Did you collect Wacky Packages or Garbage Pail Kids? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 08-12-2008, 10:53 AM

Quote:

View: When Wacky Packages ruled
Source: CNN
posted with the TFP thread generator

When Wacky Packages ruled
When Wacky Packages ruled
Story Highlights
Wacky Packages, a product parody card series, were a huge fad in 1970s

Some gags were created by Art "Maus" Spiegelman

"This was before satire became a national industry," says writer Jay Lynch

Cards would recast Crest as "Crust" and Dial soap as "Vile" soap

By Todd Leopold
CNN
(CNN) -- I blame Wacky Packages for making me the man I am today.

At 9 years old, I became hooked on the Topps-brand sticker series of product parodies, which recast Cap'n Crunch as "Cap'n Crud" and Nestle's Quik as "Nutlee's Quit" ("Explodes Instantly with Milk").

From there, it was a short trip to Mad magazine, "Saturday Night Live," National Lampoon, punk rock, trolling used-book stores and record stores, and indulging in other mind-rotting activities (memorizing trivia, creating puns) until I became the skeptical, disillusioned writer you have before you.

So, to Wacky Packages, I can only say: Thank you. Gallery: Some Wacky Packages products »

Not that Topps, or more specifically illustrator Art Spiegelman and writer Jay Lynch -- goaded by Topps' Woody Gelman and Len Brown -- knew the import of the work. In the preface to the new book "Wacky Packages" (Abrams), a collection of the first seven series of the Topps cards, Spiegelman -- yes, the same Art Spiegelman who won a Pulitzer Prize for "Maus" -- remembers the creation of Wackies as being "a dream job," but something that would probably be forgotten.

"It was all done as Part of a Day's Work, much like the way early comic books were made: they certainly weren't made as art, they weren't sold as art, and they weren't thought of as art," he says in the book's introduction. "Wacky Packages just formed an island of subversive underground culture in the surrounding sea of junk."

Lynch, a childhood friend of Spiegelman's who worked on Wacky Packages, Garbage Pail Kids and other Topps series, agrees.

"I didn't know they were that memorable until about 12 years ago, with the Internet," he says in an interview. (Several Web sites have been devoted to the cards, notably Greg Grant's Wacky Packages pages.) "Before that, I didn't think of it as any more important than the other series."

Lynch says that in the beginning, he and Spiegelman earned eight dollars for their basic gags, which would later be fleshed out into paintings by illustrator Norm Saunders or one of the Mad crowd. (They got $50.) Eventually, Topps raised the price of a rough to $20: "Art used to say, 'I like to think of it as drawing twenty-dollar bills,' " Lynch remembers.

It wasn't much, but since he and Spiegelman were barely out of their teens when Wackies peaked, it did the job: "A rough would buy a week's worth of groceries," Lynch says, and they'd get to eat their models.

At their 1973-75 zenith, Wacky Packages were a phenomenon. The stickers made the cover of a 1973 issue of New York magazine (by coincidence, the same issue included an article on Mad, then at its Nixon-roasting height), and were also written about in The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. Lynch remembers Wackies outselling baseball cards one year.
iReport: Show us your Wacky Packages collection

"This was before satire became a national industry," Lynch recalls. "It wasn't like, every day, a thousand people would mock Tide."

Some companies would issue cease-and-desist orders, he recalls, but since they usually gave a 90-day window to pull the offending card from the shelves -- and the gum that accompanied the cards was supposed to be on sale for only 90 days -- the orders were effectively moot. (You can make your own gum joke here.)

As with all fads, Wackies eventually ran out of steam, and Topps moved on to other series: "Happy Days" cards, the Garbage Pail Kids and superheroes among them.

But the memory lingers.

"Anything that happens when you're eight years old can mark you for life -- just ask Sigmund Freud!" Spiegelman says in the book's introduction. "Wackies were a young child's first exposure to subverting adult consumer culture.

"Now," he adds wickedly, "thirty-five years later, that generation has matured into adults who can afford to nostalgically consume a deluxe volume brimming with that subversion. Yessirree -- I am proud to have been a worker in the debased basement of the great temple of commerce that is America's popular culture."

