie), Chase (All-New Series 1:
9b Pizza Face Chase and All-New Series 4: 1a Green Cheese Chase), Chris
(All-New Series 2: 27b Crusty Chris, All-New Series 3: 20b Cuckoo Chris,
and All-New Series 4: 32b Cut Up Chris), Clay (All-New Series 3: S6a Gaseous
Clay and All-New Series 4: 9a Clay Achin'), Cole (All-New Series 1: 17b
Colossal Cole, All-New Series 3: B5 Cole Gate, and All-New Series 4: 16a
Cole Slawed), Colin (All-New Series 1: 39a Colin 911 and All-New Series
4: 10a Colin Bowel), Dan (All-New Series 2: 16a Dandruff Dan and All-New
Series 4: 25b High Man Dan), Ed (All-New Series 1: 1a Bone Head Ed, All-New
Series 3: 14b Dread Ed, and All-New Series 4: 12b Ed N. Shoulders), Frank
(All-New Series 1: 30a Freewheelin' Frank and All-New Series 4: S1a Frank
N. Wiener), Harry (All-New Series 1: 40a Harry Potty and All-New Series
4: 18a Harry Who Didn't), Ian (All-New Series 1: 26a Peein' Ian, All-New
Series 3: 34a Vegan Ian, and All-New Series 4: 27a Wolver-Ian), Ivan (All-New
Series 3: S7a Eyeball Ivan and All-New Series 4: 9b Idol Ivan), Jack (All-New
Series 2: 24b Wolfman Jack, All-New Series 3: 19a Jack Hammer, and All-New
Series 4: 7a Nin Jack), Jake (All-New Series 2: 16b Jake Flake, All-New
Series 3: 13a Jake Quake, and All-New Series 4: 22a Snakey Jake), Levi
(All-New Series 3: 18a Lava Levi and All-New Series 4: 35b Levee Levi),
Logan (All-New Series 2: 23a Downloadin' Logan and All-New Series 4: 27b
Pokin' Logan), Mark (All-New Series 1: 25b Marked Mark, All-New Series
2: 15a Skid Mark, and All-New Series 4: 36b High-Water Mark), Miguel (All-New
Series 3: 35b Messed Up Miguel and All-New Series 4: B7 Propelled Miguel),
Monica (All-New Series 1: 17a Monstrous Monica, and All-New Series 4:
8b Monica Ails), Nate (All-New Series 2: 8a Sk8 Nate, All-New Series 3:
8a Urine Nate, and All-New Series 4: 35a Floodgate Nate), Noah (All-New
Series 3: 29b Nosedive Noah and All-New Series 4: 36a Noah's Barf), Oscar
(All-New Series 2: 28b Oscar La Vista, All-New Series 3: 36a Offensive
Oscar, and All-New Series 4: S1b Oscar Mire), Paul (All-New Series 1:
27b Punchy Paul, All-New Series 2: B2 Paintball Paul, All-New Series 3:
26b Popped Paul, and All-New Series 4: 6a Paul Vault), Phil (All-New Series
1: 33a Phat Phil, All-New Series 2: S1b Ol' Faith Phil, and All-New Series
4: 1b Phil Moon), Randy (All-New Series 3: S10a Rancid Randy and All-New
Series 4: 24b Tandem Randy), Ray (All-New Series 1: 20a Sprayed Ray, All-New
Series 3: 21a X Ray, and All-New Series 4: 21a Blown Away Ray), Roger
(All-New Series 3: 10b Yuck Roger and All-New Series 4: 37b Roger Logger),
Ryan (All-New Series 2: 8b Flyin' Ryan and All-New Series 4: 20b Ralphin'
Ryan), Sam (All-New Series 2: 34a Toe Jam Sam and All-New Series 4: 4b
Sausage Sam), Sarah (All-New Series 3: 3a Saucey Sarah and All-New Series
4: 31a Snotty Sarah), Stephanie (All-New Series 1: 10b Stuffin' Stephanie,
All-New Series 2: S3b Stinkin' Stephanie, and All-New Series 4: S5a Stink
Blot Stephanie), Steve (All-New Series 3: 11b Stringy Steve and All-New
Series 4: 24a Cleaved Steve), Tessa (All-New Series 2: 25a Cookie-Tosser
Tessa and All-New Series 4: S5b Rorschach Tessa), Tim (All-New Series
2: 35b Timid Tim and All-New Series 4: 25a Totem Tim), Tom (All-New Series
2: S5a Topping Tom, All-New Series 3: 6a Tom Tongue, and All-New Series
4: 19a Tom Turkey), Travis (All-New Series 2: 15b Trackin' Travis and
All-New Series 4: 30a Turd King Travis), Vinnie (All-New Series 1: 27a
Mini Vinnie and All-New Series 4: S6a Vinnie Vomit), Warren (All-New Series
3: 33b Trojan Warren and All-New Series 4: 3a Worked-Up Warren), Will
(All-New Series 1: 33b Ill Will, All-New Series 2: 11b Will Wobble, and
All-New Series 4: 17b Wizzin' Will), and Xavier (All-New Series 2: 12b
Xtreme Xavier and All-New Series 4: 23b Explosive Xavier).
The first name Paul was used in the All-New
Series 1, All-New Series 2, All-New Series 3, and All-New Series 4.
As I had mentioned in the All-New Series 2 and All-New Series 3 sections,
there are plenty of common first names that have never been used in any
of the Garbage Pail Kids series, so there really is no reason to repeat
so many of the same first names for any of the new Garbage Pail Kids characters.
It was disappointing to see so many first names being used over in just
a few series.
