Topps Garbage Pail Kids Jay Lynch 1945-2017 GRETCHEN ORIGINAL ART COA Topps
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Topps Garbage Pail Kids Jay Lynch 1945-2017 GRETCHEN ORIGINAL ART COA Topps. 1998 Topps wacky Hackers unpublished art Gretchen Gigabyte Topps Garbage Pail Kids certified authentic Topps memorabilia ads that is has been purchased directly from The Topps Vault. Artwork GRETCHEN GIGABYTE measures 8.5x11 inches and is hand signed by recently deceased legendary cartoon artist Jay Lynch. included in the auction as is the COA hand signed by topps vault representative Mike Jaspersen.
Jay Lynch is best known as a pioneer of the 1960s underground comix movement. As co-editor of the influential magazine Bijou Funnies (1968-1973) he provided a platform for various iconic artists in the field, as well as his own best-known work, 'Nard 'n' Pat' (1967-1973). He also worked as a writer for more mainstream comics, such as 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People' (1979-1996) and 'Bazooka Joe' (1967-1990). Lynch was closely involved with the 'Wacky Packages' and 'Garbage Pails' trading cards franchise and, in the dawn of his career, reinvented himself a final time as a children's book author. Covers for 1970s underground comix like Bogeyman #2 and Dope Comix #3 Jay Lynch was born in 1945 in Orange, New Jersey. His early influences were George Herriman's 'Krazy Kat', Bud Fisher's 'Mutt and Jeff' and Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder's early issues of Mad. He had a lifelong interest in comics, but also satirical media, which he collected his entire life. When he discovered Paul Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist in 1958 Lynch finally knew what he wanted to do with his life: "I knew my cause, I knew my role in the scheme of things." Lynch published his first cartoons for his high school paper, but looked for more professional magazines too. In an issue of Cracked he discovered that its editor had just published a fanzine, Smudge, which offered information about all kinds of satirical magazines in the country. Lynch sent for a copy and was eventually hired as a cartoonist. Other future cartoon legends like Skip Williamson and Art Spiegelman also discovered Smudge through that same Cracked issue and became close friends of Lynch. Through the fanzine network Lynch got in touch with the still unknown Gilbert Shelton, Robert Crumb, Joel Beck and Jaxon. It didn't take long before his work was published in magazines like Wild!, Thor, Sick, Prep, Squire, Cracked and Harvey Kurtzman's short-lived satirical magazine Help! In 1963, the 17-year old Lynch moved to Chicago where he found a job as the member of the improvisational comedy team 'The Second City'. He worked as a stock boy in Wieboldts department store, while still writing gags and stories for various humor magazines in his spare time. After trying out performing stand-up comedy he got in touch with Jeff Begun and Howie Cohen, two college students who had just been thrown off Roosevelt University for publishing an offensive college magazine named Aardvark. Begun and Cohen decided to continue their publication under a different name, Charlatan, where Lynch found a new audience for his work. Unfortunately it didn't last long either. In 1967 Lynch found a job at an advertising agency, which provided him not only with a steady income but enough time at work to draw. His bosses felt that their customers ought to have the impression that their employees were continuously hard at work and thus Lynch and his friends were allowed to draw comics in between assignments. From Bijou Funnies #1 In the mid 1960s mainstream media didn't really appeal to young people. To provide a counterweight several hippies founded their own magazines. Because of their subversive content these publications couldn't be sold in regular stores and thus had to go "underground" by being distributed through stores specializing in hippie fashions, gadgets and drugs: the so-called "head shops". Lynch's earliest comics were published in underground magazines like the Chicago Seed and the Chicago Kaleidoscope, but he felt that they still were too frightened to offend their readers. He found more pleasing venues in The Berkeley Barb, Fifth Estate, Nexus, Gothic Blimp Works, Purple Cat, Radical America and The East Village Other. Eventually he and Skip Williamson decided to create their own underground newspaper, The Chicago Mirror. It featured a lot of satirical articles, which unfortunately weren't always recognized as such. One day Lynch invented a story how smoking dog excrement could be used as a substitute for marihuana. To his concern some hippies actually came forward to congratulate him for giving them this tip. Even when Lynch explained it was satire the men still didn't believe it was all meant as a joke. This made them decide to change the format into a comics magazine, because then at least their satire would be a lot clearer. Inspired by Robert Crumb's groundbreaking Zap Comix, Bijou Funnies hit the market in the summer of 1968. Child Martyr, from Bijou Funnies #7 Bijou Funnies featured satirical comics aiming at a mature audience. Lynch functioned as its main editor and personally corresponded with various underground artists and fans all across America and Europe. The magazine offered a spot for his own work, but also comics by Williamson, Gilbert Shelton, Jay Kinney, Kim Deitch, Art Spiegelman, Dave Herring, Jim Osborne, John Thompson, Rory Hayes, Paul David Simon, Roger Brand, Dan Clyne, William Stout, Denis Kitchen, Pat Daley, Willy Murphy, Ralph Reese, Evert Geradts and Justin Green. To tighten his network he even made a map which located all other underground comics publications in the country. It was printed on the back cover of each issue. Lynch furthermore increased Bijou Funnies' national notability by advertising it whenever he was interviewed in the press and on television. It was distributed through Print Mint until 1970 and then taken over by Denis Kitchen's Kitchen Sink Press for the next three years. At the time Bijou Funnies' had considerable influence on other underground comics magazines. Denis Kitchen actually founded his own Mom's Homemade Comics (1969), after reading just one issue of Bijou Funnies. Nard 'n' Pat from Bijou Funnies #5, with a guest appearance from Will Elder's 'Melvin Mole' from Mad #2 One of Bijou Funnies' regular features was Jay Lynch's comic strip 'Nard 'n' Pat', which had made its debut in the Chicago Mirror in 1967. The underground comic dealt with a bald-headed moustached man with ultra-conservative values, Nard, and Pat, his left-wing anarchistic cat. In terms of design they looked like a typical early 1900s newspaper comic, but the content was far more subversive. Nard and Pat always bickered about politics and social issues, ranging from Maoism to the Vietnam War. Lynch based their names and personalities on two friends he knew. Just like their comic book counterparts they had opposing political viewpoints and always argued, but never listened to one another. While Lynch was a staunch left-wing progressive idealist himself, he didn't hesistate to satirize his own ideology with the same waspishness. During 'Nard 'n' Pat' 's final years the comic strip also took a lot of inspiration from discussions he had with his own wife. Lynch also drew more personal and dramatic comics around this time, such as 'Child Martyr' (Bijou Funnies, issue 7), which told the tale of a boy at his Catholic school who was bullied by older kids for believing in God. Crumb and Lynch also visited 'Dick Tracy' creator Chester Gould in 1968, which inspired Lynch to draw a two-page comic book story about this memorable event, published in Funny Animals. Nard 'n' Pat by Jay Lynch Nard 'n' Pat from Bijou Funnies #4 In the spring of 1969 Lynch and Spiegelman resurrected the mascot of their previous publication Wild!, Projunior, who was originally created by Don Dohler. They brought in all their underground comix friends to create stories about the character, which were then published as 'Don Dohler's Projunior' (1969) by Kitchen Sink. Lynch also designed the cover. The same year he edited Conspiracy Capers, a benefit comic book to raise funds for the legal defense of the upcoming trial agains the Chicago Seven. These were seven anti-Vietnam war activists who were charged with conspiracy and public disturbance, among them Abbie Hoffman – famous for the subversive work 'Steal This Book' (1971). The case was controversial and Lynch had to go through great lengths to actually find anybody in Chicago willing to cash the check with the benefit money. e was forced to sign it over and send it off to Washington D.C. to more kindred spirits. By the time he received everything back in the mail two months had passed by. Even worse: his letter had been opened and inspected. It turned out that the printing shop he had in mind for the job had been visited by two men in suits who'd threatened to put the owner out of business if he dared to published Conspiracy Capers. Such threats were not uncommon in the day for Lynch. People sometimes threw in his windows because of his political views. As a result he started signing his work with the pseudonyms "Jayzee", "Jayzey" and "Ray Finch". Nevertheless, 'Conspiracy Capers' did get published and featured graphic contributions by Skip Williamson (who designed the cover), Jay Lynch, Jim Osborne, Baron, Daniel Clyne, Paul David Simon, Jay Kinney, Ralph Reese, Gary Arlington, Rory Hayes, Charles Winans and Art Spiegelman. The trial itself originally resulted in only five "guilty" verdicts, but these too would later be overturned in a federal court of appeals. Lynch's parody of the 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' from Bijou Funnies #8 Censorship got worse when the court case Miller vs. California in 1973 resulted in an official decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to broaden prosecution of "obscene material". It made it nearly impossible to publish underground magazines with the same amount of freedom, left alone distribute them. Lynch reacted to the court decision in an editorial, 'Um Tut Smut', published in the eight and final issue of Bijou Funnies. As a farewell occasion the entire issue spoofed Mad Magazine, particularly the early issues by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, which had influenced him and his fellow underground buddies so much. He and his friends each drew parodies of their own comics. Lynch took it upon him to spoof Gilbert Shelton's 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers', while his own 'Nard 'n' Pat' received the honour of being parodied by none other than Robert Crumb. Outside of Bijou Funnies, Lynch designed various advertisements and posters for the record label Curtom. Together with Skip Williamson he designed the album cover of 'The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette' (1969) by The Four Seasons. The cover was made to look like a newspaper, even featuring an eight-page newspaper-like booklet inside with an underground comic named 'High Frequency Funnies', drawn by Lynch and Williamson. While an obvious attempt to appear more hip to young listeners, the record cover did prove to be quite influential. Jethro Tull's 'Thick as a Brick' (1972), John Lennon's 'Some Time In New York City' (1973), Tom Waits' 'Heartattack and Vine' (1980) and Radiohead's 'The King of Limbs' (2011) also designed their album covers to look like a newspaper. Lynch was also active for Hugh Hefner's Playboy, who came up with a comics section called 'Playboy Funnies'. Skip Williamson was given the task of bringing hip, young artists together, among them also Art Spiegelman, Jay Kinney, Randall Enos, Lou Brooks, Mark Alan Stamaty and Howard Cruse. Furthermore Lynch made a more grotesque version of the then-popular smiley buttons. Smiley buttons by Jay Lynch In 1977 the Chicago Seed issued a juvenile supplement called Sidetracks. Lynch was asked to provide a suitable comic strip and came up with 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People'. It featured an old woman who fed pigeons in the park. The birds, however, all have human heads. One of them, Bix, is a beatnik who enjoys ranting. It took a year before Lynch heared from his editor again, because the preliminary sketches had been put inside a drawer and were forgotten afterwards. While cleaning up one day the editor rediscovered them, but just send them back to Lynch. Fed up with the poor way his work was treated, Lynch mailed the pages to a rival newspaper, The Chicago Reader, who immediately published the series on a weekly basis. At first he drew everything personally, but he quickly got tired of it. Gary Whitney then took over the illustration work, while Lynch wrote the scripts. 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People' (1979-1996) ran for 17 years and even inspired a stage show, 'When Cultures Collide'. It was performed by the improvisational theater troupe The Practical Theater in collaboration with rock and new wave bands. The best gags of the comic strip were collected by Kitchen Sink in three comic books. Jay Lynch and Gary Whitney Another mainstream endeavour of Lynch was his work for the bubble gum and trading cards company Topps. Between 1967 and 1990 he was the anonymous gag writer for numerous 'Bazooka Joe' comics. Originally drawn by Wesley Morse, these were small-format gag comics hidden inside bubblegum wrappers. For the same company Lynch also contributed to the 'Wacky Packages' (1968) trading cards and stickers. These were parodies of iconic brands, often in combination with a pun. The artwork often imitated the original designs so perfectly that lawsuits were a genuine threat. However, since most companies would typically send a cease-and-desist letter to remove all copies within three months Topps never had a problem, because they came up with new ideas every month and the older trading cards only remained in roulation for a short while. The concept for 'Wacky Packages' was thought up by Art Spiegelman who was in his turn inspired by similar spoofs in Mad Magazine. Both he and Lynch made graphic contributions, taking turns with Kim Deitch, George Evans, Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, Norman Saunders, Bhob Stewart and Tom Sutton. The franchise inspired posters, T-shirts, books, erasers, binders, but also five comic book issues with artwork by Lynch, Joe Simko, Neil Camera and Brent Engstrom. It provided many underground comics artists with a steady income, while still remaining true to their public image as anti-establishment artists. In 1985 a similar trading cards series was created, 'Garbage Pail Kids', which featured eccentric children with grotesque faces. Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden came up with the intitial idea, while John Pound made the designs. Later Lynch also made some illustrations for these cards, along with Tom Bunk, Strephon Taylor, Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, John Czop, Don Perlin, Justin Green and James Warhola. Due to its reliance on gross-out humor the cards were an immediate succes with children and got distributed to various countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In 1987 a movie adaptation was made, 'The Garbage Pail Kids Movie', which became one of the most notorious box office flops in motion picture history. Artwork by Jay LynchArtwork by Jay Lynch Lynch was also a contributor to Mad Magazine for a while. He was involved with their merchandising, but also scripted three of their articles. He wrote the gag 'One Sunny Morning on Easter Island' (issue 368, April 1998) which was illustrated by Timothey Shamey. For 'One Fine Day at the Candy Store' (issue 375, November 1998) he called in graphic help from Monte Wolverton, while Leslie Sternbergh illustrated 'Products For Your Aging Hippie Parents' (issue 390, February 2000). He also contributed art work for Everett Peck's underground comic 'Duckman', which later inspired the eponymous 1994-1997 cult TV series of the same name. Other popular comics titles he worked for were 'Archie Comics' (with the characters created by Bob Montana), 'Zorro' and Matt Groening's 'The Simpsons'. He also once had the opportunity to work for Marvel Comics' adult comics magazine Comix Book, but turned the offer down when his contract stipulated that Marvel would own all his characters. In the 2008 Lynch was closely involved with Françoise Mouly's project to create more comic books appropriate for children. The 'Toon Books' series featured various graphic novels created by well-known comics authors with appropriate educational value. Lynch wrote a book called 'Otto's Orange Day' (2008), illustrated by Frank Cammuso. It tells the tale of a young cat, Otto, who finds a magical genie who grants him one wish. Otto wishes the entire world looked orange, because it would make things more happy and bright. Slowly but surely he starts to regret his decision, but unfortunately he is out of wishes and needs to find a way to make everything return to normal. The same year Lynch also published 'Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever' (2008), illustrated by Dean Haspiel. This story revolves around Mighty Jojo, a superhero who tries to make two aggressive twins quit fighting each other. He gives them a costume that will provide them superpowers, but they simply rip it in half. Seeing that their town is under threat of the evil villain Saw-Jaw they need to come up with a solution fast. Mineshaft cover by Jay Lynch In the later years of his career Lynch worked as a teacher for the Chicago Institute. He also drew comics for the magazine Mineshaft. By 2016 he was in such ill health that he sold his entire personal collection of original comics, magazines, press files, correspondence and art to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. He passed away in early 2017. He was an influence on Jay Kinney, Alan Hewetson, Alan Moore and Joost Swarte. His wife, Jane Lynch, was also active as a comics writer and journalist. One riddle that has puzzled many of Lynch's readers was the catchphrase "Um Tut Sut!", a running gag he kept going for decades. Many have pondered its meaning, but it actually meant nothing. Lynch intended it as a pun on "Om Tat Sat", a Hindu mantra which gained popularity in the West during the 1960s. "Um Tut Sut!" was even turned into a poem by the Finnish poet Markku Into in 1985, and a song by the children's rock 'n' roll band The Boogers in 2008. Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip Nard n' Pat.[2] His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. Lynch was the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990;[3] he contributed to Mad, and in the 2000s expanded into the children's book field. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Comix 1.2 Trading cards 1.3 Mad and books 2 Personal life 3 Awards 4 Bibliography 4.1 Undergrounds (contributed & edited) 4.2 Undergrounds (contributed) 4.3 Children's books 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links Biography Lynch was born in Orange, New Jersey and grew up in Belmar, New Jersey.[4] Ben Schwartz, writing in the alternative weekly The Chicago Reader, traced Lynch's formative years: In 1963, at age 17, Lynch had moved to Chicago from Florida, where he grew up. Working a string of odd jobs to support himself, he wound up manning the service bar at Second City one summer. This was between the theater's skinny-tie Alan Arkin days and the Belushi hippie years. "At that time it seemed like Second City was over," Lynch says. "They had been on Jack Paar, and all the Hyde Park Compass Players were gone... The Realist would come out, and you'd see them taking their improvs from there." Lynch moved into Del Close's old apartment on Hudson. Close had left it in such a mess that the landlord let him live there for free on the condition that he fix the place up.[5] Comix Schwartz continues: He drew cartoons for Roosevelt University's humor magazine, the Aardvark, which got tossed off campus by college administrators after the first issue. Then in 1967 Lynch with help from Skip Williamson put out The Chicago Mirror, which lasted three issues and would become Chicago's answer to Robert Crumb's Zap Comix: Bijou Funnies, with early work by Lynch, Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton and Skip Williamson.[5] Main article: Bijou Funnies Bijou Funnies was heavily influenced by Mad magazine,[6] and, along with Zap, is considered one of the titles to launch the underground comix movement.[7] Bijou Funnies lasted 8 issues (from 1968 to 1963); a selection of stories from Bijou Funnies were collected in 1975 in the book The Best of Bijou Funnies (Quick Fox/Links Books). Lynch's best known comic book stories involve the human-cat duo Nard n' Pat, recurring characters in Bijou Funnies. Nard is a bald middle-aged man of conservative tendencies, and Patrick is his more "hip" talking cat.[4] Nard n' Pat were featured in two issues of their own comic, the first one published by Cartoonists Co-Op Press in 1974 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press was a self-publishing venture by Lynch, Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Willy Murphy, Diane Noomin, and Art Spiegelman that operated in 1973–1974), and the second issue published by Kitchen Sink Press in 1981. The weekly comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People, by Lynch and illustrator Gary Whitney, ran in the Chicago Reader for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s; Kitchen Sink Press published 3 issues of a Phoebe & the Pigeon People comic book collecting material from the strip in 1979–1981. Lynch has scans of more than 500 editions of the strip ready for any publisher who sees the potential of a Phoebe and the Pigeon People book.[5] Trading cards Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to Topps' Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, plus other Topps humor products. In 2002, he recalled his creative working methods and procedures with Len Brown and others at the Topps' Product Development Department: I would get a phone call from Len Brown or Art Spiegelman telling me it was time for me to do some roughs for a new series of Wacky Packages. I would usually submit a dozen roughs at a time. Len would tell me, usually on the phone, which food conglomerates I could not parody, based on cease and desist letters from prior series. I had a master list of taboo companies – and this would be added to, by phone, until a new master list would be compiled and sent to me. In those days I had a pretty good working knowledge of who made what, though. So I would give Len a verbal list of maybe 20 or so products, of which he would pick a dozen. Sometimes he would suggest products, sometimes he would come up with the gag title on the phone, and I would add to it on the rough. Sometimes Spiegelman, or Bhob Stewart, or Woody Gelman would phone the assignment to me. In the 80s, Mark Newgarden would phone the assignment to me. In the 90s Ira Friedman would phone the assignment to me. But mostly it would be Len. I think in the 60s I got $8 a rough. By the 70s it had gone up to $20 a rough. By the 80s it was $125 a rough, and so on. What I got for a rough always remained the same amount in actual buying power. It has gone up with inflation, though. One rough pays about the same as a week's worth of groceries. Always has – and always will. Anyway – after I had some idea of the initial dozen products that I would parody, I would go to the supermarket and buy these products. Sometimes I would get ideas for additional products as well – and Topps would reimburse me for this cost of the actual products when I would send them the receipt along with my bill, which I would enclose with each batch of roughs. These roughs were done in India ink and colored with Magic Markers. I would just send them in by regular mail, and I didn't bother to retain Xerox copies of them until the mid-1970s when the drugstore down the block from my house installed a pay Xerox machine. I was living in Chicago then. I would only go to Brooklyn to meet with the Topps guys once every six months or so. Usually this was to work on a vast variety of other Topps and Bazooka projects. Wacky Packages was just one of the countless series in development then, only one in ten of which would ever see the light of day.[8][9][10] Mad and books Ottoorange.jpg During the 1990s, he began writing for Mad, and he also devised products for Mad merchandising.[5] His children's book, Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008), a collaboration with Syracuse political cartoonist Frank Cammuso, is described by the publisher: "When Otto the cat meets a magical genie, he knows just what to wish for: he makes the whole world orange! At first, this new, bright world seems like a lot of fun, but when his mom serves orange spinach for lunch, Otto realizes that his favorite color isn’t the best color for everything. Fixing this mixed-up world won’t be easy though because Otto already used up his only wish."[11] Greg McElhatton (Read About Comics) reviewed: Lynch's story is aimed at readers in the 5 to 8 range, and I have to say that if I had a child that old I know what they'd be reading. I really appreciated that Lynch never talked down to his audience; while everything is spelled out for the reader carefully, it doesn't come across as condescending or patronizing. The story itself is fun and cute; Otto's song about all things orange made me laugh, and I absolutely love the scene when everything has become orange and Otto goes outside to see his creation. Each burst of excitement as he spies something newly orange, be it a duck or a clown, is pretty contagious. Lynch has a good handle on just how to write for kids, as well as any adults that might be looking over the kid's shoulder. What also impressed me, though, is how Lynch handled the ending. It's a combination of smart thinking on both Aunt Sally and Otto's parts, and it teaches something to kids without being cloying or over the top. For a book that's just 40 pages, I was impressed at how full this story felt.[12] Another collaboration, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever by Lynch with Dean Haspiel, was published by Toon Books in fall 2008. Toon describes this superhero satire: "Mona and Joey can't stop fighting! When the Mighty Mojo decides to give his powerful costume to them, these argumentative twins fight so much they rip it in half. Now each one is only half as strong! Can Mo and Jo find a way to combine their powers, fight the evil Saw-Jaw and save their town?"[13] Jay Lynch self-portrait for The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) Personal life Lynch's wife Jane Lynch[14] was an occasional contributor to comics in the early 1970s, including pieces she wrote for Arcade #3 (an interview with Bill Griffith's character Zippy the Pinhead) and Skywald Publications's Psycho #17 (a story called "The Lunatic Class Of '64," illustrated by Emilio Bernardo). Lynch died from complications of lung cancer on March 5, 2017 in Candor, New York.[2] Awards In June 2009, Jay Lynch was nominated for a Harvey Award in the category of "Best Cover Artist" for his Mineshaft #23 cover.[15] Bibliography Undergrounds (contributed & edited) Bijou Funnies #1–8 (Bijou Publishing Empire, Print Mint, Kitchen Sink, 1968–1973) Don Dohler's ProJunior (Kitchen Sink, Oct. 1971) Turned on Cuties (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972) Roxy Funnies (Head Imports, 1972) Purple Cat (Adam's Apple Distributing, 1973) Nard n' Pat #1-2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, 1974; Kitchen Sink, 1981) — Lynch solo series Phoebe & the Pigeon People #1–3 (Kitchen Sink, 1979–1981) — collection of material from Phoebe and the Pigeon People strip with Gary Whitney (17-year run in the Chicago Reader) Undergrounds (contributed) Gothic Blimp Works #1–2 (1969) Radical America Komiks (Radical America, Jan. 1969) Bogeyman #2 (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969) Bogeyman #3 (Company & Sons, 1970) Children's books Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008) — illustrated by Frank Cammuso Mo and Jo (Toon Books, 2009) — illustrated by Dean Haspiel Further reading Lynch was the cover story of The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) which featured an extensive interview, "Jay Lynch and the Free Exploration of Ideas: An Interview," covering his life and career in detail. Lynch created a caricatured self-portrait for the cover illustration.[16] Jay Lynch (born January 7, 1945)[1] is an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. He has contributed to Mad, and in 2008, he expanded into the children's book field. Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Career 2.1 Comix and trading cards 2.2 Mad and books 3 Interview 4 Awards 5 Bibliography 5.1 Undergrounds (edited) 5.2 Undergrounds (contributed) 5.3 Children's books 5.4 Comic strip 6 References 7 External links Early life and career Jay Lynch was born in Orange, New Jersey. He lived for decades in Chicago.[2] Career Ben Schwartz, writing in the alternative weekly The Chicago Reader, traced Lynch's early years: In 1963, at age 17, Lynch had moved to Chicago from Florida, where he grew up. Working a string of odd jobs to support himself, he wound up manning the service bar at Second City one summer. This was between the theater's skinny-tie Alan Arkin days and the Belushi hippie years. "At that time it seemed like Second City was over," Lynch says. "They had been on Jack Paar, and all the Hyde Park Compass Players were gone... The Realist would come out, and you'd see them taking their improvs from there." Lynch moved into Del Close's old apartment on Hudson. Close had left it in such a mess that the landlord let him live there for free on the condition that he fix the place up. He drew cartoons for Roosevelt University's humor magazine, the Aardvark, which got tossed off campus by college administrators after the first issue. Then in 1967 Lynch with help from Skip Williamson put out The Chicago Mirror which lasted three issues and would become Chicago's answer to Robert Crumb's Zap Comix: Bijou Funnies, with early work by Lynch, Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton and Skip Williamson.[2] Comix and trading cards Lynch's best known comic book stories involve the human-cat duo, Nard n' Pat, the featured characters in Bijou Funnies. The weekly comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People by Lynch and Gary Whitney ran in the Chicago Reader for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s; Lynch has scans of more than 500 of those strips ready for any publisher who sees the potential of a Phoebe and the Pigeon People book.[2][3] Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to Topps' Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, plus other Topps humor products. In 2002, he recalled his creative working methods and procedures with Len Brown and others at the Topps' Product Development Department: I would get a phone call from Len Brown or Art Spiegelman telling me it was time for me to do some roughs for a new series of Wacky Packages. I would usually submit a dozen roughs at a time. Len would tell me, usually on the phone, which food conglomerates I could not parody, based on cease and desist letters from prior series. I had a master list of taboo companies – and this would be added to, by phone, until a new master list would be compiled and sent to me. In those days I had a pretty good working knowledge of who made what, though. So I would give Len a verbal list of maybe 20 or so products, of which he would pick a dozen. Sometimes he would suggest products, sometimes he would come up with the gag title on the phone, and I would add to it on the rough. Sometimes Spiegelman, or Bhob Stewart, or Woody Gelman would phone the assignment to me. In the 80s, Mark Newgarden would phone the assignment to me. In the 90s Ira Friedman would phone the assignment to me. But mostly it would be Len. I think in the 60s I got $8 a rough. By the 70s it had gone up to $20 a rough. By the 80s it was $125 a rough, and so on. What I got for a rough always remained the same amount in actual buying power. It has gone up with inflation, though. One rough pays about the same as a week's worth of groceries. Always has – and always will. Anyway – after I had some idea of the initial dozen products that I would parody, I would go to the supermarket and buy these products. Sometimes I would get ideas for additional products as well – and Topps would reimburse me for this cost of the actual products when I would send them the receipt along with my bill, which I would enclose with each batch of roughs. These roughs were done in India ink and colored with Magic Markers. I would just send them in by regular mail, and I didn't bother to retain Xerox copies of them until the mid-1970s when the drugstore down the block from my house installed a pay Xerox machine. I was living in Chicago then. I would only go to Brooklyn to meet with the Topps guys once every six months or so. Usually this was to work on a vast variety of other Topps and Bazooka projects. Wacky Packages was just one of the countless series in development then, only one in ten of which would ever see the light of day.[4][5][6] Lynch was the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990.[7] Mad and books Ottoorange.jpg During the 1990s, he began writing for Mad, and he also devised products for Mad merchandising.[2] Bijou Funnies was collected in the 1980s in the book, The Best of Bijou Funnies. His children's book, Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008), a collaboration with Syracuse political cartoonist Frank Cammuso, is described by the publisher: "When Otto the cat meets a magical genie, he knows just what to wish for: he makes the whole world orange! At first, this new, bright world seems like a lot of fun, but when his mom serves orange spinach for lunch, Otto realizes that his favorite color isn’t the best color for everything. Fixing this mixed-up world won’t be easy though because Otto already used up his only wish."[8] Greg McElhatton (Read About Comics) reviewed: Lynch's story is aimed at readers in the 5 to 8 range, and I have to say that if I had a child that old I know what they'd be reading. I really appreciated that Lynch never talked down to his audience; while everything is spelled out for the reader carefully, it doesn't come across as condescending or patronizing. The story itself is fun and cute; Otto's song about all things orange made me laugh, and I absolutely love the scene when everything has become orange and Otto goes outside to see his creation. Each burst of excitement as he spies something newly orange, be it a duck or a clown, is pretty contagious. Lynch has a good handle on just how to write for kids, as well as any adults that might be looking over the kid's shoulder. What also impressed me, though, is how Lynch handled the ending. It's a combination of smart thinking on both Aunt Sally and Otto's parts, and it teaches something to kids without being cloying or over the top. For a book that's just 40 pages, I was impressed at how full this story felt.