Oh, don't sell yourself short, Art. There's a whole generation you've warped, too. And I, for one, can't be more pleased.

Ahhhh nostalgia!!!!

I remember collecthing these as a kid. I didn't collect baseball cards or football cards, but I did buy these things. They always gave me a chuckle and a laugh. Even today when I see them.

Go check out the site that has them, there's just too many to even pick a few for sampling. Maybe someone else can post a few. I can't seem to settle on just one.

My sister was too young for this, but she loved Garbage Pail Kids World

Enjoy the trip!

xepherys · 08-12-2008, 11:04 AM

Yeah, I had Garbage Pail Kids when I was younger. I remember my school district banning them, and we'd have underground swap meets during lunch recess. Ahhh... fun times!

Grancey · 08-12-2008, 11:12 AM

I remember these, though I never collected them. I would wonder why other kids thought they were so funny when the words were spelled incorrectly. One of my oddities at he time. But I did enjoy the graphics.

Jinn · 08-12-2008, 11:15 AM

Alas I'm too young.. my generation was Pogs, I think..

Vigilante · 08-12-2008, 11:47 AM

Haha I grew up on those. I always remember "Stormy Heather" because my cousin's name is heather

HAHAH I love google....

abaya · 08-12-2008, 12:52 PM

I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I guess that makes me semi-old.

lotsofmagnets · 08-12-2008, 12:57 PM

must be an american thing. never heard of them...

*Nikki* · 08-12-2008, 01:26 PM

Yep, I loved the Garbage Pail kids. I think it was the whole shock value they had on my parents.

Daemon1313 · 08-12-2008, 01:32 PM

Garbage pail kids were great. I'm going to have to go dig out my collection now. Anyone else ever see the horrific movie they made of them?

Tully Mars · 08-12-2008, 01:36 PM

All my friends and I collected Odd Rods

Ayashe · 08-12-2008, 01:48 PM

I remember the garbage pail kids, never truly collected them but I did have a few. I absolutely couldn't stand the Cabbage Patch Dolls that everyone had collected, I thought they were the ugliest thing ever. That was a little bit of a draw for me, almost as if I was getting even with the ugly(yet popular) dolls. I got a kick out of the gross factor of them.

Charlatan · 08-12-2008, 02:14 PM

Garbagepail Kids came after whacky packages... I remember having the whacky packages stickers as kids and noticed that my girlfriend's little brother was heavily into the garbage pail kids.

mixedmedia · 08-12-2008, 02:29 PM

Garbage Pail Kids were after my time, but I did have quite a few Wacky Packages cards in my day. Not enough to be considered a collector, though.

Jetée · 08-12-2008, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jinn

Alas I'm too young.. my generation was Pogs, I think..

How right you are. I miss them, but I don't quite recall what they were used for.. I collected pogs, but was oblivious to their function; were they a cardboard version of marbles?

eribrav · 08-12-2008, 04:18 PM

Wacky Packages!
Hadn't even thought of those in decades, but you just brought a smile to my face with fond memories!

snowy · 08-12-2008, 04:22 PM

Too young

Pogs were more in line with my day, though in my school only the boys were into them.

Speed_Gibson · 08-12-2008, 06:17 PM

I fondly remember Garabage Pail Kids from my younger years - it has been several years since they even crossed my mind though.

Fotzlid · 08-12-2008, 09:48 PM

I was obsessed with the Wacky Packages. I spent way too much money on them and had a shoebox full of them.
Wish I still had them.

jewels · 08-13-2008, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I guess that makes me semi-old.

My oldest daughter collected them. I thought they were horrid at the time.
I flipped baseball cards with my big brother and his friends when I was that age.

Poppinjay · 08-13-2008, 05:20 AM

I collected Garbage Pail Kids. Later on, I graduated to graphic novels and girls who wear black nail polish.

Bill O'Rights · 08-13-2008, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaya

I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I guess that makes me semi-old.

Oh...I see...so the fact that I was too old for Garbage Pail Kids makes me old?

That's fine. I already knew that.

Actually, although I remember fondly the Wacky Packages cards...I was getting a little too old for even them. Ah...the seventies. Good times...good times.

