July 19, Mt. Laurel, NJ: The iconic Garbage Pail Kids go back nearly 40 years and have been a beloved, colorful cast of characters for trading card collectors and other media including comic books. Each GPK stands out with some kind of gross, horrific, or downright bizarre appearance, abilities, or situation. But in all those years, the backstories on how these kids became who they are has never been disclosed to the fans. Until now...
The insane minds of Adam F. Goldberg, Hans Rodionoff, and Jeff Zapata have joined forces to bring everyone the Garbage Pail Kids as they've never seen them before, flipping the table with a barrage of huge revelations. Chronicled in the style of a sprawling superhero epic, not only will the curtain be drawn back on the origins of these unique "heroes," but there's one crazy surprise at the crux of this story. Adam Bomb and his allies were instrumental in the outcome of World War II and the fate of humanity itself! Other key fan-faves featuring include Roy Bot, Brainy Janie, Snooty Sam, and more!
Issue one kicks off with Adam Bomb's early days as an unassuming, flat-footed soda jerk. Then thanks to an unfortunate radiation leak, he transforms into the All-American superhero he's known as to GPK fans around the world. He will need to assemble a team of other "enhanced" garbage kids to take down the axis of evil with Nasty Nick at the helm. Readers can expect to catch up with some of the biggest stars of the GPK world, as well as keep their eyes out for some cult favorites thanks to the devoted creative team's passion for the property.
Much of the initial genesis of the origins concept goes back to ideas and illustrations from artist Jeff Zapata. He's worked in the comics and trading card business for over 25 years, including nearly half that time as an editor, art director, and artist on the Garbage Pail Kids and other Topps franchises. His drawings hinting at these origins ideas went viral among the fanbase, spreading like wildfire, and leading to this project finally coming to life. For this series, Zapata is handling art direction, contributing art, and assisted in developing the story. He's joined by Chris Meeks on the artwork throughout the series.
He's joined by a powerful pair of experienced, top-notch writers in Adam F. Goldberg and Hans Rodionoff. Goldberg, also known for his producing in film and television, is the eponymous man behind the hit The Goldbergs show now on to its 10th season. He's also worked on How to Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs. Aliens, the all-new Muppets series, and prior contributions to GPK. Rodionoff is known for his historical fiction account of H.P. Lovecraft for Vertigo, Lost Boys, and collaborations with Goldberg on Muppets and a new Damage Control series for Marvel.
"One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is walking into my second grade class to find everyone gathered around a binder. And in that binder — Garbage Pail Kids," shared Adam F. Goldberg. "As the class clown, I was immediately hooked by the gallows humor and gross out gags."
"This idea has been a personal pet project of mine for years," said Jeff Zapata. "This project is the perfect package of talent collaborating to fulfill a common vision to do something wild and different with a classic brand."
"I think what’s exciting for me is that this book will hopefully entertain the diehard fans, but also might be the first GPK book that people who aren’t already fans of the universe will pick up and it will open their minds to the wonderfully weird world of the Garbage Pail Kids," said Hans Rodionoff.
"Adam F. Goldberg, Jeff Zapata, and the whole rest of the creative team on this project are so darn talented," said Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. "They truly know, understand, and appreciate these characters so much, and are perfect to bring this origin story to life. In 40 years that tale has never been told before, and we're excited at Dynamite to be the company to do it!"
In the style of the original trading cards having A and B variations, the first issue features variant covers by artists Ray Lago, Tom Bunk, Jeff Zapata, and a presentation of one of the classic trading card images.
Topps, the creators and publishers to this day of the Garbage Pail Kids in 1985, has seen a resurgence of interest in this fabled franchise via new card releases and an expansive licensing program encompassing many product categories, including: toys & games, apparel, books and collectibles. In addition to a long history of self-created and licensed, entertainment-based card offerings, Topps is renowned for its sports legacy, including Major League Baseball trading cards among other global sports franchises. Fans shouldn't miss the latest indispensable piece of GPK lore!
GARBAGE PAIL KIDS: ORIGINS #1 is solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ August 2022 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in October 2022. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the issue with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more! ###
About Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Gail Simone, Christopher Priest, Leah Moore, Kevin Smith, David Walker, Vita Ayala, Danny Lore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Mark Russell, Brandon Thomas, Amy Chu, Reginald Hudlin, Nancy Collins, David Walker, Steve Orlando, Greg Pak, Jenny Frison, Matt Wagner, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.
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