The Madballs and the Garbage Pail Kids, two iconic 1980s properties, are headed to war in a new crossover series from Dynamite Entertainment.
Dynamite announced a new Madballs™ vs. Garbage Pail Kids crossover series by writer Sholly Fisch and artist Jason Crosby that kicks off in July. "Let's just say that, no matter which side you're on, you'll find stuff to make you laugh," Fisch said. "And, if you're not careful, you may get splattered with slime or toxic waste, too." Crosby agreed, "I try to have my work full of energy, movement, and splattered goop, so honestly, drawing these two franchises is right up my alley. My work isn't subtle, and I hope it explodes off the page."
Cloudco Entertainment's Madballs are a series of collectible foam balls that appeared around the mid-1980s. Branding themselves with gross-out humor, the original series of Madballs included characters such as Screamin' Meemie, Slobulus, Aargh, Horn Head, Dust Brain, Oculus Orbus, Skull Face and Bash Brain. Madballs quickly caught on in the public and have been featured in comics, cartoons, animated shorts, direct-to-home cartoons and video games. "Madballs vs Garbage Pail Kids has been one of my favorite projects to-date,” said Cloudco Entertainment creative director Carlos Villagra of the new series. "Growing up with these gross, wacky, nasty brands in the 80s, and then being able to bring them to life through an awesome collaboration with Dynamite – the whole experience has really been a dream come true.”
The Garbage Pail Kids emerged in 1985 as a trading card series. Parodying the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, the Garbage Pail Kids also branded themselves in gross-out humor with characters such as Adam Bomb, Nasty Nick, New Wave Dave, Junkfood John, Up Chuck and more. The Garbage Pail Kids have been featured in comics, cartoons and a 1987 live-action film, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie. In 2021, HBO Max announced that a Garbage Pail Kids animated series was in the works from Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Josh Bycel.
"We can't wait for fans to get their hands on this crossover bursting with energy," Dynamite CEO and publisher Nick Barrucci said. "We promise the comic book doesn't drip with slime, but maybe we should figure out how to make that happen!"
Madballs™ vs. Garbage Pail Kids #1 releases in July from Dynamite. Main cover art and the trading card-inspired variant covers come from Joe Simko, with the wraparound cover coming from James Groman. Issues can be preordered at local comic book retailers. It will also be available on digital platforms such as Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!
Source: Dynamite