SSJTWIZTA · 08-13-2008, 11:24 AM

when i lived at the old pad, i arose one hungover morning to find garbage pail kid stickers wallpapered all over my puke plastered toilet.

memories.

Nikilidstrom · 08-13-2008, 03:07 PM

I had a ton of Garbage Pail Kids cards, but the only one I can remember was the one that had the kid shaving large chunks of skin off of his face. Gruesome. My dad found them and after seeing that one, banned them from the house. So I traded them all to my buddy for his Voltron action figure with the individual lions that linked together. Ahh, the old days.

abaya · 08-13-2008, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill O'Rights

Oh...I see...so the fact that I was too old for Garbage Pail Kids makes me old?

That's fine. I already knew that.

Sorry, BoR.

But you said it, not me!

radioguy · 08-13-2008, 03:54 PM

i still have my garbage pail kids!!!!

Poppinjay · 08-13-2008, 06:13 PM

BOR, you are old. Turn in your coolness badge and hike up your beltline to just below your nipples.

We can tag off in the despensary. I like statins.

Supple Cow · 08-13-2008, 06:55 PM

Oh HELL yeah, Garbage Pail Kids! I used to collect the stickers and put them all over my desk. I even kept a t-shirt of Luke Warm for years (I think I just got rid of it a couple of months ago). Already, I miss it!

m0rpheus · 08-13-2008, 07:36 PM

Yeah I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I remember a buddy of mine trading me like two packs worth for Phil 'Erup because his name was Phil.

Cynthetiq · 08-13-2008, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daemon1313

Garbage pail kids were great. I'm going to have to go dig out my collection now. Anyone else ever see the horrific movie they made of them?

yes, I had to take my sister to see the movie... I didn't want to see it but had to.

YouTube - Garbage Pail Kids Movie Trailer

Speed_Gibson · 08-20-2008, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikilidstrom

..... So I traded them all to my buddy for his Voltron action figure with the individual lions that linked together. Ahh, the old days.

I still have my full Voltron lion figure with the sword at my parent's house - or I put it in storage out here. The two action figures/pilots are long gone but everything else is intact.

08-12-2008, 11:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
xepherys <3 TFP Location: 17TLH2445607250	Yeah, I had Garbage Pail Kids when I was younger. I remember my school district banning them, and we'd have underground swap meets during lunch recess. Ahhh... fun times! __________________ The prospect of achieving a peace agreement with the extremist group of MILF is almost impossible... -- Emmanuel Pinol, Governor of Cotobato My Homepage

08-12-2008, 11:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Grancey Life's short, gotta hurry... Location: land of pit vipers	I remember these, though I never collected them. I would wonder why other kids thought they were so funny when the words were spelled incorrectly. One of my oddities at he time. But I did enjoy the graphics. __________________ Quiet, mild-mannered souls might just turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool.

08-12-2008, 11:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	Alas I'm too young.. my generation was Pogs, I think.. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

08-12-2008, 11:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	Haha I grew up on those. I always remember "Stormy Heather" because my cousin's name is heather HAHAH I love google.... __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill

08-12-2008, 12:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
abaya Location: Iceland	I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I guess that makes me semi-old. __________________ And think not you can direct the course of Love; for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. --Khalil Gibran

08-12-2008, 12:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
lotsofmagnets Upright Location: reykjavík, iceland	must be an american thing. never heard of them... __________________ mother nature made the aeroplane, and the submarine sandwich, with the steady hands and dead eye of a remarkable sculptor. she shed her mountain turning training wheels, for the convenience of the moving sidewalk, that delivers the magnetic monkey children through the mouth of impossible calendar clock, into the devil's manhole cauldron. physics of a bicycle, isn't it remarkable?

08-12-2008, 01:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Nikki ~~~~~~~ Location: Charleston, SC	Yep, I loved the Garbage Pail kids. I think it was the whole shock value they had on my parents.

