Chrome Original Series 3

In 2020, collectibles experienced increased popularity due to Covid-19, coinciding with the thirty-fifth anniversary of Garbage Pail Kids. Topps revived the chrome treatment for Original Series 3, revisiting the artwork that was first released in early 1986.

The release was split between hobby counters and retail aisles, packaged into hobby boxes containing twenty-four four-card packs alongside twenty-dollar retail value boxes and ten-dollar fat packs. Beyond the transition to thick chrome stock, the cards abandoned the traditional white borders seen on earlier chrome runs in favor of a silver border, accompanied by new number fonts and fine changes to the framing outlines. Even the reverse sides were completely remade, replacing original backs by Tom Bunk with fresh back illustrations and copy penned by Colin Walton.

The core set comprised an even one hundred cards, combining the forty-one original twin pairings numbered 84a through 124b with eighteen newly created cards numbered AN1a through AN9b. Those nine fresh character concepts were divided among veteran artists, with Brent Engstrom illustrating three chrome-themed gags while David Gross, Joe Simko, and Smokin' Joe McWilliams supplied two apiece. In addition to the standard A and B twins, Topps prepared an elusive run of fifty C name variations spanning every card concept in the set, seeded at an even rate of 1:101 packs regardless of whether a collector opened hobby packs, value boxes, or fat packs.

The rainbow of parallels expanded far beyond what early sell sheets indicated, stacking numbered tiers like Green and Green Wave Refractors to 299, Purple and Purple Wave Refractors to 250, Prisms to 199, X-Fractors to 150, and Orange Refractors to 75, right down to red cards numbered to 5 and true one-of-one Superfractors. Hobby packs retained exclusive custody of Gold Refractors numbered to 50 as well as Black and Black Wave versions numbered to 99, while retail value boxes held an exclusive three-card bonus pack of Atomic Refractors. The hunt took place against an estimated print run of over 1.3 million packs, making this the most heavily produced Garbage Pail Kids release since Topps first introduced stated pack odds. Artist autographs featured five contributors, including Tom Bunk, who signed eleven of the twelve classic cards he originally painted. Collectors hunting an autograph for Blake Flake were left empty-handed, as no signature was produced for that card, and John Pound did not sign for the set.