Garbage Pail Kids trading cards are now valuable. In the mid-1980s, Topps Chewing Gum produced
By the summer of 1985, some Americans had had enough of the "Cabbage Patch Kids" phenomenon that had swept the country like Beanie Babies did a few years ago.
There was so much attention on a product that was basically a less-than- attractive doll that someone with an obviously twisted mind created a take-off that took the bubble gum card industry by storm. They were called "Garbage Pail Kids", a trading card issue that poked fun at the Cabbage Patch kids with a series of fictional "kids" pictured in unflattering terms.
The first issue hit the streets in 1985, designed to aid Topps in the trading card war with rivals Fleer and Donruss. The "Kids" were packaged in pink wax packs and featured a "kid" with a nuclear blast coming out of his head. They were an instant hit with kids, who loved anything over the edge. Some adults thought the cards meant that the end of civilization was near.
The first series of cards were snapped up like crazy once the controversy began to take hold.
Eager collectors and children eager to see what the fuss was about, snapped up boxes and sets.
That early commotion caused those first cards to be a rarity. Today, a complete series one set is worth $125. An unopened box can be worth up to $700.
Nothing was off limits, it seemed, in the world of Garbage Pail Kids. The goofy drawings featured fluctuating "Windy Mindy", "Schizo Fran" and various other less than flattering themes. Several artists contributed to the project which became perhaps the most successful craze in non-sports card collecting. John Pound, Art Spiegelman, Mark Newgarden and Jay Lynch were among those artists who contributed designs.
The popularity of series one kept the presses rolling at Topps. The series went on for 15 different series and eventually included larger sized cards, posters, plaques and other items.
There was even Garbage Pail Candy. Prices for series two unopened boxes today are in the $200-300 range. Series four is much easier to find with boxes readily available for $30-50. Later series are similarly priced.
There were a few "error" cards or those printed with some slight variation which can carry a slight premium in value.
The 5x7 sized cards are found at $25-40 in series one; $10-15 in series two. Posters typically sell for $10-25.
Garbage Pail Kids can often be found at comic book stores carrying older material, at sports and non-sports trading card shows or at off-beat merchandise shows or flea markets.
The protests against the cards fell on deaf ears.
Some stores refused to carry the product, while others treated them as simply a harmless, albeit twisted joke, that kept customers coming in for more.
There was supposed to be a Saturday morning Garbage Pail Kids TV show, but it never made it to the airwaves. The cartoon was created in the late 1980s and scheduled for air on CBS' morning lineup. The animated show was even advertised by the network and ready for its debut that fall, but a tremendous uproar among those parents who hated the idea behind the cards put a stop to it.
A letter writing campaign caused the network to pull the show from the schedule before the first episode was released. Tapes do exist of the cartoon, having leaked out of the network's files, but are extremely difficult to find. A Garbage Pail Kids movie, however, did hit the big screen, although it was not seen by a tremendously large audience.