08-12-2008, 01:32 PM	#9 (permalink)
Daemon1313 Crazy Location: Atlanta	Garbage pail kids were great. I'm going to have to go dig out my collection now. Anyone else ever see the horrific movie they made of them? __________________ A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

08-12-2008, 01:36 PM	#10 (permalink)
Tully Mars Living in a Warmer Insanity Super Moderator Location: Yucatan, Mexico	All my friends and I collected Odd Rods __________________ I used to drink to drown my sorrows, but the damned things have learned how to swim- Frida Kahlo Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

08-12-2008, 01:48 PM	#11 (permalink)
Ayashe Psycho	I remember the garbage pail kids, never truly collected them but I did have a few. I absolutely couldn't stand the Cabbage Patch Dolls that everyone had collected, I thought they were the ugliest thing ever. That was a little bit of a draw for me, almost as if I was getting even with the ugly(yet popular) dolls. I got a kick out of the gross factor of them.

08-12-2008, 02:14 PM	#12 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Garbagepail Kids came after whacky packages... I remember having the whacky packages stickers as kids and noticed that my girlfriend's little brother was heavily into the garbage pail kids. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

08-12-2008, 02:29 PM	#13 (permalink)
mixedmedia has all her shots. Location: Florida	Garbage Pail Kids were after my time, but I did have quite a few Wacky Packages cards in my day. Not enough to be considered a collector, though. __________________ Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

08-12-2008, 04:18 PM	#15 (permalink)
eribrav Junkie Location: upstate NY	Wacky Packages! Hadn't even thought of those in decades, but you just brought a smile to my face with fond memories!

08-12-2008, 04:22 PM	#16 (permalink)
snowy Kick Ass Kunoichi Location: Oregon	Too young Pogs were more in line with my day, though in my school only the boys were into them. __________________ If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

08-12-2008, 06:17 PM	#17 (permalink)
Speed_Gibson Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Location: right here of course	I fondly remember Garabage Pail Kids from my younger years - it has been several years since they even crossed my mind though. __________________ Started talking to yourself I see. Yes, it's the only way I can be certain of an intelligent conversation. Black Adder

08-13-2008, 03:54 PM	#25 (permalink)
radioguy Registered User Location: Texas	i still have my garbage pail kids!!!!

08-12-2008, 09:48 PM	#18 (permalink)
Fotzlid Junkie Location: Greater Boston area	I was obsessed with the Wacky Packages. I spent way too much money on them and had a shoebox full of them. Wish I still had them.

08-13-2008, 05:20 AM	#20 (permalink)
Poppinjay You had me at hello Location: DC/Coastal VA	I collected Garbage Pail Kids. Later on, I graduated to graphic novels and girls who wear black nail polish. __________________ I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

08-13-2008, 11:24 AM	#22 (permalink)
SSJTWIZTA Master Thief. Master Criminal. Masturbator. Location: Windiwana	when i lived at the old pad, i arose one hungover morning to find garbage pail kid stickers wallpapered all over my puke plastered toilet. memories. __________________ First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller

08-13-2008, 03:07 PM	#23 (permalink)
Nikilidstrom Stick it in your five hole! Location: Michigan, USA	I had a ton of Garbage Pail Kids cards, but the only one I can remember was the one that had the kid shaving large chunks of skin off of his face. Gruesome. My dad found them and after seeing that one, banned them from the house. So I traded them all to my buddy for his Voltron action figure with the individual lions that linked together. Ahh, the old days.

08-13-2008, 06:13 PM	#26 (permalink)
Poppinjay You had me at hello Location: DC/Coastal VA	BOR, you are old. Turn in your coolness badge and hike up your beltline to just below your nipples. We can tag off in the despensary. I like statins. __________________ I think the Apocalypse is happening all around us. We go on eating desserts and watching TV. I know I do. I wish we were more capable of sustained passion and sustained resistance. We should be screaming and what we do is gossip. -Lydia Millet

08-13-2008, 06:55 PM	#27 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	Oh HELL yeah, Garbage Pail Kids! I used to collect the stickers and put them all over my desk. I even kept a t-shirt of Luke Warm for years (I think I just got rid of it a couple of months ago). Already, I miss it! __________________ "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." (Michael Jordan)

08-13-2008, 07:36 PM	#28 (permalink)
m0rpheus bad craziness Location: Guelph, Ontario	Yeah I totally collected Garbage Pail Kids. I remember a buddy of mine trading me like two packs worth for Phil 'Erup because his name was Phil. __________________ "it never got weird enough for me." - Hunter S. Thompson