Wacky Packages
 11th series sticker (1974) | |
| Type | Trading cards |
|---|---|
| Company | Topps Company |
| Country | United States |
| Availability | 1967–present |
| Official website | |
Wacky Packages are a series of humorous trading cards and stickers featuring parodies of North American consumer products. The cards were produced by the Topps Company beginning in 1967, usually in a sticker format. The original series sold for two years, and the concept proved popular enough that it has been revived every few years since. They came to be known generically as Wacky Packs, Wacky Packies, Wackies and Wackys. According to trader legend, the product parodies once outsold Topps baseball cards.[1][2]
Concept
Relying on the talents of such cartoonists and comics artists as Kim Deitch, George Evans, Drew Friedman, Bill Griffith, Jay Lynch, Norman Saunders, Art Spiegelman, Bhob Stewart and Tom Sutton, the cards spoofed well-known brands and packaging.
1967 and 1969
The very first Wacky Packages series was produced in 1967 and featured 44 die-cut cards that were similar in size to baseball cards (2.5” × 3.5” or 64 × 89 mm) and were made to be punched out, licked on the back and stuck to anything in a manner similar to a postage stamp. This series featured parodies created by Spiegelman and primarily painted by Saunders. Two of the cards – "Cracked Animals" and "Ratz Crackers" – were pulled from production after an initial run and have since become extremely rare. "Moron Salt" was pulled later and replaced by "Jolly Mean Giant" which was also pulled soon after that, with both of them becoming almost as rare as Cracked Animals and Ratz Crackers. In all, 14 cards were removed from this series (and one more was planned for it but never released until years later, in Wacky Packages Old School Series 3). This series was followed by a somewhat different series called Wacky Ads in 1969, featuring parodies and roughs by Lynch and Deitch with finished paintings by Sutton. These 30 cards (out of 36; see below), approximately three-by-five inches (76 × 127 mm) long, were designed to look like miniature billboards with a die-cut around the parodied product, so it could be punched out of the horizontal billboard scene, then be licked on the back and stuck to anything. Card #25, "Good & Empty", was removed from the initial release after Leaf Brands sued. A substitute card #25, "Mixwell Hearse Coffee", was made to replace it but never released (and remains so to this day). There were two different versions of the "Ads": the long perforations (believed to signify the first printing) and the short perforations (believed to signify the second printing), as well as an early five-cent wrapper for the first printing and a later ten-cent wrapper for the second printing.
1973 to 1976
Wacky Packages returned in 1973 as peel-and-stick stickers for a highly successful run. Sixteen different series were produced from 1973 to 1977 and were sold in five-cent to ten-cent packs originally containing three stickers (two stickers beginning after the second series; three stickers returned in the sixteenth), a stick of bubble gum, and a puzzle piece with a checklist. The seventh series was available without bubble gum for a short period of time. There were anywhere between 27–33 cards in each series and nine puzzle cards with a series checklist on the back of each of them. Series 1 re-used designs that were issued on the 1967 die-cut series (except for 14 of the original 44 cards) and Series 2 re-used designs from the 1969 Wacky Ads (except for five of the 25 out of 30 Ads used; one of the 25 had its name changed from the original Ad and six more cards in that series each had four small re-releases of some of the 1967 cards), with eight extra designs that were brand new. In all, there were 488 different cards over 16 series (one card from Series 2 was used again in Series 14). These cards can be distinguished from all later releases by a lack of a number on the front of the card and having tan and white backs instead of puzzles and checklists (the first three series and the 13th and 14th series all had both tan and white backs, the 15th and 16th series both had white backs only and all of the other series had tan backs only. In addition to this, the first two series also had black and red Ludlow backs, which are very rare).
1985 and 1991
Newly designed series were produced in 1985 and 1991. The 1991 series was successful enough to begin production of a 1992 series, but the series was cancelled prior to mass production. Many of these unused parodies were eventually released, mostly in All New Series 1 and Wacky Pack Flashback 2.
