Wacky Packages Turn 40

By Mark Kaufman
In one of my last posts of 2006 I wrote about UBU Web, the repository for Avant Garde art and sound for the last 100 years. So I want to start off 2007 with the fact that Topps Wacky Packages are now in their 40th year! The first set of Wacky packages diecuts hit the streets in 1967, which heralded a sort of Avant Garde movement for the playground set. Yes I am showing my age, but I was there and have loved the concept and the art ever since. There are many wonderful sites devoted to the craze, and many kick-ass artists worked on the series, including Jay Lynch, Bill Griffith, Art Spiegelman, Mark Newgarden and most of all the super awesome Norm Saunders. It’s great to see that so many artists that I admire actually had an influence on me while I was still in short pants. The ones that stick in my head the most seems to be Poopsi-Cola, Lavirus, and Crust toothpaste. So you see, we’re not all about Becket and Bunuel at Drawmark, we also fancy Blecch Shampoo and fertilizer. Happy anniversary.