The third series of Garbage Pail Kids was released in January of 1986. There were 41 cards and, like the previous series, each card had an A and a B version, for a total of 82 cards in the set.
Unlike previous series, this is the first one that features artwork from anyone other than John Pound – Tom Bunk and Mae Jeon also contributed cards to the set. I still feel like Pound is the quintessential artist for GPK, but Bunk and Jeon have some notable cards as well.
Besides more Mom-hate-inducing artwork, the back of these cards is worth noting. For the first two series, the card backs were parody certificates for things like the Big Stink Award and a Permit to Stay Up Late, as well as puzzle pieces that could be fit together to form the artwork from a couple of cards. For series 3, we get more puzzle pieces, as well as WANTED signs like in the Old West. The signs describe “crimes” in a kids’ world like “Brain Washing” for your school’s principal or “Hit and Run” for your class bully.
Series 3 was clearly my prime GPK collecting era as it has the most representation at 62 cards. I do have some Series 4 that I’ll get to at a later time, but until then, enjoy scrolling through these GPK!