2004 and beyond
Wacky Packages returned in 2004 with the release of the first All-New Series (ANS) set of stickers. New series have appeared almost annually, on average, since that time.[3] The first five series consist of 55 base cards with two levels of chase cards with the sixth series consisting of 80 base cards and three levels of chase cards. Series 7 saw the return of the 55-card base set, but with more chase card sets, as well as border color variations and sketch cards. (Note: the 'All-New Series' name was briefly dropped for this series, but returned for series 8 through 11, the last series to use it.) Series 9 was released on July 25, 2012, series 10 in March 2013 and series 11 in September 2013. The ANS sets have been very successful with the return of original 1970s Wacky Packages cartoonist Jay Lynch plus newcomers David Gross, Strephon Taylor, Neil Camera, Fred Wheaton, Smokin' Joe McWilliams, Mark Parisi, Brent Engstrom, Mark Pingitore, Sam Gambino and Joe Simko. ANS 3 and 4 included the work of underground artist M. Wartella.
Reprints
Many of the 1973–1976 cards have been reissued over the years in various series.
1979 and 1980 rerun series
Four series with 66 cards each were produced, for a total of 264 cards. These series consisted of images from the 1973–76 cards as well as one previously unused image – Series 4 Card #235 "Frosted Ice Krunkles" – which was exclusive to the rerun series (it was originally intended for the 12th series, but was never released in it). Each card can be distinguished easily, not only from its copyright notice, but its number (e.g., "No. 1 of 66") printed on the front. A fifth series was planned for 1980 but never released.
1982 and 1986 album series
Two series of album stickers were produced of 120 and 77 stickers, respectively. These stickers were of a reduced size in comparison to the standard cards (2.125 by 3 inches (54.0 mm × 76.2 mm)) and were designed to be affixed to a display album that was sold separately. Only the 1982 series and matching album were actually released to stores; for unknown reasons, the 1986 series was never released (even though a large number of stickers were actually made) and no album or checklist exists for it.
2008 Flashback series
In February 2008, Topps released a series of Wacky Packages called Wacky Pack Flashback. This series contained parodies from previously released series and the spinoff posters, as well as unreleased parodies from the original run to make a series of 72 base cards. Moving towards the trend with other types of trading cards, this set also featured a number of rare chase cards. In December 2008, Topps released a second series called Wacky Pack Flashback 2. This set also contained more parodies from previously released series and the spinoff posters, as well as parodies based on a test marketed Wacky Can Labels series (which was a series of 12 small plastic cans of fruit-flavored candy shapes with a paper label adhered to each of them; six of the 12 were herein released as stickers, while the other six remain unpublished) and unreleased parodies from the aborted 1992 series to make a series of 72 base cards.
2014 Chrome series
In 2014, Topps released a series called Wacky Packages Chrome. This series contained a foil card set of 110 base cards consisting of the 1967 die-cuts and the 1973 Series 2 and 3, as well as four foil sets of chase cards containing the 36 1969 Wacky Ads, thirty unreleased parodies both old and new and five parodies from the original run done with modern packaging artwork, for a total of 181 cards.
Promotional items
Wacky Packages have been used in numerous products since the 1970s as incentives to purchase the product or to promote a new series release. The promotional stickers were highly successful as inserts in bags of Wonder Bread during 1973–74, running for three series of stickers. Promotional stickers also appeared in Hostess products, Shedd’s Peanut Butter containers, Ralston Purina cereals, and more recently in a number of DC Comics (to promote ANS1) and in the Abrams Books line of products.
Spinoffs
The success of the Wacky Packages concept has led Topps to create a variety of additional Wacky Packages products over the years.