[9] Another collaboration, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever by Lynch with Dean Haspiel, was published by Toon Books in fall 2008. Toon describes this superhero satire: "Mona and Joey can't stop fighting! When the Mighty Mojo decides to give his powerful costume to them, these argumentative twins fight so much they rip it in half. Now each one is only half as strong! Can Mo and Jo find a way to combine their powers, fight the evil Saw-Jaw and save their town?"[10] Interview Jay Lynch self-portrait for The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) Lynch was the cover story of The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) which featured an extensive interview, "Jay Lynch and the Free Exploration of Ideas: An Interview," covering his life and career in detail. Lynch created a caricatured self-portrait for the cover illustration.[11] Awards In June 2009, Jay Lynch was nominated for a Harvey Award in the category of "Best Cover Artist" for his Mineshaft #23 cover.[12] Bibliography Undergrounds (edited) Bijou Funnies Turned on Cuties Roxy Funnies (1972) Pro Junior Purple Cat Nard n' Pat Undergrounds (contributed) Bogeyman Up Funnies Gothic Blimp Works Radical America Children's books Otto's Orange Day (2008) Mo and Jo (2009) Comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People with Gary Whitney (17-year run in Chicago Reader) While dreaming of becoming a comic artist, New Jersey artist Jay Lynch noticed that American mainstream comics in the 1960s were dull and on their way back. So Lynch decided to become an underground artist. He published his own comic book, Bijou, which contained work by Skip Williamson, Art Spiegelman, Evert Geradts and Justin Green. But he has also made a considerable amount of comics himself, including famous works like 'Nard 'n' Pat', starring the hip and horny Pat the cat (in The Chicago Seed and later in Bijou, 1967). He also has contributed to various magazines, such as Cracked and Help!, and other projects (like the Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids for Topps Chewing-gum Company). Jay Lynch is a teacher with the Chicago Art Institute and works as a graphic artist for Topps Chewing-gum Company. In more recent years, he has contributed to several popular comic series, like Topps' 'Zorro' comics and Dark Horse's 'Duckman'. Garbage Pail Kids is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were immensely popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality, deformity and/or suffering a terrible fate, with a humorous, word play-rich character name such as Glandular Angela or Half-Nelson. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name denoted by an "a" or "b" letter after the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so just the kid with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces to form giant nine-card murals; other back subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, "Fakebook" profiles. Fifteen original series of regular trading cards were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large-format card editions were also released, as well as a set of fold-out posters. All-New Series sets were introduced in 2003, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series was announced for 2012[3] with Brand New series 2, Chrome Original Series 1, and Brand New Series 3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014, using the year as the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format. Contents 1 History 2 International versions 2.1 Variations 3 Commercial success 4 Controversy and lawsuit 4.1 School ban 4.2 Trademark infringement lawsuit 5 All-New series sets 6 Flashback re-releases 7 Brand-New Series sets 8 Chrome Set 9 2014 Series 1 10 30th anniversary series 11 Movies 11.1 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie 11.2 Planned future film 12 Television 13 See also 14 References 15 External links History The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman, who came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Candy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages title,[4] but the management at Topps thought it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden worked together as the editors and art directors of the project, Len Brown was the manager, and the first run of the cards was drawn exclusively by artist John Pound.[5] They were first issued in 1985.[6][7] Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series, including Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk, and James Warhola, among others. International versions The cards were also known as "Bukimi Kun" ["ぶきみくん", Mr. Creepy] in Japan, "The Garbage Gang" in Australia and New Zealand versions, "La Pandilla Basura" [The Garbage Gang] in Spain, "Havurat Ha-Zevel" ["חבורת הזבל", "The Garbage Gang"] in Israel, "Basuritas" [Trashlings] in Latin America, "Gang do Lixo/Loucomania" [Trash Gang/Crazymania] in Brazil, "Sgorbions" [Snotlings] in Italy, "Les Crados" [The Filthies] in France and Belgium, and "Die total kaputten Kids" [The Totally Broken Kids] in Germany. Variations A smaller card format version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Each pack contained three stickers and the "peel here" indicator pointed to the top left area since there was no die-cut scoring. Initially in New Zealand a 6th series of the Garbage Pail Kids was released as a market test (this version was a mix of the United States series 6 and 7). After this success, Series 1 was released in Australia and New Zealand known as "The Garbage Gang" and were identical to the United States version (albeit smaller). The first series was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1989 with different versions: the Australian stickers were darker, had a different banner, and some of the names were changed to reflect cultural differences. From Series 2 onward, the same version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Series 4 was the last release of "The Garbage Gang". Commercial success The commercial success of the trading cards called The Sloppy Slobs that were a set of cards made in Italy in 1993 that contained 160 cards led to the production of a live-action movie, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie,[8] in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the US was postponed due to parental complaints.[9] The show did make a brief appearance on US television years after it was originally intended to air and was also briefly aired in Europe.[10] The movie was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the original VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on April 4, 2006 (coincidentally with distribution by Paramount). Controversy and lawsuit School ban During the height of the card series' popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools.[11] One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.[12] Trademark infringement lawsuit Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, for trademark infringement.[13][14] As part of the out-of-court settlement, Topps agreed to modify the appearance of the Garbage Pail Kids to remove the resemblance between the characters, and to change the logo design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced. All-New series sets In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series ("ANS"). ANS1 was largely made up of artwork intended for release in the 1980s, but 2004's ANS2 featured brand new concepts. Unique numbers on the backs of silver- and gold-foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website where visitors build and "gross out" their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique code numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross it becomes. Less than six months later, ANS3 was released. In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the GPK franchise with special "Sketch Card" original art inserts for its ANS4 set.[15] These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box (available only from specialty retailers) and featured original artwork by series regulars John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch, as well as guest artists Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin, and Justin Green. Although a regular to the series with over 35 paintings, Luis Diaz was not involved in the sketch cards due to a previous financial dispute with Topps from years earlier.[16] In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids (each with an a/b twin), followed by ANS6 in early 2007. January 2008 saw the release of ANS7 which expanded the base set to 55 new characters and was the last set to feature new artwork until 2010's Flashback Series 1 subset of six previously unpublished kids. The ANS cards differ from the original series ("OS") in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of card stock with a glossy protective surface. The ANS releases also changed the card numbering format: OS cards used a continuous numbering pattern so that each new set would pick up where the last one ended (e.g. OS1 ended at 41a/b and OS2 picked up at 42a/b while ANS reset the numbering back to 1a/b with each subsequent release). Each ANS also featured special "chase cards" randomly inserted in packs; for example, Foil Cards show characters from the original series (with modified artwork due to the lawsuit), Scratch 'n Stink cards, Collectible Card Game cards, Temporary Tattoos, 3D Pop-Up cards, Alphabet cards, Activity cards, Magnets, lenticular Loco Motion cards, and die-cut Jigsaw Puzzle cards, along with special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either "bonus boxes" or rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first cards not to have a twin set. Flashback re-releases A book with the first five series Topps released a 25th anniversary Flashback[17] set on February 24, 2010, featuring reprints of characters from the original 1985–87 GPK series (8 each from OS1 to OS8) plus six previously unpublished "Lost" characters and 10 "Where Are They Now?" cards showing classic GPKs drawn as they would appear today. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, authentic Printing Plates, four levels of Parallels, and hand-drawn Artist Sketches by pop-culture artists including Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, and veteran GPK artists Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch. A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from series 1 to 9 plus five more "Lost" kids, 10 new "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards (resembling holograms but in full color), one-of-a-kind Artist Sketches, and 10 "Adam Mania" cards showing variants of Adam Bomb's iconic mushroom cloud, plus Parallels of the base and Adam Mania sets.[18] GPK Flashback Series 3 followed on November 2, 2011, with 65 OS reprints, four "Lost" kids, 10 "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards, 10 Adam Mania cards, Artist Sketches, and Parallels. Topps recently released a book that showcases the first five series. The cover depicts a pack from the very first series released back in 1985. Each card is displayed with the "a" name and the "b" name on the bottom corner of the page. Brand-New Series sets This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In 2012, Topps announced it would reboot the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with new character and content themes more reminiscent of the original 1980s series in a set called "Brand-New Series 1" (BNS1). The set was released on October 24, 2012. BNS1 features 55 new GPK characters, a reality TV subset, motion cards, mix 'n' match stickers, parallels, artist sketch cards, and code cards redeemable for a chance to be painted as a GPK in the next BNS. BNS2 was released in March and features 55 new characters plus 18 reimagined characters plus lenticular cards, glow in the dark cards and folded cards. Unlike the all new series set and like the old series sets the numbering of BNS continues where the previous series ended. They have now announced that there will be a BNS3 released in the middle of October, after the release of the chrome edition in August. Chrome Set Topps re-released the original series 1 as a chrome set; it contains all 41 characters from series 1 plus 14 unpublished characters. Released in October 2013.[19] On July 30, 2014 Topps re-released the original 1985 series 2 set plus a set of 13 returning characters from series 2 characters that have been reimagined in previous garbage pail kid sets as chrome cards. Chrome cards are thicker than the original cards and are not stickers.[20] 2014 Series 1 Topps has released a series of all new cards with all new artwork for 2014. Like the older cards, these have activities on the back of the cards, including checklists, puzzles, and "Fakebook" profiles. 30th anniversary series In July 2015 Topps released the 30th anniversary series it had 110 a and b cards (220 cards total). The numbering differed from previous series instead of going from 1-110AB it had several themed subsets each of which started at 1 a and b the subsets were checklist cards featuring variations of adam bomb 1-2ab, Adam Bomb don't push my button featuring classic GPK characters pressing Adam Bombs button 1-10ab, Artistic Impression featuring historical art as GPK characters 1-10ab, Artistic interpretation featuring characters drawn by guest artists 1-5ab, Comic book covers featuring art from the comic books 1-7ab, Cutting room floor featuring rejected concepts 1-5ab, Garbage pail kids kids featuring the children of classic Garbage pail kids characters 1-10ab, Garbage pail pets featuring animals as garbage pail kids 1-10ab, Garbage pail presidents featuring 10 former US presidents as Garbage pail kids 1-10ab, Lost original art featuring the original art which was never published of classic GPK 1-6ab, Zoom out featuring zoom outs of garbage pail kids showing what happened in the background 1-10ab and 80s spoofs featuring spoof of things that were popular in the 80s 1-25ab Movies The Garbage Pail Kids Movie Main article: The Garbage Pail Kids Movie On August 21, 1987, a live-action film based on the card characters was released.[21] Its campy production made it both a critical and commercial flop, opening poorly in 374 theaters with initial receipts of $661,512 and total gross receipts of $1,576,615, barely making back its 1 million dollar budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 0% critic rating and 35% audience rating. The film is considered as one of the worst films ever made. Topps featured advertisements for the movie on the original series 9 and 10 box-topper poster and variant wrapper. Planned future film On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Michael Eisner's Tornante Company would be producing a new movie based on the Garbage Pail Kids, likely with computer-generated character imagery. Michael Vukadinovich has been hired to write the screenplay for the film and PES has been hired to direct.[22][23] However, the film is currently no longer in development. Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls which were popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality, deformity, and/or suffering a terrible fate with a humorous, word play character name such as Adam Bomb or Blasted Billy. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name denoted by an "a" or "b" letter after the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so just the kid with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces that form giant murals while other flip-side subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, "Facebook" profiles. Fifteen original series ("OS") of regular trading cards were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large-format card editions were also released, as well as a set of fold-out posters. All-New Series (ANS) sets were introduced in 2003, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series (BNS) was announced for 2012[3] with Brand New series 2, Chrome OS1, and BNS3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014 using the year to designate the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format. In 2016, the format was changed again to themed sets that spoofed different pop-culture topics. Contents 1 History 2 International versions 2.1 Variations 3 Commercial success 4 Controversy and lawsuit 4.1 School ban 4.2 Trademark infringement lawsuit 5 All-New Series sets 6 Flashback re-releases 7 Brand-New Series sets 8 Chrome Series sets 9 2014 Series 1 10 30th Anniversary series 11 Yearly themed series 12 Movies 12.1 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie 12.2 Planned future film 13 Television 14 See also 15 References 16 External links History The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman who came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Candy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages title,[4] but the management at Topps thought it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden worked together as the editors and art directors of the project, Len Brown was the manager, and the first run of the cards was drawn exclusively by artist John Pound.[5] They were first issued in 1985.