Joe Simko

Joe Simko was born in Meadowbrooke, PA, and raised in Southampton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1999 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cartooning. He was the very first recipient of the now annual Joe Orlando memorial award from his graduating department that year. Among Simko’s instructors at the School of Visual Arts were Joe Orlando (VP of DC Comics and associate editor of Mad), Klaus Jansen, Sal Almendola, and Carmine Infantino.

After graduating from the School of Visual Arts, Simko held a full-time position as an artist for men’s neckwear, creating design pieces for ties. In 2000 Simko was hired as a full-time, in-house storyboard artist for national television commercials at GEM Studios in New York City. Creating storyboard illustrations for top NYC ad agencies such as J Walter Thompson , BBDO, DDB, etc. At this time he also did freelance jobs designing show posters for local bands. This freelance work gained some notice, and he began working for higher profile groups. In 2006, he designed all of the artwork for the large traveling rock tour, The Vans Warped Tour. In 2007, the Japanese rock festival MAGMA commissioned him to design all the artwork for their tour and oversee all the art direction as the managing artist. Two 20 feet (6.1 m) tall inflatable monsters based on Simko's character designs were also created for the Japan Rock concerts.

Simko freelances full-time from his studio in New York City and continues production as author and illustrator of his book series The Sweet Rot. An original story showcasing a group of wildly eccentric little kids also known as "little rotters" in the make-believe town of Pollilop Drop, The Sweet Rot is published by Schiffer Books.

Simko has created artwork for clients and organizations including Topps, Abrams Books, Reed Pop, Ride Snowboards, Sims Snowboards, Outlook Skateboards, The Gotham Girls Roller Derby League, Fangoria Magazine, New York Hardcore Tattoos, Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend, Monster Mania, JLO Hangtag for Andy Hilfiger, and the NYC clothing boutique Live Fast.

Simko was penciller and co-creator, with actor Stephen Baldwin, of the graphic novel series Spirit Warriors, and designer of bottle artwork for Manglaze, a nail polish line.

His list of musical clients includes Metallica, The Misfits, GWAR, Less Than Jake, Trivium, Murphy's Law, Dwarves, Sonic Youth, Good Riddance, The Undead, Peelander Z, and others.

In 2006, a Simko designed shirt was used in the film Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The shirt was designed for the store Live Fast in New York City.

2009, Simko began his current career as writer/illustrator for the Topps Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages brands. Designing artworks for trading cards and licensed products.

2011 was the launch of Wax Eye, a pop culture art based company formed by Simko and his wife June Gonzales. The company has released three trading card series to date: Cereal Killers series 1, Cereal Killers series 2, and Stupid Heroes; as well as a mobile app game Cereal Boom; and a T-shirt line based on the Cereal Killers brand.

In 2014, Simko formed the independent film production company Peel Here Productions,[3] along with partners June Gonzales and Jeff Zapata. Under this film company, they have released the documentary film based on the Garbage Pail Kids phenomenon titled 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story.

2022, Simko co-produced a series of GPK stop-motion animated shorts directed by animation company Jamroll Studios. Later on developing the GPK animated short film Mad Mike: Fury Load written by Adam F. Goldberg, producer/creator of ABC's The Goldbergs.

2023, Simko co-created CRANIACS with former Topps senior exec Ira Friedman, under their founded company IFE. The Craniacs IP make their debut in the form of a series of trading cards released in hobby stores nationwide in the fall of 2023.

Ongoing, Simko's continued work with the Garbage Pail Kids brand has led him to work on continued licensed products. Designing artwork for GPK x Stranger Things toys. He's designed artwork for GPK cereal, a cookbook, pop-up book and has worked with major children's book author R.L. Stine designing book covers for a series of GPK chapter books written by Stine. Simko is developing character and background designs for the Garbage Pail Kids animated series to be released through the streaming platform HBOMAX.

• MAGMA – 2007, 2008
• Vans Warped Tour – 2006
• Superbowl of Hardcore – 2006, 2007, 2008
• Medusa Festival – 1 through 5 (2003 through 2006)

• Garbage Pail Kids Pop-Up book - Writer and illustrator, published by Insight Editions - 2023
• Garbage Pail Kids Cookbook - 2022
• Madballs vs. Garbage Pail Kids comic book cover art - Dynamite Comics - Issues #1-4 - 2022
• Garbage Pail Kids book series cover artist, written by R.L. Stine - 2020, 2021
• Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages trading cards for Topps - current ongoing
• Series of Garbage Pail Kids comic books - IDW - 2014
• One-off sketch cards for the 2012 Mars Attacks! Heritage trading card series - 2012
• Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground, Schiffer Books - Fall 2013
• The Sweet Rot, Book 3, (The Purple Meltdown) - Schiffer Books - Spring 2012
• The Sweet Rot, Book 2, (Raiders of the Lost Art) - Schiffer Books - Fall 2011
• The Sweet Rot – Schiffer Books - Spring 2010 (creator, illustrator, writer)[4]
• In Sunlight and In Shadow, 2009 (illustrator)
• Revolver magazine, 2009[5]
• Roller Derby Art, Schiffer Books[6]
• Doll magazine – June 2007[7]
• Revolver – March 2007[8]
• The Art of Modern Rock mini A-Z. Chronicle Books[9]
• Skinnie magazine – November 2006[10]
• Stephen Baldwin’s Spirit Warriors, graphic novel series, B&H Books (creator, illustrator)
• Blood and Thunder magazine – Winter 2006[11]
• Spin magazine – spring 2006[12]
• The Art of Modern Rock, Chronicle Books[13]
• The Art of Electric Frankenstein, Dark Horse – February 2004

• Suarez, Alex. "Dr. Chud, Famous Monster in Stitches", Rebel Ink, January 2010, page 71
• Wernig, Crazy Glenn. "Parents Be Warned The Sweet Rot, Joe Simko talks 'bout his new book for Kids!!". New York Waste. June 2010. cover, page 8
• Wernig, Crazy Glenn. "The Art of Joe Simko at LiveFast". New York Waste. Fall 2009. page 6.
• Simko, Joe. "It's Called the Music Business", Alternative Press Magazine, May 2009. page 37.
• Rio, Dale. "Derby's Image Makers", Blood and Thunder Magazine Winter 2006, page 44

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Simko.

• List of all press and reviews for Joe Simko's Cereal Killers trading cards & Wax Eye company
• Goodman, Eleanor (May 2012). UK Bizarre magazin, Poster Boy
• Goodman, Eleanor (October 2011). Breakfast Crime UK Bizarre magazine, pp. 94–96
• McMahan, Elysia Imagination is Everything Skinnie magazine, July 1, 2011 pp. 44–49.
• Joe Simko at MF Gallery
• Patrick, Sean (June 18, 2010). "Get Your Rot On", New York Press
• "Joe Simko – Sweet Rot Book Release + Art Show Event". Vinyl Pulse, June 2010
• White, Guy E (April 2007). "Splatter, Oozed and Abuzed." Skinnie magazine. pages 70–71.