A Mid-Quarantine Smash Hit
Netflix’s Tiger King shook viewers across the nation upon its debut on March 20, 2020. The documentary series follows the twisted story of several big cat owners, but it’s not just about wild animals in captivity. The series also raised awareness on corruption and animal abuse in privately owned zoos. Furthermore, featured cast members such as Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, and Bhagavan Antle all had their own scandalous lifestyles that ran deeper than animal ownership. The chaotic and bizarre nature of the show and its content, though controversial, garnered the interest of many. It wasn’t long before discussion on Tiger King swept across social media, becoming the second most talked about subject online following COVID-19.
Garbage Pail Kids Gone Exotic
After the success of Tiger King, collectible card magnate Topps announced that they would be releasing special cards based on the series. The set was projected to be an online exclusive collection retailing at twenty dollars plus shipping. The initial release included ten unique cards: Joe Chaotic, Schmo Exotic, Jettin’ James, Gangsta Garretson, Jeff Joke, Lowe Point, Cool Cat Carole, Batty Baskin, Disturbing Doc, and finally, Party Animal Antle. Each card features a tiger alongside the person it is referencing.
The images on the cards as well as the names given to the Garbage Pail Kids‘ spinoff of the cast members reflect their personalities as seen on the show. For instance, Joe Chaotic is shown feeding a tiger expired meat because Joe Exotic would buy such meats from grocery stores to feed his animals at a low cost. Cool Cat Carole is a nod at how Carole Baskin would refer to her viewers as “cool cats.” She also blends in to the tiger print background in her card, as she wore feline patterned clothing in the show. Jettin’ James is seen riding a jet ski, as namesake James Garretson owned a water sports rental business. Jeff Joke’s name illustrates how numerous people across social media poked fun at Lowe and his incompetence following the series. Finally, Disturbing Doc is a reference to the fear and concerns surrounding Doc Antle’s private zoo, where he is rumored to mistreat and groom his female staff.
Series Success Leads to a Second Series
The Garbage Pail Kids Gone Exotic series did extremely well, selling over three thousand sets upon release. This success led Topps to quickly announce a series two featuring brand new characters. The second series features more minor Tiger King cast members. Much like the first Tiger King release, there are ten cards in the second series. The new cards are: Humiliated Howard, Bruised Ego Baskin, Roasted Rick, Kindled Kirkham, Allen Assassin, Gunman Glover, Lenient Lauren, Lowe Standards, Jazzy Joe, and Toxic Exotic. This set is also retailing at twenty dollars for a single set.
Though the purchasing window has closed for the first series, the second series is still being sold on Topps’ website! For all Tiger King lovers or Garbage Pail Kids collectors, this is a release you wouldn’t want to miss.
Images in this article are used with permission from https://geepeekay.com