[6][7] Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series, including Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk, and James Warhola, among others. International versions The cards were also known as "Bukimi Kun" ["ぶきみくん", Mr. Creepy] in Japan, "The Garbage Gang" in Australia and New Zealand versions, "La Pandilla Basura" [The Garbage Gang] in Spain, "Havurat Ha-Zevel" ["חבורת הזבל", "The Garbage Gang"] in Israel, "Basuritas" [Trashlings] in Latin America, "Gang do Lixo/Loucomania" [Trash Gang/Crazymania] in Brazil, "Sgorbions" [Snotlings] in Italy, "Les Crados" [The Filthies] in France and Belgium, and "Die total kaputten Kids" [The Totally Broken Kids] in Germany. Variations A smaller-sized card format was released in Australia and New Zealand. Each pack contained three stickers and the "peel here" arrow pointed to the top left area since there was no die-cut scoring. Initially in New Zealand a 6th series of the Garbage Pail Kids was released as a market test (this version was a mix of the United States series 6 and 7). After this success, Series 1 was released in Australia and New Zealand known as "The Garbage Gang" and was identical to the United States version (albeit smaller in size). The first series was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1989 with different versions: the Australian stickers were darker, had a different banner, and some of the names were changed to reflect cultural differences. From Series 2 onward, the same version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Series 4 was the last release of "The Garbage Gang". Commercial success The commercial success of the trading cards led to the production of a live-action movie, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie,[8] in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the US was postponed due to parental complaints.[9] The show did make a brief appearance on US television years after it was originally intended to air and was also briefly aired in Europe.[10] The movie was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the original VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on April 4, 2006 (with distribution by Paramount). A similar set of 160 trading cards called the Sloppy Slobs was released in Italy in 1993. Controversy and lawsuit School ban During the height of the card series' popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools.[11] One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.[12] Trademark infringement lawsuit Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, for trademark infringement.[13][14] As part of the out-of-court settlement, Topps agreed to modify the appearance of the Garbage Pail Kids to remove the resemblance between the characters, and to change the logo design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced. All-New Series sets In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series ("ANS"). ANS1 was largely made up of artwork intended for release in the 1980s, but 2004's ANS2 featured brand new concepts. Unique numbers on the backs of silver- and gold-foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website where visitors build and "gross out" their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique code numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross it becomes. Less than six months later, ANS3 was released. In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the GPK franchise with special "Sketch Card" original art inserts for its ANS4 set.[15] These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box (available only from specialty retailers) and featured original artwork by series regulars John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch, as well as guest artists Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin, and Justin Green. Although a regular to the series with over 35 paintings, Luis Diaz was not involved in the sketch cards due to a previous financial dispute with Topps from years earlier.[16] In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids (each with an a/b twin), followed by ANS6 in early 2007. January 2008 saw the release of ANS7 which expanded the base set to 55 new characters and was the last set to feature new artwork until 2010's Flashback Series 1 subset of six previously unpublished kids. The ANS cards differ from the original series ("OS") in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of card stock with a glossy protective surface. The ANS releases also changed the card numbering format: OS cards used a continuous numbering pattern so that each new set would pick up where the last one ended (e.g. OS1 ended at 41a/b and OS2 picked up at 42a/b while ANS reset the numbering back to 1a/b with each subsequent release). Each ANS also featured special "chase cards" randomly inserted in packs; for example, foil cards show characters from the original series (with modified artwork due to the lawsuit), "Scratch 'n Stink" cards, collectible card game cards, Temporary tattoos, 3D pop-up cards, alphabet cards, activity cards, magnets, lenticular "Loco Motion" cards, and die-cut jigsaw puzzle cards, along with special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either "bonus boxes" or rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first cards not to have a twin set. Flashback re-releases A book with the first five series Topps released a 25th anniversary "Flashback"[17] set on February 24, 2010, featuring reprints of characters from the original 1985–87 GPK series (eight each from OS1 to OS8) plus six previously unpublished "lost" characters and 10 "Where are They Now" cards showing classic GPKs drawn as they would appear today. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, authentic printing plates, four levels of parallels, and hand-drawn artist sketches by pop-culture artists including Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, and veteran GPK artists Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch. A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from series 1 to 9 plus five more "lost" kids, 10 new "Where are They Now" cards, five 3D cards (resembling holograms but in full colour), unique artist sketches, and 10 "Adam Mania" cards showing variants of Adam Bomb's iconic mushroom cloud, plus parallels of the base and Adam Mania sets.[18] GPK Flashback Series 3 followed on November 2, 2011, with 65 OS reprints, four "lost" kids, 10 "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards, 10 Adam Mania cards, artist sketches, and parallels. Topps recently released a book that showcases the first five series. The cover depicts a pack from the very first series released back in 1985. Each card is displayed with the "a" name and the "b" name on the bottom corner of the page. Brand-New Series sets This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In 2012, Topps announced it would reboot the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with new character and content themes more reminiscent of the original 1980s series in a set called "Brand-New Series 1" (BNS1). The set was released on October 24, 2012. BNS1 features 55 new GPK characters, a reality TV subset, motion cards, mix 'n' match stickers, parallels, artist sketch cards, and code cards redeemable for a chance to be painted as a GPK in the next BNS. BNS2 was released in March and features 55 new characters plus 18 reimagined characters plus lenticular cards, glow in the dark cards and folded cards. Unlike the all new series set and like the old series sets the numbering of BNS continues where the previous series ended. They have now announced that there will be a BNS3 released in the middle of October, after the release of the chrome edition in August. Chrome Series sets In October 2013, Topps re-released original series 1 as a metallic chromium set containing all 41 kids plus 14 previously unpublished characters.[19] On July 30, 2014, Topps re-released 1985's original series 2 set plus 13 returning characters from series 2 characters that have been reimagined in previous garbage pail kid sets as chromium cards. Chrome cards are thicker than the original cards and are not stickers.[20] 2014 Series 1 Topps released a series of all new cards with brand new artwork for 2014. Like the older cards, these have activities on the back of the cards including checklists, puzzles, and "Fakebook" profiles. 30th Anniversary series In July 2015, Topps released the 30th Anniversary series with 110 a/b cards (220 cards total). The numbering differed from previous series in that instead of ranging from 1–110a/b it had several themed subsets each of which started at 1 a/b with the subsets being checklist cards featuring variations of Adam Bomb 1–2a/b including Adam Bomb "Don't Push My Button" featuring classic GPK characters pressing Adam Bomb's button 1–10a/b, "Artistic Impression" featuring historical art as GPK characters 1–10a/b, "Artistic Interpretation" featuring characters drawn by guest artists 1–5a/b, "Comic Book Covers" featuring art from the comic books 1–7a/b, "Cutting Room Floor" featuring rejected concepts 1–5a/b, "Garbage Pail Kids' Kids" featuring the children of classic GPK characters 1–10a/b, "Garbage Pail Pets" featuring animals as garbage pail kids 1–10a/b, "Garbage Pail Presidents" featuring 10 former U.S. presidents as Garbage Pail Kids 1–10a/b, "Lost Original Art" featuring the original paintings of classic GPKs which were never before published 1–6a/b, "Zoom Out" featuring zoomed-out GPKs showing what happened in the background 1–10a/b, and "'80s Spoofs" featuring spoofs of things that were popular in the 1980s 1–25a/b. Yearly themed series After the 30th Anniversary series, Topps began using a new formula that structured each series with an overall theme divided into subsets focusing on particular topics. In January 2016, "American as Apple Pie in Your Face" put GPKs in situations that parodied American culture. A second 2016 series followed in April called "Prime Slime Trashy TV" with humorous takes on popular television shows. The first series for 2017 was January's "Adam-geddon" which put the Garbage Pail Kids (including some classic kids) in perilous end-times scenarios.[21] Topps announced that the second series for 2017 will arrive in October and be the "Battle of the Bands" caricaturing popular music acts and album covers. Movies The Garbage Pail Kids Movie Main article: The Garbage Pail Kids Movie On August 21, 1987, a live-action film based on the card characters was released.[22] Its campy production made it both a critical and commercial flop, opening poorly in 374 theaters with initial receipts of $661,512 and total gross receipts of $1,576,615, barely making back its 1 million dollar budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 0% critic rating and 35% audience rating. The film is considered one of the worst films ever made. Topps featured advertisements for the movie on the original series 9 and 10 box-topper poster and variant wrapper. Planned future film On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Michael Eisner's Tornante Company would be producing a new movie based on the Garbage Pail Kids, likely with computer-generated character imagery. Michael Vukadinovich was hired to write the screenplay for the film and PES has been hired to direct.[23][24] However, the film is currently no longer in development. Jay Lynch, an artist, writer and satirist who was a central figure in the underground comics revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, died on March 5 at his home in Candor, N.Y. He was 72. His cousin Valerie Snowden said the cause was lung cancer. Mr. Lynch, who had a wry, deadpan sense of humor, held strong views about the importance of underground comics, which differentiated themselves from the mainstream through raunchy and grotesque depictions of sex, drugs and violence. “Underground comix were the most important art movement of the 20th century,” he wrote, using the “comics” spelling preferred by underground cartoonists, in the introduction to “Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics Into Comix” (2009), by Denis Kitchen and James Danky. Image A panel from Mr. Lynch’s “Nard n’ Pat.”Creditvia Fantagraphics Books “Copies of many of the early books sell to collectors for many thousands of dollars,” he continued. “It’s all quite ironic: Rebellious cartoonists mocking consumer culture were inadvertently producing collectible artifacts for the same consumer culture 40 years down the road.” Please disable your ad blocker Advertising helps fund Times journalism. How to whitelist Mr. Lynch played several roles in the underground comics world. Using a retro style with a tight crosshatching technique, he created comics like “Nard n’ Pat,” about a conservative man who bickers with a hip cat. You have 1 free article remaining. Subscribe to The Times “It was sweetly rooted in the past,” the cartoonist Art Spiegelman said in an interview. “Two characters who oddly refracted the themes of old comic strips, but now they surrealistically dealt with sex, drugs and cheap thrills.” Mr. Lynch founded Bijou Funnies with his fellow cartoonist Skip Williamson to publish his work and that of other artists, and acted as a publicist for the loosely defined industry. “He put people together,” said Patrick Rosenkranz, who is writing a biography of Mr. Lynch. “He publicized what was going on. In the back of Bijou, he had small free ads for other underground comics. He was a crossroads figure.” Please disable your ad blocker Advertising helps fund Times journalism. How to whitelist But his most significant role might have been as an archivist of underground comics history. He kept nearly everything from his teenage years on: letters, original art, comics, fan magazines, merchandise and publicity campaigns. He donated it all to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. “We have letters between 14-year-old Art Spiegelman and 17-year-old Jay talking about their favorite EC Comics and Mad magazines — and about reading the first issue of Spider-Man,” said Caitlin McGurk, the museum’s associate curator. The Comics of Jay Lynch 7 PhotosView Slide Show › Image via Fantagraphics Books Mr. Spiegelman recalled that about a year ago he asked Mr. Lynch to let him see some of their old letters. “So he sent me a bulging three-inch-thick binder with a Xerox of every letter he received from 1961 to 1963,” he said. “He kept all this history so well organized, but if you had taken a camera pan of the rest of his daily life, it would have been the opposite.” Mr. Lynch’s early life was a bit unconventional. Jay Patrick Lynch was born in Orange, N.J., on Jan. 7, 1945, and grew up in Belmar. His father, William, and his mother, the former Alice Mangan, divorced when he was young, and he was raised in his grandmother’s house, surrounded by aunts, uncles, his cousin Ms. Snowden and his grandfather. At age 11, he moved with his family to Miami, where he focused on his artwork, painting murals for neighbors’ homes and stage sets for school productions. He later moved to Chicago, where he attended the Art Institute. The education that pointed him to his future in underground comics was provided by Mad magazine, whose editorial mastermind was Harvey Kurtzman, and The Realist, a satirical political journal founded by Paul Krassner in 1958. “After reading my first issue of The Realist, I was in a daze which almost bordered on frenzied religious ecstasy,” Mr. Lynch was quoted as saying in Mr. Rosenkranz’s book “Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution” (2008). “Here was a magazine that pointed out, through satire, the hypocrisies in the society that nobody else dared even speak of, let alone print discussions of.” His path to underground comics took him through fanzines, college humor magazines and alternative newspapers. He contributed to Wild, Cracked, Whack and Sick magazines. EDITORS’ PICKS Remarkable People We Overlooked in Our Obituaries What War Can’t Destroy Is the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town? 4 Bazooka Joe Comics 4 PhotosView Slide Show › Image Topps He and Mr. Williamson began a humor and comics magazine, Chicago Mirror, which they turned into Bijou Funnies, after the transformational publication of Robert Crumb’s Zap No. 1 in 1968, which featured the big-footed, long-bearded, guru-like Mr. Natural. Mr. Lynch’s comics never reached as broad an audience as some of his more famous brethren’s. Mr. Rosenkranz suggested that this might have been because he did not use sex as much in his work as others and was not part of the so-called “slash and drip” school of underground cartoonists. “He was more interested in intellectual ideas,” he said. Some of Mr. Lynch’s work reached the mainstream — through Playboy in the 1980s, but more regularly through Topps, the trading card company, which provided an income for artists like Mr. Spiegelman and Mr. Lynch. “They were our Medicis,” Mr. Spiegelman said. Over a few decades, Mr. Lynch illustrated Bazooka Joe comics; Garbage Pail Kids, which began as a satire of Cabbage Patch Kids; and Wacky Packages, which parodied consumer culture. He recalled that he was told which food conglomerates not to mock, but with a list of products that he could parody, “I would go to the supermarket and buy those products.” Image Mr. Lynch in 2011. His most significant role might have been as an archivist of underground comics history.CreditJohn Kinhart Ira Friedman, a Topps vice president, said in an interview, “Jay was at the epicenter of Wacky Packages.” He also branched into children’s books, including a collaboration with Frank Cammuso on “Otto’s Orange Day” (2013) and “Otto’s Backwards Day” (2013). Mr. Lynch was divorced twice and had no children. When he resurrected “Nard n’ Pat” for the cover of Mineshaft magazine in 2015, he seemed to split his life into his two creations. He drew Nard busily typing and telling Pat: “And thus, kitty-kat, while you draw cartoons to cleverly illustrate mankind’s folly, I textually chronicle my astute observations on life’s passing parade. Alas! What fools these mortals be!” Filling in a comics panel at a drawing table, Pat says: “You said it, Boss! Fun, fun, fun, ’til Daddy takes the T-square away.”