There was one printing of the United States
Garbage Pail Kids All-New Series 4. There were no variations for
the printing. The bonus cards did not come in the regular boxes,
and you would have to purchase the bonus boxes and blister packs in order
to obtain them. I discuss more details about the packs, bonus cards/boxes,
and blister packs under the Packaging
and Contents section on page 3.
There were two different checklists for
the series. There was a card checklist and a scratch 'n stink card/tattoo
card/game card checklist. The card checklist was used for 3 of the
card backs, and the scratch 'n stink card/tattoo card/game card checklist
was used for 2 of the card backs. The card checklist numbering is
left-justified and has lower-case a's and b's. The scratch 'n stink
card/tattoo card/game card checklist numbering is also left-justified
and has lower-case a's and b's. The cards are numbered 1a to 40a
and 1b to 40b, which can be very confusing to new collectors because the
numbers are the same as the original Series 1, All-New Series 1, All-New
Series 2, and All-New Series 3. The die-cuts on the cards were all
the same shape. The cards were not printed with asterisks on them
like the original Garbage Pail Kids series. The cards have an extremely
glossy coating on them, which is supposed to help protect them from getting
damaged. The card finish, coloring, and thickness was consistent
throughout the printing. If you look closely at the Garbage Pail
Kids banners and name ovals on the fronts of the cards, you will notice
that the lines somewhat smooth, which was an improvement since the lines
were slightly jagged in the All-New Series 2 and All-New Series 3.
The All-New Series 4 was the second series
to use artwork based on the winning entry from the Build-A-Kid contest
on the Garbage Pail Kids World website. I do not know the name of
the winner of the contest, but the winning entry was named "Colon
Powell", which ended up being used for the concept of 10a Colin Bowel
/ 10b Scoutin' Scott. The series did not have anything printed on
the card backs about the winning design of the contest, which was unlike
what was done for the All-New Series 3.
The scratch 'n stink cards are numbered
s1a to s6a and s1b to s6b (note the usage of the lower-case "s"
for the numbering). The All-New Series 2 and All-New Series 3 used
an upper-case "S" for the numbering. All of the scratch
'n stink cards are vertically displayed. The scratch 'n stink cards
were not coated with gloss like the regular cards. They felt much
like the original Garbage Pail Kids cards. Each scratch 'n stink
card had a scented, circular area, which you were to scratch in order
to reveal its foul odor. On the back of the scratch 'n stink cards
was a guide to show you where the scent was located, but you could usually
see where the scent circle was located by tilting the card. Some
scents were extremely pungent, and it was unnecessary to scratch the card
to smell them. Just like in the All-New Series 2 and All-New Series
3, you could sometimes find scratch 'n stink cards without the scented
area, and there were collectors who tried to put together sets with cards
that had the scented areas and sets that did not have the scented areas.
Because some of the scents were so horrible, many collectors kept their
scratch 'n stink cards separate from their regular cards.
Topps created their first Garbage Pail Kids
tattoo cards for the All-New Series 4. The All-New Series 4 tattoo
cards are numbered from 1 to 10 and featured characters from the All-New
Series 4. There were directions on the back of the tattoo cards
that showed you how to apply the tattoo. While it was nice to see
Topps trying to create another new Garbage Pail Kids item, the tattoo
cards did not appeal to most collectors. Better concepts and artwork
for the regular cards will always be appreciated much more by the collectors
than gimmick cards. The main problem with the tattoo cards was that
the tattoos were way too large. Most children would stick this type
of tattoo onto the back of their hands, but the tattoos were too large
to even fit onto the back of an adult's hand. On occasion, there
would be peeling at the bottom center on the back of the tattoo card,
which was caused by a problem with the manufacturing process. There
was a thin piece of clear plastic on the front of the tattoo cards, which
was to be removed when applying the tattoo. Sometimes, this plastic
would be bent or damaged from the manufacturing process.
There were four bonus cards, and they were
numbered b6, b7, b8, and b9. There were no "a" or "b"
versions of the bonus cards. Besides the numbering and bonus card
information on the backs, the bonus cards looked and felt the same as
the regular cards. The bonus cards had die-cuts and an extremely
glossy coating just like the regular cards. However, the bonus cards
are more valuable than the regular cards because they were much more difficult
to obtain and only available in the bonus boxes. Topps continued
the numbering sequence starting from where the All-New Series 3 left off,
but the card numbering had a lower-case "b" for the front of
the cards and an upper-case "B" for the back of the cards.
A few months after the All-New Series 4
was out, Topps created a special promo card for the series that was handed
out at the San Diego Comic-Con International at the Topps booth.
The San Diego Comic-Con International is a huge convention that has products
from hundreds of manufacturers. The concept for the character on
the promo card was almost identical to the All-New Series 1 characters
31a Fartin' Martin / 31b Revvin' Evan except the character was dressed
as Batman and was not eating beans. This was the second promo card
that Topps had produced for Garbage Pail Kids. The promo card was
unnumbered, and the character on it had the name Batty Brad. The
first name Brad was also used for the All-New Series 4 scratch 'n stink
card S6b Barf Bag Brad. The promo card was the same thickness and
glossiness as the regular cards. There was a "Peel Here"
arrow printed on the promo card, but the card was not die-cut because
there was no sticker portion (i.e., it was not a sticker on card backing).
The organizers of the San Diego Comic-Con International were afraid people
would be sticking the stickers around the convention, so they told Topps
that they could not pass out stickers, which is why Topps did not print
the promo cards on card stock that had a sticker front. The back
of the promo card mentioned that the All-New Series 5 would be out in
2006, and the series would have initial stickers, magnets, and online
bonus codes. The event guide for the San Diego Comic-Con International
mentioned that promo cards (no specific titles) would be given out at
the Topps booth, but no additional details or images were provided in
the guide, which is why I did not post up any images from it. |