Wacky Package Posters
In 1973, a series of oversized paper posters was produced for just over two dozen of the parodies from the original run, with two of the parodies being originally made for the series. These posters were created from new artwork painted at a significantly larger size than was done for the stickers. In addition to being sold in stores, the posters were also advertised on Wacky Packages wrappers and could be obtained by sending $2.00 to Topps. A second series of posters was produced in 1974 with a differently colored wrapper, but it was nearly identical to the first series except that three of the original posters were replaced with new ones. One poster that was intended for the first series was made but never released. Instead, it was replaced by another one (it was, however, finally released as a sticker in Wacky Pack Flashback (see above)).
In 2012, a modern-day series of 24 oversized paper posters was produced as a new Series One set, with the majority depicting enlargements of re-used art from the ANS card sets as well as including three new parodies that were originally made for the series. As this series maintained the aspect ratio of the original art, the posters were significantly wider than the 1973–74 posters. This new series was sold exclusively through the Topps Online Store. No new series have been released since 2012.
Wacky Packages Postcards and Wacky Halloween Postcards
In November 2007, Topps released the first of its Wacky Packages Postcards series. Originally created by artist Neil Camera, the first three-card series was released in two editions: a limited release of 100 signed and numbered sets and a regular unsigned edition. Since then, the Postcards series have been expanded to include additional titles and artists. Currently there are nine regular series that were released between 2007 and 2013 and five special Halloween series called Wacky Halloween Postcards that were released in October 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively, as well as several promotional cards released at trade shows. Two three-ring binders were also made for the Postcards series (the first with a red cover and the second with a yellow cover) and one three-ring binder was made for the Halloween Postcards series. One of the biggest draws of the Postcards and Halloween Postcards series was the inclusion of artist sketch cards, which feature original drawings by popular Wacky Packages artists such as Neil Camera, Smokin' Joe McWilliams, Sam Gambino and Brent Engstrom. Wacky Packages Postcards and Wacky Halloween Postcards were both sold exclusively through the Topps Online Store, but no new series of either one have been released since 2013.
Wacky Packages Old School
In February 2010, Topps released a series called Wacky Packages Old School. The Old School series line, created by David Gross, is designed to resemble the box, wrappers and stickers of the original successful run from 1973 to 1977. Each series (except for the most recent) consists of 33 stickers along with a nine-piece puzzle checklist with the parodies based on products from the 1970s that Topps did not do in the original 1970s run. Also included are various chase cards and a sketch card in every box. The Old School Series 1 sketch cards were all done by Jay Lynch. Old School Series 2 began shipping in late March 2011 with sketch cards by Lynch, Bill Griffith, Bhob Stewart, David Gross, Fred Wheaton, Brent Engstrom, Jeff Zapata, Joe Simko, Neil Camera, Sam Gambino, Smokin' Joe McWilliams and Mark Parisi. Old School Series 3 shipped in mid-February 2012 and Old School Series 4 in late December 2012. Old School Series 5 came out in late 2015. Ten more Old School stickers were released in 2017 as a subset of the Wacky Packages 50th Anniversary series (these were the only ones that were not sold exclusively through the Topps Online Store, but in special Collector Packs that were part of that series). Old School Series 6 also came out in 2017, but this time with 30 stickers instead of the usual 33 that all of the other series had. It was also the only series so far that was sold as individual complete-series sets in plastic boxes, were not die-cut cards and had no cardboard product boxes with packs inside, wax wrappers, checklists with puzzle pieces or chase cards (the last of which were included only in Series 3, 4 and 5, with Series 4 having two sets of chase cards and Series 3 and 5 each having one). There were 200 total Old School stickers as of November 2017. Wacky Packages Old School is sold exclusively through the Topps Online Store.
Wacky Packages Erasers
Topps released two eraser series in 2011, the first in March and the second in October, each of them with 24 All-New Series Wacky Packages designs. In addition to the erasers, which consisted of paper labels adhered to a shaped eraser core, each eraser also had a corresponding miniature sticker included in the pack. No new series have been released since 2011.