Jay Lynch is best known as a pioneer of the 1960s underground comix movement. As co-editor of the influential magazine Bijou Funnies (1968-1973) he provided a platform for various iconic artists in the field, as well as his own best-known work, 'Nard 'n' Pat' (1967-1973). He also worked as a writer for more mainstream comics, such as 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People' (1979-1996) and 'Bazooka Joe' (1967-1990). Lynch was closely involved with the 'Wacky Packages' and 'Garbage Pails' trading cards franchise and, in the dawn of his career, reinvented himself a final time as a children's book author. Covers for 1970s underground comix like Bogeyman #2 and Dope Comix #3 Jay Lynch was born in 1945 in Orange, New Jersey. His early influences were George Herriman's 'Krazy Kat', Bud Fisher's 'Mutt and Jeff' and Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder's early issues of Mad. He had a lifelong interest in comics, but also satirical media, which he collected his entire life. When he discovered Paul Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist in 1958 Lynch finally knew what he wanted to do with his life: "I knew my cause, I knew my role in the scheme of things." Lynch published his first cartoons for his high school paper, but looked for more professional magazines too. In an issue of Cracked he discovered that its editor had just published a fanzine, Smudge, which offered information about all kinds of satirical magazines in the country. Lynch sent for a copy and was eventually hired as a cartoonist. Other future cartoon legends like Skip Williamson and Art Spiegelman also discovered Smudge through that same Cracked issue and became close friends of Lynch. Through the fanzine network Lynch got in touch with the still unknown Gilbert Shelton, Robert Crumb, Joel Beck and Jaxon. It didn't take long before his work was published in magazines like Wild!, Thor, Sick, Prep, Squire, Cracked and Harvey Kurtzman's short-lived satirical magazine Help! In 1963, the 17-year old Lynch moved to Chicago where he found a job as the member of the improvisational comedy team 'The Second City'. He worked as a stock boy in Wieboldts department store, while still writing gags and stories for various humor magazines in his spare time. After trying out performing stand-up comedy he got in touch with Jeff Begun and Howie Cohen, two college students who had just been thrown off Roosevelt University for publishing an offensive college magazine named Aardvark. Begun and Cohen decided to continue their publication under a different name, Charlatan, where Lynch found a new audience for his work. Unfortunately it didn't last long either. In 1967 Lynch found a job at an advertising agency, which provided him not only with a steady income but enough time at work to draw. His bosses felt that their customers ought to have the impression that their employees were continuously hard at work and thus Lynch and his friends were allowed to draw comics in between assignments. From Bijou Funnies #1 In the mid 1960s mainstream media didn't really appeal to young people. To provide a counterweight several hippies founded their own magazines. Because of their subversive content these publications couldn't be sold in regular stores and thus had to go "underground" by being distributed through stores specializing in hippie fashions, gadgets and drugs: the so-called "head shops". Lynch's earliest comics were published in underground magazines like the Chicago Seed and the Chicago Kaleidoscope, but he felt that they still were too frightened to offend their readers. He found more pleasing venues in The Berkeley Barb, Fifth Estate, Nexus, Gothic Blimp Works, Purple Cat, Radical America and The East Village Other. Eventually he and Skip Williamson decided to create their own underground newspaper, The Chicago Mirror. It featured a lot of satirical articles, which unfortunately weren't always recognized as such. One day Lynch invented a story how smoking dog excrement could be used as a substitute for marihuana. To his concern some hippies actually came forward to congratulate him for giving them this tip. Even when Lynch explained it was satire the men still didn't believe it was all meant as a joke. This made them decide to change the format into a comics magazine, because then at least their satire would be a lot clearer. Inspired by Robert Crumb's groundbreaking Zap Comix, Bijou Funnies hit the market in the summer of 1968. Child Martyr, from Bijou Funnies #7 Bijou Funnies featured satirical comics aiming at a mature audience. Lynch functioned as its main editor and personally corresponded with various underground artists and fans all across America and Europe. The magazine offered a spot for his own work, but also comics by Williamson, Gilbert Shelton, Jay Kinney, Kim Deitch, Art Spiegelman, Dave Herring, Jim Osborne, John Thompson, Rory Hayes, Paul David Simon, Roger Brand, Dan Clyne, William Stout, Denis Kitchen, Pat Daley, Willy Murphy, Ralph Reese, Evert Geradts and Justin Green. To tighten his network he even made a map which located all other underground comics publications in the country. It was printed on the back cover of each issue. Lynch furthermore increased Bijou Funnies' national notability by advertising it whenever he was interviewed in the press and on television. It was distributed through Print Mint until 1970 and then taken over by Denis Kitchen's Kitchen Sink Press for the next three years. At the time Bijou Funnies' had considerable influence on other underground comics magazines. Denis Kitchen actually founded his own Mom's Homemade Comics (1969), after reading just one issue of Bijou Funnies. Nard 'n' Pat from Bijou Funnies #5, with a guest appearance from Will Elder's 'Melvin Mole' from Mad #2 One of Bijou Funnies' regular features was Jay Lynch's comic strip 'Nard 'n' Pat', which had made its debut in the Chicago Mirror in 1967. The underground comic dealt with a bald-headed moustached man with ultra-conservative values, Nard, and Pat, his left-wing anarchistic cat. In terms of design they looked like a typical early 1900s newspaper comic, but the content was far more subversive. Nard and Pat always bickered about politics and social issues, ranging from Maoism to the Vietnam War. Lynch based their names and personalities on two friends he knew. Just like their comic book counterparts they had opposing political viewpoints and always argued, but never listened to one another. While Lynch was a staunch left-wing progressive idealist himself, he didn't hesistate to satirize his own ideology with the same waspishness. During 'Nard 'n' Pat' 's final years the comic strip also took a lot of inspiration from discussions he had with his own wife. Lynch also drew more personal and dramatic comics around this time, such as 'Child Martyr' (Bijou Funnies, issue 7), which told the tale of a boy at his Catholic school who was bullied by older kids for believing in God. Crumb and Lynch also visited 'Dick Tracy' creator Chester Gould in 1968, which inspired Lynch to draw a two-page comic book story about this memorable event, published in Funny Animals. Nard 'n' Pat by Jay Lynch Nard 'n' Pat from Bijou Funnies #4 In the spring of 1969 Lynch and Spiegelman resurrected the mascot of their previous publication Wild!, Projunior, who was originally created by Don Dohler. They brought in all their underground comix friends to create stories about the character, which were then published as 'Don Dohler's Projunior' (1969) by Kitchen Sink. Lynch also designed the cover. The same year he edited Conspiracy Capers, a benefit comic book to raise funds for the legal defense of the upcoming trial agains the Chicago Seven. These were seven anti-Vietnam war activists who were charged with conspiracy and public disturbance, among them Abbie Hoffman – famous for the subversive work 'Steal This Book' (1971). The case was controversial and Lynch had to go through great lengths to actually find anybody in Chicago willing to cash the check with the benefit money. e was forced to sign it over and send it off to Washington D.C. to more kindred spirits. By the time he received everything back in the mail two months had passed by. Even worse: his letter had been opened and inspected. It turned out that the printing shop he had in mind for the job had been visited by two men in suits who'd threatened to put the owner out of business if he dared to published Conspiracy Capers. Such threats were not uncommon in the day for Lynch. People sometimes threw in his windows because of his political views. As a result he started signing his work with the pseudonyms "Jayzee", "Jayzey" and "Ray Finch". Nevertheless, 'Conspiracy Capers' did get published and featured graphic contributions by Skip Williamson (who designed the cover), Jay Lynch, Jim Osborne, Baron, Daniel Clyne, Paul David Simon, Jay Kinney, Ralph Reese, Gary Arlington, Rory Hayes, Charles Winans and Art Spiegelman. The trial itself originally resulted in only five "guilty" verdicts, but these too would later be overturned in a federal court of appeals. Lynch's parody of the 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' from Bijou Funnies #8 Censorship got worse when the court case Miller vs. California in 1973 resulted in an official decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to broaden prosecution of "obscene material". It made it nearly impossible to publish underground magazines with the same amount of freedom, left alone distribute them. Lynch reacted to the court decision in an editorial, 'Um Tut Smut', published in the eight and final issue of Bijou Funnies. As a farewell occasion the entire issue spoofed Mad Magazine, particularly the early issues by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, which had influenced him and his fellow underground buddies so much. He and his friends each drew parodies of their own comics. Lynch took it upon him to spoof Gilbert Shelton's 'Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers', while his own 'Nard 'n' Pat' received the honour of being parodied by none other than Robert Crumb. Outside of Bijou Funnies, Lynch designed various advertisements and posters for the record label Curtom. Together with Skip Williamson he designed the album cover of 'The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette' (1969) by The Four Seasons. The cover was made to look like a newspaper, even featuring an eight-page newspaper-like booklet inside with an underground comic named 'High Frequency Funnies', drawn by Lynch and Williamson. While an obvious attempt to appear more hip to young listeners, the record cover did prove to be quite influential. Jethro Tull's 'Thick as a Brick' (1972), John Lennon's 'Some Time In New York City' (1973), Tom Waits' 'Heartattack and Vine' (1980) and Radiohead's 'The King of Limbs' (2011) also designed their album covers to look like a newspaper. Lynch was also active for Hugh Hefner's Playboy, who came up with a comics section called 'Playboy Funnies'. Skip Williamson was given the task of bringing hip, young artists together, among them also Art Spiegelman, Jay Kinney, Randall Enos, Lou Brooks, Mark Alan Stamaty and Howard Cruse. Furthermore Lynch made a more grotesque version of the then-popular smiley buttons. Smiley buttons by Jay Lynch In 1977 the Chicago Seed issued a juvenile supplement called Sidetracks. Lynch was asked to provide a suitable comic strip and came up with 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People'. It featured an old woman who fed pigeons in the park. The birds, however, all have human heads. One of them, Bix, is a beatnik who enjoys ranting. It took a year before Lynch heared from his editor again, because the preliminary sketches had been put inside a drawer and were forgotten afterwards. While cleaning up one day the editor rediscovered them, but just send them back to Lynch. Fed up with the poor way his work was treated, Lynch mailed the pages to a rival newspaper, The Chicago Reader, who immediately published the series on a weekly basis. At first he drew everything personally, but he quickly got tired of it. Gary Whitney then took over the illustration work, while Lynch wrote the scripts. 'Phoebe and the Pigeon People' (1979-1996) ran for 17 years and even inspired a stage show, 'When Cultures Collide'. It was performed by the improvisational theater troupe The Practical Theater in collaboration with rock and new wave bands. The best gags of the comic strip were collected by Kitchen Sink in three comic books. Jay Lynch and Gary Whitney Another mainstream endeavour of Lynch was his work for the bubble gum and trading cards company Topps. Between 1967 and 1990 he was the anonymous gag writer for numerous 'Bazooka Joe' comics. Originally drawn by Wesley Morse, these were small-format gag comics hidden inside bubblegum wrappers. For the same company Lynch also contributed to the 'Wacky Packages' (1968) trading cards and stickers. These were parodies of iconic brands, often in combination with a pun. The artwork often imitated the original designs so perfectly that lawsuits were a genuine threat. However, since most companies would typically send a cease-and-desist letter to remove all copies within three months Topps never had a problem, because they came up with new ideas every month and the older trading cards only remained in roulation for a short while. The concept for 'Wacky Packages' was thought up by Art Spiegelman who was in his turn inspired by similar spoofs in Mad Magazine. Both he and Lynch made graphic contributions, taking turns with Kim Deitch, George Evans, Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, Norman Saunders, Bhob Stewart and Tom Sutton. The franchise inspired posters, T-shirts, books, erasers, binders, but also five comic book issues with artwork by Lynch, Joe Simko, Neil Camera and Brent Engstrom. It provided many underground comics artists with a steady income, while still remaining true to their public image as anti-establishment artists. In 1985 a similar trading cards series was created, 'Garbage Pail Kids', which featured eccentric children with grotesque faces. Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden came up with the intitial idea, while John Pound made the designs. Later Lynch also made some illustrations for these cards, along with Tom Bunk, Strephon Taylor, Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, John Czop, Don Perlin, Justin Green and James Warhola. Due to its reliance on gross-out humor the cards were an immediate succes with children and got distributed to various countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In 1987 a movie adaptation was made, 'The Garbage Pail Kids Movie', which became one of the most notorious box office flops in motion picture history. Artwork by Jay LynchArtwork by Jay Lynch Lynch was also a contributor to Mad Magazine for a while. He was involved with their merchandising, but also scripted three of their articles. He wrote the gag 'One Sunny Morning on Easter Island' (issue 368, April 1998) which was illustrated by Timothey Shamey. For 'One Fine Day at the Candy Store' (issue 375, November 1998) he called in graphic help from Monte Wolverton, while Leslie Sternbergh illustrated 'Products For Your Aging Hippie Parents' (issue 390, February 2000). He also contributed art work for Everett Peck's underground comic 'Duckman', which later inspired the eponymous 1994-1997 cult TV series of the same name. Other popular comics titles he worked for were 'Archie Comics' (with the characters created by Bob Montana), 'Zorro' and Matt Groening's 'The Simpsons'. He also once had the opportunity to work for Marvel Comics' adult comics magazine Comix Book, but turned the offer down when his contract stipulated that Marvel would own all his characters. In the 2008 Lynch was closely involved with Françoise Mouly's project to create more comic books appropriate for children. The 'Toon Books' series featured various graphic novels created by well-known comics authors with appropriate educational value. Lynch wrote a book called 'Otto's Orange Day' (2008), illustrated by Frank Cammuso. It tells the tale of a young cat, Otto, who finds a magical genie who grants him one wish. Otto wishes the entire world looked orange, because it would make things more happy and bright. Slowly but surely he starts to regret his decision, but unfortunately he is out of wishes and needs to find a way to make everything return to normal. The same year Lynch also published 'Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever' (2008), illustrated by Dean Haspiel. This story revolves around Mighty Jojo, a superhero who tries to make two aggressive twins quit fighting each other. He gives them a costume that will provide them superpowers, but they simply rip it in half. Seeing that their town is under threat of the evil villain Saw-Jaw they need to come up with a solution fast. Mineshaft cover by Jay Lynch In the later years of his career Lynch worked as a teacher for the Chicago Institute. He also drew comics for the magazine Mineshaft. By 2016 he was in such ill health that he sold his entire personal collection of original comics, magazines, press files, correspondence and art to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. He passed away in early 2017. He was an influence on Jay Kinney, Alan Hewetson, Alan Moore and Joost Swarte. His wife, Jane Lynch, was also active as a comics writer and journalist. One riddle that has puzzled many of Lynch's readers was the catchphrase "Um Tut Sut!", a running gag he kept going for decades. Many have pondered its meaning, but it actually meant nothing. Lynch intended it as a pun on "Om Tat Sat", a Hindu mantra which gained popularity in the West during the 1960s. "Um Tut Sut!" was even turned into a poem by the Finnish poet Markku Into in 1985, and a song by the children's rock 'n' roll band The Boogers in 2008. Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip Nard n' Pat.[2] His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. Lynch was the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990;[3] he contributed to Mad, and in the 2000s expanded into the children's book field. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Comix 1.2 Trading cards 1.3 Mad and books 2 Personal life 3 Awards 4 Bibliography 4.1 Undergrounds (contributed & edited) 4.2 Undergrounds (contributed) 4.3 Children's books 5 Further reading 6 References 7 External links Biography Lynch was born in Orange, New Jersey and grew up in Belmar, New Jersey.[4] Ben Schwartz, writing in the alternative weekly The Chicago Reader, traced Lynch's formative years: In 1963, at age 17, Lynch had moved to Chicago from Florida, where he grew up. Working a string of odd jobs to support himself, he wound up manning the service bar at Second City one summer. This was between the theater's skinny-tie Alan Arkin days and the Belushi hippie years. "At that time it seemed like Second City was over," Lynch says. "They had been on Jack Paar, and all the Hyde Park Compass Players were gone... The Realist would come out, and you'd see them taking their improvs from there." Lynch moved into Del Close's old apartment on Hudson. Close had left it in such a mess that the landlord let him live there for free on the condition that he fix the place up.[5] Comix Schwartz continues: He drew cartoons for Roosevelt University's humor magazine, the Aardvark, which got tossed off campus by college administrators after the first issue. Then in 1967 Lynch with help from Skip Williamson put out The Chicago Mirror, which lasted three issues and would become Chicago's answer to Robert Crumb's Zap Comix: Bijou Funnies, with early work by Lynch, Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton and Skip Williamson.[5] Main article: Bijou Funnies Bijou Funnies was heavily influenced by Mad magazine,[6] and, along with Zap, is considered one of the titles to launch the underground comix movement.[7] Bijou Funnies lasted 8 issues (from 1968 to 1963); a selection of stories from Bijou Funnies were collected in 1975 in the book The Best of Bijou Funnies (Quick Fox/Links Books). Lynch's best known comic book stories involve the human-cat duo Nard n' Pat, recurring characters in Bijou Funnies. Nard is a bald middle-aged man of conservative tendencies, and Patrick is his more "hip" talking cat.[4] Nard n' Pat were featured in two issues of their own comic, the first one published by Cartoonists Co-Op Press in 1974 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press was a self-publishing venture by Lynch, Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Willy Murphy, Diane Noomin, and Art Spiegelman that operated in 1973–1974), and the second issue published by Kitchen Sink Press in 1981. The weekly comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People, by Lynch and illustrator Gary Whitney, ran in the Chicago Reader for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s; Kitchen Sink Press published 3 issues of a Phoebe & the Pigeon People comic book collecting material from the strip in 1979–1981. Lynch has scans of more than 500 editions of the strip ready for any publisher who sees the potential of a Phoebe and the Pigeon People book.[5] Trading cards Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to Topps' Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, plus other Topps humor products. In 2002, he recalled his creative working methods and procedures with Len Brown and others at the Topps' Product Development Department: I would get a phone call from Len Brown or Art Spiegelman telling me it was time for me to do some roughs for a new series of Wacky Packages. I would usually submit a dozen roughs at a time. Len would tell me, usually on the phone, which food conglomerates I could not parody, based on cease and desist letters from prior series. I had a master list of taboo companies – and this would be added to, by phone, until a new master list would be compiled and sent to me. In those days I had a pretty good working knowledge of who made what, though. So I would give Len a verbal list of maybe 20 or so products, of which he would pick a dozen. Sometimes he would suggest products, sometimes he would come up with the gag title on the phone, and I would add to it on the rough. Sometimes Spiegelman, or Bhob Stewart, or Woody Gelman would phone the assignment to me. In the 80s, Mark Newgarden would phone the assignment to me. In the 90s Ira Friedman would phone the assignment to me. But mostly it would be Len. I think in the 60s I got $8 a rough. By the 70s it had gone up to $20 a rough. By the 80s it was $125 a rough, and so on. What I got for a rough always remained the same amount in actual buying power. It has gone up with inflation, though. One rough pays about the same as a week's worth of groceries. Always has – and always will. Anyway – after I had some idea of the initial dozen products that I would parody, I would go to the supermarket and buy these products. Sometimes I would get ideas for additional products as well – and Topps would reimburse me for this cost of the actual products when I would send them the receipt along with my bill, which I would enclose with each batch of roughs. These roughs were done in India ink and colored with Magic Markers. I would just send them in by regular mail, and I didn't bother to retain Xerox copies of them until the mid-1970s when the drugstore down the block from my house installed a pay Xerox machine. I was living in Chicago then. I would only go to Brooklyn to meet with the Topps guys once every six months or so. Usually this was to work on a vast variety of other Topps and Bazooka projects. Wacky Packages was just one of the countless series in development then, only one in ten of which would ever see the light of day.[8][9][10] Mad and books Ottoorange.jpg During the 1990s, he began writing for Mad, and he also devised products for Mad merchandising.[5] His children's book, Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008), a collaboration with Syracuse political cartoonist Frank Cammuso, is described by the publisher: "When Otto the cat meets a magical genie, he knows just what to wish for: he makes the whole world orange! At first, this new, bright world seems like a lot of fun, but when his mom serves orange spinach for lunch, Otto realizes that his favorite color isn’t the best color for everything. Fixing this mixed-up world won’t be easy though because Otto already used up his only wish."[11] Greg McElhatton (Read About Comics) reviewed: Lynch's story is aimed at readers in the 5 to 8 range, and I have to say that if I had a child that old I know what they'd be reading. I really appreciated that Lynch never talked down to his audience; while everything is spelled out for the reader carefully, it doesn't come across as condescending or patronizing. The story itself is fun and cute; Otto's song about all things orange made me laugh, and I absolutely love the scene when everything has become orange and Otto goes outside to see his creation. Each burst of excitement as he spies something newly orange, be it a duck or a clown, is pretty contagious. Lynch has a good handle on just how to write for kids, as well as any adults that might be looking over the kid's shoulder. What also impressed me, though, is how Lynch handled the ending. It's a combination of smart thinking on both Aunt Sally and Otto's parts, and it teaches something to kids without being cloying or over the top. For a book that's just 40 pages, I was impressed at how full this story felt.[12] Another collaboration, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever by Lynch with Dean Haspiel, was published by Toon Books in fall 2008. Toon describes this superhero satire: "Mona and Joey can't stop fighting! When the Mighty Mojo decides to give his powerful costume to them, these argumentative twins fight so much they rip it in half. Now each one is only half as strong! Can Mo and Jo find a way to combine their powers, fight the evil Saw-Jaw and save their town?"[13] Jay Lynch self-portrait for The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) Personal life Lynch's wife Jane Lynch[14] was an occasional contributor to comics in the early 1970s, including pieces she wrote for Arcade #3 (an interview with Bill Griffith's character Zippy the Pinhead) and Skywald Publications's Psycho #17 (a story called "The Lunatic Class Of '64," illustrated by Emilio Bernardo). Lynch died from complications of lung cancer on March 5, 2017 in Candor, New York.[2] Awards In June 2009, Jay Lynch was nominated for a Harvey Award in the category of "Best Cover Artist" for his Mineshaft #23 cover.[15] Bibliography Undergrounds (contributed & edited) Bijou Funnies #1–8 (Bijou Publishing Empire, Print Mint, Kitchen Sink, 1968–1973) Don Dohler's ProJunior (Kitchen Sink, Oct. 1971) Turned on Cuties (Golden Gate Publishing Company, 1972) Roxy Funnies (Head Imports, 1972) Purple Cat (Adam's Apple Distributing, 1973) Nard n' Pat #1-2 (Cartoonists Co-Op Press, 1974; Kitchen Sink, 1981) — Lynch solo series Phoebe & the Pigeon People #1–3 (Kitchen Sink, 1979–1981) — collection of material from Phoebe and the Pigeon People strip with Gary Whitney (17-year run in the Chicago Reader) Undergrounds (contributed) Gothic Blimp Works #1–2 (1969) Radical America Komiks (Radical America, Jan. 1969) Bogeyman #2 (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969) Bogeyman #3 (Company & Sons, 1970) Children's books Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008) — illustrated by Frank Cammuso Mo and Jo (Toon Books, 2009) — illustrated by Dean Haspiel Further reading Lynch was the cover story of The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) which featured an extensive interview, "Jay Lynch and the Free Exploration of Ideas: An Interview," covering his life and career in detail. Lynch created a caricatured self-portrait for the cover illustration.[16] Jay Lynch (born January 7, 1945)[1] is an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. He has contributed to Mad, and in 2008, he expanded into the children's book field. Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Career 2.1 Comix and trading cards 2.2 Mad and books 3 Interview 4 Awards 5 Bibliography 5.1 Undergrounds (edited) 5.2 Undergrounds (contributed) 5.3 Children's books 5.4 Comic strip 6 References 7 External links Early life and career Jay Lynch was born in Orange, New Jersey. He lived for decades in Chicago.[2] Career Ben Schwartz, writing in the alternative weekly The Chicago Reader, traced Lynch's early years: In 1963, at age 17, Lynch had moved to Chicago from Florida, where he grew up. Working a string of odd jobs to support himself, he wound up manning the service bar at Second City one summer. This was between the theater's skinny-tie Alan Arkin days and the Belushi hippie years. "At that time it seemed like Second City was over," Lynch says. "They had been on Jack Paar, and all the Hyde Park Compass Players were gone... The Realist would come out, and you'd see them taking their improvs from there." Lynch moved into Del Close's old apartment on Hudson. Close had left it in such a mess that the landlord let him live there for free on the condition that he fix the place up. He drew cartoons for Roosevelt University's humor magazine, the Aardvark, which got tossed off campus by college administrators after the first issue. Then in 1967 Lynch with help from Skip Williamson put out The Chicago Mirror which lasted three issues and would become Chicago's answer to Robert Crumb's Zap Comix: Bijou Funnies, with early work by Lynch, Spiegelman, Gilbert Shelton and Skip Williamson.[2] Comix and trading cards Lynch's best known comic book stories involve the human-cat duo, Nard n' Pat, the featured characters in Bijou Funnies. The weekly comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People by Lynch and Gary Whitney ran in the Chicago Reader for 17 years in the late 1970s and 1980s; Lynch has scans of more than 500 of those strips ready for any publisher who sees the potential of a Phoebe and the Pigeon People book.[2][3] Beginning in 1968, Lynch became a major contributor to Topps' Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids, plus other Topps humor products. In 2002, he recalled his creative working methods and procedures with Len Brown and others at the Topps' Product Development Department: I would get a phone call from Len Brown or Art Spiegelman telling me it was time for me to do some roughs for a new series of Wacky Packages. I would usually submit a dozen roughs at a time. Len would tell me, usually on the phone, which food conglomerates I could not parody, based on cease and desist letters from prior series. I had a master list of taboo companies – and this would be added to, by phone, until a new master list would be compiled and sent to me. In those days I had a pretty good working knowledge of who made what, though. So I would give Len a verbal list of maybe 20 or so products, of which he would pick a dozen. Sometimes he would suggest products, sometimes he would come up with the gag title on the phone, and I would add to it on the rough. Sometimes Spiegelman, or Bhob Stewart, or Woody Gelman would phone the assignment to me. In the 80s, Mark Newgarden would phone the assignment to me. In the 90s Ira Friedman would phone the assignment to me. But mostly it would be Len. I think in the 60s I got $8 a rough. By the 70s it had gone up to $20 a rough. By the 80s it was $125 a rough, and so on. What I got for a rough always remained the same amount in actual buying power. It has gone up with inflation, though. One rough pays about the same as a week's worth of groceries. Always has – and always will. Anyway – after I had some idea of the initial dozen products that I would parody, I would go to the supermarket and buy these products. Sometimes I would get ideas for additional products as well – and Topps would reimburse me for this cost of the actual products when I would send them the receipt along with my bill, which I would enclose with each batch of roughs. These roughs were done in India ink and colored with Magic Markers. I would just send them in by regular mail, and I didn't bother to retain Xerox copies of them until the mid-1970s when the drugstore down the block from my house installed a pay Xerox machine. I was living in Chicago then. I would only go to Brooklyn to meet with the Topps guys once every six months or so. Usually this was to work on a vast variety of other Topps and Bazooka projects. Wacky Packages was just one of the countless series in development then, only one in ten of which would ever see the light of day.[4][5][6] Lynch was the main writer for Bazooka Joe comics from 1967 to 1990.[7] Mad and books Ottoorange.jpg During the 1990s, he began writing for Mad, and he also devised products for Mad merchandising.[2] Bijou Funnies was collected in the 1980s in the book, The Best of Bijou Funnies. His children's book, Otto's Orange Day (Toon Books, 2008), a collaboration with Syracuse political cartoonist Frank Cammuso, is described by the publisher: "When Otto the cat meets a magical genie, he knows just what to wish for: he makes the whole world orange! At first, this new, bright world seems like a lot of fun, but when his mom serves orange spinach for lunch, Otto realizes that his favorite color isn’t the best color for everything. Fixing this mixed-up world won’t be easy though because Otto already used up his only wish."[8] Greg McElhatton (Read About Comics) reviewed: Lynch's story is aimed at readers in the 5 to 8 range, and I have to say that if I had a child that old I know what they'd be reading. I really appreciated that Lynch never talked down to his audience; while everything is spelled out for the reader carefully, it doesn't come across as condescending or patronizing. The story itself is fun and cute; Otto's song about all things orange made me laugh, and I absolutely love the scene when everything has become orange and Otto goes outside to see his creation. Each burst of excitement as he spies something newly orange, be it a duck or a clown, is pretty contagious. Lynch has a good handle on just how to write for kids, as well as any adults that might be looking over the kid's shoulder. What also impressed me, though, is how Lynch handled the ending. It's a combination of smart thinking on both Aunt Sally and Otto's parts, and it teaches something to kids without being cloying or over the top. For a book that's just 40 pages, I was impressed at how full this story felt.[9] Another collaboration, Mo and Jo Fighting Together Forever by Lynch with Dean Haspiel, was published by Toon Books in fall 2008. Toon describes this superhero satire: "Mona and Joey can't stop fighting! When the Mighty Mojo decides to give his powerful costume to them, these argumentative twins fight so much they rip it in half. Now each one is only half as strong! Can Mo and Jo find a way to combine their powers, fight the evil Saw-Jaw and save their town?"[10] Interview Jay Lynch self-portrait for The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) Lynch was the cover story of The Comics Journal #114 (February 1987) which featured an extensive interview, "Jay Lynch and the Free Exploration of Ideas: An Interview," covering his life and career in detail. Lynch created a caricatured self-portrait for the cover illustration.