The iconic Garbage Pail Kids go back nearly 40 years and have been a beloved, colorful cast of characters for trading card collectors and other media including comic books. Each GPK stands out with some kind of gross, horrific, or downright bizarre appearance, abilities, or situation. But in all those years, the backstories on how these kids became who they are has never been disclosed to the fans. Until now…
The insane minds of Adam F. Goldberg, Hans Rodionoff, and Jeff Zapata have joined forces to bring everyone the Garbage Pail Kids as they’ve never seen them before, flipping the table with a barrage of huge revelations. Chronicled in the style of a sprawling superhero epic, not only will the curtain be drawn back on the origins of these unique “heroes,” but there’s one crazy surprise at the crux of this story. Adam Bomb and his allies were instrumental in the outcome of World War II and the fate of humanity itself! Other key fan-faves featuring include Roy Bot, Brainy Janie, Snooty Sam, and more!
Issue one kicks off with Adam Bomb’s early days as an unassuming, flat-footed soda jerk. Then thanks to an unfortunate radiation leak, he transforms into the All-American superhero he’s known as to GPK fans around the world. He will need to assemble a team of other “enhanced” garbage kids to take down the axis of evil with Nasty Nick at the helm. Readers can expect to catch up with some of the biggest stars of the GPK world, as well as keep their eyes out for some cult favorites thanks to the devoted creative team’s passion for the property.
Much of the initial genesis of the origins concept goes back to ideas and illustrations from artist Jeff Zapata. He’s worked in the comics and trading card business for over 25 years, including nearly half that time as an editor, art director, and artist on the Garbage Pail Kids and other Topps franchises. His drawings hinting at these origins ideas went viral among the fanbase, spreading like wildfire, and leading to this project finally coming to life. For this series, Zapata is handling art direction, contributing art, and assisted in developing the story. He’s joined by Chris Meeks on the artwork throughout the series.
In the style of the original trading cards having A and B variations, the first issue features variant covers by artists Ray Lago, Tom Bunk, Jeff Zapata, and a presentation of one of the classic trading card images.
Garbage Pail Kids: Origins #1 will be out October 2022.