Wacky Packages Comic Books
Topps has released five comic books in the Wacky Packages line. The panels of just the first two issues consist of reproductions of Wacky Halloween Postcard sketch card artwork by Jay Lynch for issue #1 and by Joe Simko for issue #2 that were each specifically designed to depict a story when set out as sequential art. Issue #3 was created by Neil Camera and issue #4 by Brent Engstrom. Issue #5 was released on April 1, 2013, Topps' self-proclaimed Wacky Packages Day,[4] and was a double-sized issue drawn by multiple artists. No new issues have been released since 2013.
Garbage Pail Kids connection
One unreleased design, created by John Pound for the 1985 series, spawned the various Garbage Pail Kids trading card series.[5]
Merchandise
Tie-in merchandise of endless variety has been, and continues to be, produced by both Topps and by third-party companies ever since the initial success of Wacky Packages in 1973. Examples of recent licensed merchandise include a line of T-shirts from 10 Again Clothing, two coffee table art books from Abrams Books (the first book containing Series 1–7 and the second book containing Series 8–14 (Series 15 and 16 currently remain unpublished in book form) with each book containing a wrapped package of four chase cards adhered to the inside back cover (two different sets in the two printings of the first book and one set in the first (and only) printing of the second book) and wall graphics from LTL Prints. Current items also include wall graphics from walls360.com and a series of 17 collector's three-ring binders from Topps using artwork featuring parody characters from the original 16 series and an imaginary "17th Series". Several of these binders have included unique promotional items such as wax wrappers, stamp sheets or chase cards. The artwork from the 17 binders has also been released by Topps as canvas art (and has also been made into 20 full-fledged parodies in the Chrome series as one of four subsets in that series). The binders and the corresponding canvas art were available exclusively at the Topps Online Store. Topps also released two small ANS collector's albums with a red and a yellow plastic cover, respectively (with the second one containing a chase card that was part of ANS4), and a generic ANS three-ring binder that were available in stores, as well as five three-ring binders that were made specifically for ANS7, ANS8, ANS9, ANS10 and ANS11 (with the first one containing a chase card that was part of ANS7) that were also available exclusively at the Topps Online Store.
Recent releases
Wacky Packages ANS 10 was released in March 2013 and featured first-ever Collectors Edition boxes. Other recent releases include Old School Series 4 on December 28, 2012, Comic Book #5 on April 1, 2013, the first four binders in the Original Series Binder Collection set in May 2013 and Postcards series 9 on June 25, 2013. Later releases included ANS 11 in September 2013 and additional binder sets in July, September and November 2013. Two more series (both of them labelled 2014 Series 1 and 2015 Series 1) were released in 2014 and 2015. A Wacky Packages Chrome series was released in 2014, Old School Series 5 was released in 2015, a MLB Wacky Packages series was released in 2016, a Wacky Packages 50th Anniversary series and Old School Series 6 were both released in 2017 and a Wacky Packages Go to the Movies series was released in 2018.[6]
Notes
- ↑ McNellie, Tim (July 28, 2004). "Wacky Packages: For John Kennedy of Bridgeville, it adds up to great fun". Bridgeville Area News. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- ↑ Leopold, Todd (August 12, 2008). "When Wacky Packages ruled". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ↑ "Topps Wacky Packages 6th Series 2007 (ANS6)". Greg Grant. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ↑ Toser, Harris (February 11, 2013). "April 1st is Wacky Packages Day...No Foolin!". Non-Sport Update. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- ↑ Pound, John. "Unpublished Garbage Pail Kids". Retrieved June 16, 2009.
- ↑ Cracknell, Ryan (March 14, 2018). "2018 Topps Wacky Packages Go to the Movies and Take on Blockbusters Along the Way". Beckett Global. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
References
- Fleer Corp. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc., 501 F.Supp. 485 (E.D. Pa. 1980).
- "Digging in the Vault for the Secrets of Wacky Packages: Topps Goes Back to Class in Wacky Packages Old School Series 2", Non-Sport Update Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 6, December 2010 – January 2011. (Roxanne Toser Non-Sport Enterprises, Inc.)