[11] Awards In June 2009, Jay Lynch was nominated for a Harvey Award in the category of "Best Cover Artist" for his Mineshaft #23 cover.[12] Bibliography Undergrounds (edited) Bijou Funnies Turned on Cuties Roxy Funnies (1972) Pro Junior Purple Cat Nard n' Pat Undergrounds (contributed) Bogeyman Up Funnies Gothic Blimp Works Radical America Children's books Otto's Orange Day (2008) Mo and Jo (2009) Comic strip Phoebe and the Pigeon People with Gary Whitney (17-year run in Chicago Reader) While dreaming of becoming a comic artist, New Jersey artist Jay Lynch noticed that American mainstream comics in the 1960s were dull and on their way back. So Lynch decided to become an underground artist. He published his own comic book, Bijou, which contained work by Skip Williamson, Art Spiegelman, Evert Geradts and Justin Green. But he has also made a considerable amount of comics himself, including famous works like 'Nard 'n' Pat', starring the hip and horny Pat the cat (in The Chicago Seed and later in Bijou, 1967). He also has contributed to various magazines, such as Cracked and Help!, and other projects (like the Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids for Topps Chewing-gum Company). Jay Lynch is a teacher with the Chicago Art Institute and works as a graphic artist for Topps Chewing-gum Company. In more recent years, he has contributed to several popular comic series, like Topps' 'Zorro' comics and Dark Horse's 'Duckman'. Garbage Pail Kids is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were immensely popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality, deformity and/or suffering a terrible fate, with a humorous, word play-rich character name such as Glandular Angela or Half-Nelson. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name denoted by an "a" or "b" letter after the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so just the kid with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces to form giant nine-card murals; other back subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, "Fakebook" profiles. Fifteen original series of regular trading cards were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large-format card editions were also released, as well as a set of fold-out posters. All-New Series sets were introduced in 2003, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series was announced for 2012[3] with Brand New series 2, Chrome Original Series 1, and Brand New Series 3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014, using the year as the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format. Contents 1 History 2 International versions 2.1 Variations 3 Commercial success 4 Controversy and lawsuit 4.1 School ban 4.2 Trademark infringement lawsuit 5 All-New series sets 6 Flashback re-releases 7 Brand-New Series sets 8 Chrome Set 9 2014 Series 1 10 30th anniversary series 11 Movies 11.1 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie 11.2 Planned future film 12 Television 13 See also 14 References 15 External links History The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman, who came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Candy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages title,[4] but the management at Topps thought it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden worked together as the editors and art directors of the project, Len Brown was the manager, and the first run of the cards was drawn exclusively by artist John Pound.[5] They were first issued in 1985.[6][7] Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series, including Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk, and James Warhola, among others. International versions The cards were also known as "Bukimi Kun" ["ぶきみくん", Mr. Creepy] in Japan, "The Garbage Gang" in Australia and New Zealand versions, "La Pandilla Basura" [The Garbage Gang] in Spain, "Havurat Ha-Zevel" ["חבורת הזבל", "The Garbage Gang"] in Israel, "Basuritas" [Trashlings] in Latin America, "Gang do Lixo/Loucomania" [Trash Gang/Crazymania] in Brazil, "Sgorbions" [Snotlings] in Italy, "Les Crados" [The Filthies] in France and Belgium, and "Die total kaputten Kids" [The Totally Broken Kids] in Germany. Variations A smaller card format version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Each pack contained three stickers and the "peel here" indicator pointed to the top left area since there was no die-cut scoring. Initially in New Zealand a 6th series of the Garbage Pail Kids was released as a market test (this version was a mix of the United States series 6 and 7). After this success, Series 1 was released in Australia and New Zealand known as "The Garbage Gang" and were identical to the United States version (albeit smaller). The first series was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1989 with different versions: the Australian stickers were darker, had a different banner, and some of the names were changed to reflect cultural differences. From Series 2 onward, the same version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Series 4 was the last release of "The Garbage Gang". Commercial success The commercial success of the trading cards called The Sloppy Slobs that were a set of cards made in Italy in 1993 that contained 160 cards led to the production of a live-action movie, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie,[8] in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the US was postponed due to parental complaints.[9] The show did make a brief appearance on US television years after it was originally intended to air and was also briefly aired in Europe.[10] The movie was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the original VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on April 4, 2006 (coincidentally with distribution by Paramount). Controversy and lawsuit School ban During the height of the card series' popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools.[11] One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.[12] Trademark infringement lawsuit Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, for trademark infringement.[13][14] As part of the out-of-court settlement, Topps agreed to modify the appearance of the Garbage Pail Kids to remove the resemblance between the characters, and to change the logo design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced. All-New series sets In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series ("ANS"). ANS1 was largely made up of artwork intended for release in the 1980s, but 2004's ANS2 featured brand new concepts. Unique numbers on the backs of silver- and gold-foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website where visitors build and "gross out" their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique code numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross it becomes. Less than six months later, ANS3 was released. In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the GPK franchise with special "Sketch Card" original art inserts for its ANS4 set.[15] These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box (available only from specialty retailers) and featured original artwork by series regulars John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch, as well as guest artists Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin, and Justin Green. Although a regular to the series with over 35 paintings, Luis Diaz was not involved in the sketch cards due to a previous financial dispute with Topps from years earlier.[16] In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids (each with an a/b twin), followed by ANS6 in early 2007. January 2008 saw the release of ANS7 which expanded the base set to 55 new characters and was the last set to feature new artwork until 2010's Flashback Series 1 subset of six previously unpublished kids. The ANS cards differ from the original series ("OS") in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of card stock with a glossy protective surface. The ANS releases also changed the card numbering format: OS cards used a continuous numbering pattern so that each new set would pick up where the last one ended (e.g. OS1 ended at 41a/b and OS2 picked up at 42a/b while ANS reset the numbering back to 1a/b with each subsequent release). Each ANS also featured special "chase cards" randomly inserted in packs; for example, Foil Cards show characters from the original series (with modified artwork due to the lawsuit), Scratch 'n Stink cards, Collectible Card Game cards, Temporary Tattoos, 3D Pop-Up cards, Alphabet cards, Activity cards, Magnets, lenticular Loco Motion cards, and die-cut Jigsaw Puzzle cards, along with special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either "bonus boxes" or rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first cards not to have a twin set. Flashback re-releases A book with the first five series Topps released a 25th anniversary Flashback[17] set on February 24, 2010, featuring reprints of characters from the original 1985–87 GPK series (8 each from OS1 to OS8) plus six previously unpublished "Lost" characters and 10 "Where Are They Now?" cards showing classic GPKs drawn as they would appear today. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, authentic Printing Plates, four levels of Parallels, and hand-drawn Artist Sketches by pop-culture artists including Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, and veteran GPK artists Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch. A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from series 1 to 9 plus five more "Lost" kids, 10 new "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards (resembling holograms but in full color), one-of-a-kind Artist Sketches, and 10 "Adam Mania" cards showing variants of Adam Bomb's iconic mushroom cloud, plus Parallels of the base and Adam Mania sets.[18] GPK Flashback Series 3 followed on November 2, 2011, with 65 OS reprints, four "Lost" kids, 10 "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards, 10 Adam Mania cards, Artist Sketches, and Parallels. Topps recently released a book that showcases the first five series. The cover depicts a pack from the very first series released back in 1985. Each card is displayed with the "a" name and the "b" name on the bottom corner of the page. Brand-New Series sets This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In 2012, Topps announced it would reboot the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with new character and content themes more reminiscent of the original 1980s series in a set called "Brand-New Series 1" (BNS1). The set was released on October 24, 2012. BNS1 features 55 new GPK characters, a reality TV subset, motion cards, mix 'n' match stickers, parallels, artist sketch cards, and code cards redeemable for a chance to be painted as a GPK in the next BNS. BNS2 was released in March and features 55 new characters plus 18 reimagined characters plus lenticular cards, glow in the dark cards and folded cards. Unlike the all new series set and like the old series sets the numbering of BNS continues where the previous series ended. They have now announced that there will be a BNS3 released in the middle of October, after the release of the chrome edition in August. Chrome Set Topps re-released the original series 1 as a chrome set; it contains all 41 characters from series 1 plus 14 unpublished characters. Released in October 2013.[19] On July 30, 2014 Topps re-released the original 1985 series 2 set plus a set of 13 returning characters from series 2 characters that have been reimagined in previous garbage pail kid sets as chrome cards. Chrome cards are thicker than the original cards and are not stickers.[20] 2014 Series 1 Topps has released a series of all new cards with all new artwork for 2014. Like the older cards, these have activities on the back of the cards, including checklists, puzzles, and "Fakebook" profiles. 30th anniversary series In July 2015 Topps released the 30th anniversary series it had 110 a and b cards (220 cards total). The numbering differed from previous series instead of going from 1-110AB it had several themed subsets each of which started at 1 a and b the subsets were checklist cards featuring variations of adam bomb 1-2ab, Adam Bomb don't push my button featuring classic GPK characters pressing Adam Bombs button 1-10ab, Artistic Impression featuring historical art as GPK characters 1-10ab, Artistic interpretation featuring characters drawn by guest artists 1-5ab, Comic book covers featuring art from the comic books 1-7ab, Cutting room floor featuring rejected concepts 1-5ab, Garbage pail kids kids featuring the children of classic Garbage pail kids characters 1-10ab, Garbage pail pets featuring animals as garbage pail kids 1-10ab, Garbage pail presidents featuring 10 former US presidents as Garbage pail kids 1-10ab, Lost original art featuring the original art which was never published of classic GPK 1-6ab, Zoom out featuring zoom outs of garbage pail kids showing what happened in the background 1-10ab and 80s spoofs featuring spoof of things that were popular in the 80s 1-25ab Movies The Garbage Pail Kids Movie Main article: The Garbage Pail Kids Movie On August 21, 1987, a live-action film based on the card characters was released.[21] Its campy production made it both a critical and commercial flop, opening poorly in 374 theaters with initial receipts of $661,512 and total gross receipts of $1,576,615, barely making back its 1 million dollar budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 0% critic rating and 35% audience rating. The film is considered as one of the worst films ever made. Topps featured advertisements for the movie on the original series 9 and 10 box-topper poster and variant wrapper. Planned future film On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Michael Eisner's Tornante Company would be producing a new movie based on the Garbage Pail Kids, likely with computer-generated character imagery. Michael Vukadinovich has been hired to write the screenplay for the film and PES has been hired to direct.[22][23] However, the film is currently no longer in development. Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls which were popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garbage Pail Kid character having some comical abnormality, deformity, and/or suffering a terrible fate with a humorous, word play character name such as Adam Bomb or Blasted Billy. Two versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but a different character name denoted by an "a" or "b" letter after the card number. The sticker fronts are die-cut so just the kid with its nameplate and the GPK logo can be peeled from the backing. Many of the card backs feature puzzle pieces that form giant murals while other flip-side subjects vary greatly among the series, from humorous licenses and awards to comic strips and, in more recent releases, "Facebook" profiles. Fifteen original series ("OS") of regular trading cards were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large-format card editions were also released, as well as a set of fold-out posters. All-New Series (ANS) sets were introduced in 2003, Flashback re-releases began in 2010, and a Brand-New Series (BNS) was announced for 2012[3] with Brand New series 2, Chrome OS1, and BNS3 following in 2013. A new format was released in 2014 using the year to designate the edition, followed by the release name of Series 1, which had an Olympics-style format. In 2016, the format was changed again to themed sets that spoofed different pop-culture topics. Contents 1 History 2 International versions 2.1 Variations 3 Commercial success 4 Controversy and lawsuit 4.1 School ban 4.2 Trademark infringement lawsuit 5 All-New Series sets 6 Flashback re-releases 7 Brand-New Series sets 8 Chrome Series sets 9 2014 Series 1 10 30th Anniversary series 11 Yearly themed series 12 Movies 12.1 The Garbage Pail Kids Movie 12.2 Planned future film 13 Television 14 See also 15 References 16 External links History The series was the brainchild of Topps consultant and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman who came up with the product idea after the success of his earlier creations, Garbage Candy and Wacky Packages. The concept originally began as an unreleased Wacky Packages title,[4] but the management at Topps thought it would be a good idea for a separate spin-off series. Spiegelman and fellow cartoonist Mark Newgarden worked together as the editors and art directors of the project, Len Brown was the manager, and the first run of the cards was drawn exclusively by artist John Pound.[5] They were first issued in 1985.[6][7] Following the initial success of the cards, several additional artists and writers were brought in to contribute to the series, including Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk, and James Warhola, among others. International versions The cards were also known as "Bukimi Kun" ["ぶきみくん", Mr. Creepy] in Japan, "The Garbage Gang" in Australia and New Zealand versions, "La Pandilla Basura" [The Garbage Gang] in Spain, "Havurat Ha-Zevel" ["חבורת הזבל", "The Garbage Gang"] in Israel, "Basuritas" [Trashlings] in Latin America, "Gang do Lixo/Loucomania" [Trash Gang/Crazymania] in Brazil, "Sgorbions" [Snotlings] in Italy, "Les Crados" [The Filthies] in France and Belgium, and "Die total kaputten Kids" [The Totally Broken Kids] in Germany. Variations A smaller-sized card format was released in Australia and New Zealand. Each pack contained three stickers and the "peel here" arrow pointed to the top left area since there was no die-cut scoring. Initially in New Zealand a 6th series of the Garbage Pail Kids was released as a market test (this version was a mix of the United States series 6 and 7). After this success, Series 1 was released in Australia and New Zealand known as "The Garbage Gang" and was identical to the United States version (albeit smaller in size). The first series was released in Australia and New Zealand in 1989 with different versions: the Australian stickers were darker, had a different banner, and some of the names were changed to reflect cultural differences. From Series 2 onward, the same version was released in Australia and New Zealand. Series 4 was the last release of "The Garbage Gang". Commercial success The commercial success of the trading cards led to the production of a live-action movie, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie,[8] in 1987. An animated television series was also created, but its initial scheduled broadcast in the US was postponed due to parental complaints.