10 QUESTIONS FOR TOM BUNK

10 QUESTION FOR TOM BUNK



1.) One quick silly question... if you had to put these five items in order starting with the funniest, how would it go? Snot, Vomit, Poop, Zits, and Farts.

One quick silly answer: Somit, Znot, Fits and Parts. Voop is not funny, even if some connoisseurs will tell you otherwise.

2.) This is a tough one. Out of all the Garbage Pail Kids you helped bring to life, which ones still remain your all time favorites?

Hippie Skippie, Beth Death, Eerie Eric, Ashley Can, Mick Dagger, , Blue Boy George, Modern Art, Momma Mia, Barnyard Barney, Jack Splat...well, I think I like them all. They all are my babies.


Eerie Eric card Tom signed for me (my fave)

3.) In your opinion, what is it about the Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages trading cards that keeps bringing us back (even as adults) for one more dunk in the toilet?

They are funny and disgusting, cute and cruel. Real fans come back because they want to be again as excited as they were as kids. Its like drugs.

4.) Like Alfred Hitchcock you seem to always weasel yourself into a cameo in your work. Sort of like Waldo you seem to blend right in. What do you think a classic psychologist would have to say about this?

A classic psychologist would say I want to impress my mother and annoy my father. Or was it the other way around?
In any case, I like to put myself into my art. That’s where I feel most at home.



5.) What do you think about the "new generation" of artists working on the ANS series GPKs? Do you ever feel bad about using up all the good ideas before they took the reigns?

Around the time all the new artist entered the stage I was pretty sick with cancer ( the doctors practically gave me up)--and couldn't really pay much attention to what was going on with the GPKs. I still worked on a lot of cards, because work helped me to recover and get back on my feet. Today I have to say I am glad there are new and excellent artists continuing, but for me the most exciting time was then, in the 80ies, when I would work with Mark Newgarden and Art Spiegelman in the old TOPPS building in Brooklyn. My studio was not very far and I would drive there once or twice a week to deliver the pics and get new assignments. It was much more personal.


Tom and Mark Newgarden back in the heyday of Garbage Pail Kids

6.) At the time of this interview the GPK Flashback set is less than a month from the shelves. It's been two years since the fans have had new cards. Any predictions about the response this set will get?

We'll find out. I like the idea to show how some of the GPKids look 25 years later.


Tom working on one of the new flashback cards

7.) Is there any chance we can get a peek at your studio space or personal collections? Maybe a couple photos I can post?

Sure, I'll send some stuff.









8.) You recently started a new blog showcasing a lot of never-before-seen illustrations you've done. http://bunkart.blogspot.com. How much stuff do you have up your sleeve?

I have here a lot of works to show, some really great stuff . The whole idea of the blog is to show art that most people haven't seen, even if it was published. But that was a long time ago. I am really grateful to this global communication system nowadays, that makes it possible to reach so many people, who appreciate it and have some fun seeing it. When we did the GPKs in the 80ies nobody knew who was painting them, it was like Disney. But now , thanks to computers, fans know the artists and there is a much more close relationship. It makes it all more exciting. I like that a lot. So the blog a great showcase to stay in touch and god knows, this world needs more fun.

9.) This is a fantasy question, just for fun. You have access to a time machine and can spend one afternoon having a "sketch meet" with one of the masters. Who would you choose to visit?

I would love to meet the old MAD gang in the early 50ies, Harvey and Elder, Jaffe and Jack (they are still around) and work with them. I think that must have been even more exciting than working for Topps in the 80ies. I still was very lucky to get to know Harvey Kurtzman in the late 80ies and even to work with him on one story. I also met Elder a couple of times. Both wonderful people.

10.) Finally, the big question. Anything you are working on presently. What can we expect from you in the future?

I work mostly for MAD, sometimes TOPPS GPKs and WPs, a lot for a school book publisher. My works are being seen from thousands of students all over this nation, and there is probably going to be a show in Germany showing my Quantoons, that I did for a science magazine in the 90ies (These I will post on my blog soon). Then I did some comics for a major German newspaper last year. Some of it is shown in Comic Exhibitions there, and in April this year they will be shown in the new Jewish museum in Berlin. Then there are some very interesting projects, but I can't talk about them yet. I basically love to work and so I will always come up with something.


Quantoons

Thanks Tom once again for sharing and you can be sure I will be posting much more of your work here on Mr. Potter's Funtime Blog!