[9] The show did make a brief appearance on US television years after it was originally intended to air and was also briefly aired in Europe.[10] The movie was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on July 12, 2005 (the original VHS had been distributed by Paramount), and the cartoon series was later also released on DVD by CBS Home Entertainment on April 4, 2006 (with distribution by Paramount). A similar set of 160 trading cards called the Sloppy Slobs was released in Italy in 1993. Controversy and lawsuit School ban During the height of the card series' popularity, Garbage Pail Kids were banned in many schools.[11] One of the main reasons for the ban was that teachers cited them as distractions during class.[12] Trademark infringement lawsuit Topps was sued by the makers of Cabbage Patch Kids, Coleco, for trademark infringement.[13][14] As part of the out-of-court settlement, Topps agreed to modify the appearance of the Garbage Pail Kids to remove the resemblance between the characters, and to change the logo design. Production of the cards themselves continued, but by 1988 sales had dwindled and a planned 16th series was never produced. All-New Series sets In 2003, Topps reintroduced Garbage Pail Kids with all-new artwork, dubbed the All-New Series ("ANS"). ANS1 was largely made up of artwork intended for release in the 1980s, but 2004's ANS2 featured brand new concepts. Unique numbers on the backs of silver- and gold-foil insert cards could be redeemed online at the official Garbage Pail Kids website where visitors build and "gross out" their own Garbage Pail Kids; as the number of unique code numbers applied to the character increases, the more gross it becomes. Less than six months later, ANS3 was released. In 2005, Topps celebrated the 20th anniversary of the GPK franchise with special "Sketch Card" original art inserts for its ANS4 set.[15] These were limited to one randomly inserted card per hobby-exclusive box (available only from specialty retailers) and featured original artwork by series regulars John Pound, Tom Bunk, and Jay Lynch, as well as guest artists Strephon Taylor, John Czop, Don Perlin, and Justin Green. Although a regular to the series with over 35 paintings, Luis Diaz was not involved in the sketch cards due to a previous financial dispute with Topps from years earlier.[16] In 2006, ANS5 was released with 40 more new kids (each with an a/b twin), followed by ANS6 in early 2007. January 2008 saw the release of ANS7 which expanded the base set to 55 new characters and was the last set to feature new artwork until 2010's Flashback Series 1 subset of six previously unpublished kids. The ANS cards differ from the original series ("OS") in a number of ways, the most obvious being the upgraded quality of card stock with a glossy protective surface. The ANS releases also changed the card numbering format: OS cards used a continuous numbering pattern so that each new set would pick up where the last one ended (e.g. OS1 ended at 41a/b and OS2 picked up at 42a/b while ANS reset the numbering back to 1a/b with each subsequent release). Each ANS also featured special "chase cards" randomly inserted in packs; for example, foil cards show characters from the original series (with modified artwork due to the lawsuit), "Scratch 'n Stink" cards, collectible card game cards, Temporary tattoos, 3D pop-up cards, alphabet cards, activity cards, magnets, lenticular "Loco Motion" cards, and die-cut jigsaw puzzle cards, along with special bonus cards available only at participating retailers in either "bonus boxes" or rack-packs; these bonus stickers were the first cards not to have a twin set. Flashback re-releases A book with the first five series Topps released a 25th anniversary "Flashback"[17] set on February 24, 2010, featuring reprints of characters from the original 1985–87 GPK series (eight each from OS1 to OS8) plus six previously unpublished "lost" characters and 10 "Where are They Now" cards showing classic GPKs drawn as they would appear today. Packs contained randomly inserted chase cards including lenticular Loco Motion, authentic printing plates, four levels of parallels, and hand-drawn artist sketches by pop-culture artists including Layron DeJarnette, Brent Engstrom, Dave Gross, Mark Pingitore, Joe Simko, Colin Walton, Fred Wheaton, Jeff Zapata, and veteran GPK artists Tom Bunk and Jay Lynch. A second Flashback set was released on February 23, 2011, with 65 more OS reprints from series 1 to 9 plus five more "lost" kids, 10 new "Where are They Now" cards, five 3D cards (resembling holograms but in full colour), unique artist sketches, and 10 "Adam Mania" cards showing variants of Adam Bomb's iconic mushroom cloud, plus parallels of the base and Adam Mania sets.[18] GPK Flashback Series 3 followed on November 2, 2011, with 65 OS reprints, four "lost" kids, 10 "WatN?" cards, five 3D cards, 10 Adam Mania cards, artist sketches, and parallels. Topps recently released a book that showcases the first five series. The cover depicts a pack from the very first series released back in 1985. Each card is displayed with the "a" name and the "b" name on the bottom corner of the page. Brand-New Series sets This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) In 2012, Topps announced it would reboot the Garbage Pail Kids franchise with new character and content themes more reminiscent of the original 1980s series in a set called "Brand-New Series 1" (BNS1). The set was released on October 24, 2012. BNS1 features 55 new GPK characters, a reality TV subset, motion cards, mix 'n' match stickers, parallels, artist sketch cards, and code cards redeemable for a chance to be painted as a GPK in the next BNS. BNS2 was released in March and features 55 new characters plus 18 reimagined characters plus lenticular cards, glow in the dark cards and folded cards. Unlike the all new series set and like the old series sets the numbering of BNS continues where the previous series ended. They have now announced that there will be a BNS3 released in the middle of October, after the release of the chrome edition in August. Chrome Series sets In October 2013, Topps re-released original series 1 as a metallic chromium set containing all 41 kids plus 14 previously unpublished characters.[19] On July 30, 2014, Topps re-released 1985's original series 2 set plus 13 returning characters from series 2 characters that have been reimagined in previous garbage pail kid sets as chromium cards. Chrome cards are thicker than the original cards and are not stickers.[20] 2014 Series 1 Topps released a series of all new cards with brand new artwork for 2014. Like the older cards, these have activities on the back of the cards including checklists, puzzles, and "Fakebook" profiles. 30th Anniversary series In July 2015, Topps released the 30th Anniversary series with 110 a/b cards (220 cards total). The numbering differed from previous series in that instead of ranging from 1–110a/b it had several themed subsets each of which started at 1 a/b with the subsets being checklist cards featuring variations of Adam Bomb 1–2a/b including Adam Bomb "Don't Push My Button" featuring classic GPK characters pressing Adam Bomb's button 1–10a/b, "Artistic Impression" featuring historical art as GPK characters 1–10a/b, "Artistic Interpretation" featuring characters drawn by guest artists 1–5a/b, "Comic Book Covers" featuring art from the comic books 1–7a/b, "Cutting Room Floor" featuring rejected concepts 1–5a/b, "Garbage Pail Kids' Kids" featuring the children of classic GPK characters 1–10a/b, "Garbage Pail Pets" featuring animals as garbage pail kids 1–10a/b, "Garbage Pail Presidents" featuring 10 former U.S. presidents as Garbage Pail Kids 1–10a/b, "Lost Original Art" featuring the original paintings of classic GPKs which were never before published 1–6a/b, "Zoom Out" featuring zoomed-out GPKs showing what happened in the background 1–10a/b, and "'80s Spoofs" featuring spoofs of things that were popular in the 1980s 1–25a/b. Yearly themed series After the 30th Anniversary series, Topps began using a new formula that structured each series with an overall theme divided into subsets focusing on particular topics. In January 2016, "American as Apple Pie in Your Face" put GPKs in situations that parodied American culture. A second 2016 series followed in April called "Prime Slime Trashy TV" with humorous takes on popular television shows. The first series for 2017 was January's "Adam-geddon" which put the Garbage Pail Kids (including some classic kids) in perilous end-times scenarios.[21] Topps announced that the second series for 2017 will arrive in October and be the "Battle of the Bands" caricaturing popular music acts and album covers. Movies The Garbage Pail Kids Movie Main article: The Garbage Pail Kids Movie On August 21, 1987, a live-action film based on the card characters was released.[22] Its campy production made it both a critical and commercial flop, opening poorly in 374 theaters with initial receipts of $661,512 and total gross receipts of $1,576,615, barely making back its 1 million dollar budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 0% critic rating and 35% audience rating. The film is considered one of the worst films ever made. Topps featured advertisements for the movie on the original series 9 and 10 box-topper poster and variant wrapper. Planned future film On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Michael Eisner's Tornante Company would be producing a new movie based on the Garbage Pail Kids, likely with computer-generated character imagery. Michael Vukadinovich was hired to write the screenplay for the film and PES has been hired to direct.[23][24] However, the film is currently no longer in development. Jay Lynch, an artist, writer and satirist who was a central figure in the underground comics revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, died on March 5 at his home in Candor, N.Y. He was 72. His cousin Valerie Snowden said the cause was lung cancer. Mr. Lynch, who had a wry, deadpan sense of humor, held strong views about the importance of underground comics, which differentiated themselves from the mainstream through raunchy and grotesque depictions of sex, drugs and violence. “Underground comix were the most important art movement of the 20th century,” he wrote, using the “comics” spelling preferred by underground cartoonists, in the introduction to “Underground Classics: The Transformation of Comics Into Comix” (2009), by Denis Kitchen and James Danky. Image A panel from Mr. Lynch’s “Nard n’ Pat.”Creditvia Fantagraphics Books “Copies of many of the early books sell to collectors for many thousands of dollars,” he continued. “It’s all quite ironic: Rebellious cartoonists mocking consumer culture were inadvertently producing collectible artifacts for the same consumer culture 40 years down the road.” Please disable your ad blocker Advertising helps fund Times journalism. How to whitelist Mr. Lynch played several roles in the underground comics world. Using a retro style with a tight crosshatching technique, he created comics like “Nard n’ Pat,” about a conservative man who bickers with a hip cat. You have 1 free article remaining. Subscribe to The Times “It was sweetly rooted in the past,” the cartoonist Art Spiegelman said in an interview. “Two characters who oddly refracted the themes of old comic strips, but now they surrealistically dealt with sex, drugs and cheap thrills.” Mr. Lynch founded Bijou Funnies with his fellow cartoonist Skip Williamson to publish his work and that of other artists, and acted as a publicist for the loosely defined industry. “He put people together,” said Patrick Rosenkranz, who is writing a biography of Mr. Lynch. “He publicized what was going on. In the back of Bijou, he had small free ads for other underground comics. He was a crossroads figure.” Please disable your ad blocker Advertising helps fund Times journalism. How to whitelist But his most significant role might have been as an archivist of underground comics history. He kept nearly everything from his teenage years on: letters, original art, comics, fan magazines, merchandise and publicity campaigns. He donated it all to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University. “We have letters between 14-year-old Art Spiegelman and 17-year-old Jay talking about their favorite EC Comics and Mad magazines — and about reading the first issue of Spider-Man,” said Caitlin McGurk, the museum’s associate curator. The Comics of Jay Lynch 7 PhotosView Slide Show › Image via Fantagraphics Books Mr. Spiegelman recalled that about a year ago he asked Mr. Lynch to let him see some of their old letters. “So he sent me a bulging three-inch-thick binder with a Xerox of every letter he received from 1961 to 1963,” he said. “He kept all this history so well organized, but if you had taken a camera pan of the rest of his daily life, it would have been the opposite.” Mr. Lynch’s early life was a bit unconventional. Jay Patrick Lynch was born in Orange, N.J., on Jan. 7, 1945, and grew up in Belmar. His father, William, and his mother, the former Alice Mangan, divorced when he was young, and he was raised in his grandmother’s house, surrounded by aunts, uncles, his cousin Ms. Snowden and his grandfather. At age 11, he moved with his family to Miami, where he focused on his artwork, painting murals for neighbors’ homes and stage sets for school productions. He later moved to Chicago, where he attended the Art Institute. The education that pointed him to his future in underground comics was provided by Mad magazine, whose editorial mastermind was Harvey Kurtzman, and The Realist, a satirical political journal founded by Paul Krassner in 1958. “After reading my first issue of The Realist, I was in a daze which almost bordered on frenzied religious ecstasy,” Mr. Lynch was quoted as saying in Mr. Rosenkranz’s book “Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution” (2008). “Here was a magazine that pointed out, through satire, the hypocrisies in the society that nobody else dared even speak of, let alone print discussions of.” His path to underground comics took him through fanzines, college humor magazines and alternative newspapers. He contributed to Wild, Cracked, Whack and Sick magazines. EDITORS’ PICKS Remarkable People We Overlooked in Our Obituaries What War Can’t Destroy Is the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town? 4 Bazooka Joe Comics 4 PhotosView Slide Show › Image Topps He and Mr. Williamson began a humor and comics magazine, Chicago Mirror, which they turned into Bijou Funnies, after the transformational publication of Robert Crumb’s Zap No. 1 in 1968, which featured the big-footed, long-bearded, guru-like Mr. Natural. Mr. Lynch’s comics never reached as broad an audience as some of his more famous brethren’s. Mr. Rosenkranz suggested that this might have been because he did not use sex as much in his work as others and was not part of the so-called “slash and drip” school of underground cartoonists. “He was more interested in intellectual ideas,” he said. Some of Mr. Lynch’s work reached the mainstream — through Playboy in the 1980s, but more regularly through Topps, the trading card company, which provided an income for artists like Mr. Spiegelman and Mr. Lynch. “They were our Medicis,” Mr. Spiegelman said. Over a few decades, Mr. Lynch illustrated Bazooka Joe comics; Garbage Pail Kids, which began as a satire of Cabbage Patch Kids; and Wacky Packages, which parodied consumer culture. He recalled that he was told which food conglomerates not to mock, but with a list of products that he could parody, “I would go to the supermarket and buy those products.” Image Mr. Lynch in 2011. His most significant role might have been as an archivist of underground comics history.CreditJohn Kinhart Ira Friedman, a Topps vice president, said in an interview, “Jay was at the epicenter of Wacky Packages.” He also branched into children’s books, including a collaboration with Frank Cammuso on “Otto’s Orange Day” (2013) and “Otto’s Backwards Day” (2013). Mr. Lynch was divorced twice and had no children. When he resurrected “Nard n’ Pat” for the cover of Mineshaft magazine in 2015, he seemed to split his life into his two creations. He drew Nard busily typing and telling Pat: “And thus, kitty-kat, while you draw cartoons to cleverly illustrate mankind’s folly, I textually chronicle my astute observations on life’s passing parade. Alas! What fools these mortals be!” Filling in a comics panel at a drawing table, Pat says: “You said it, Boss! Fun, fun, fun, ’til Daddy takes the T-square away.”
- Size: Small (up to 12in.)
- Region of Origin: US
- Artist: JAY LYNCH
- Style: Cartoon
- Painting Surface: Paper
- Features: Signed
- Subject: Figures
- Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
- Type: Painting
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