Arriving not long after the show’s debut, 1990 Topps Simpsons marks the trading card debut of the iconic animated family.
Like the early episodes, the set is a little rough and it lacks the depth that would go on to be a cornerstone of the show. That said, there’s a dark wit to the humor that you won’t find in later sets of Simpsons trading cards.
1990 Topps Simpsons Checklist Details
The base set consists of 88 cards. Cards take on a console TV theme with images coming from stills from the show. Instead of captions, it’s character dialogue. Catchphrases run throughout the checklist with Bart getting the most attention. This was standard for a lot of early Simpsons merchandise as he was treated as the center of the show, almost like a mascot. That has evolved, but it is apparent here.
Characters on the cards don’t stray outside of the Simpson household. Only Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Homer and Marge appear in the set — at least on the card fronts. The backs are a different story.
About half of the set features character trivia. There’s also a massive puzzle consisting of 40 cards that covers many of Springfield’s other residents. They’re not named but they are present a little.
Stickers
In addition to the base set, 1990 Topps Simpsons has 22 stickers. These land one per pack. Unlike most sticker inserts from the company over the decades, these aren’t kiss cut so that just the main part of the sticker could be peeled. Rather, it’s the entire front that comes off, background and all.
Topps’ sticker insert typically come with one of two styles of backs, blank and puzzles. Here, it’s different. Each sticker has a different Bart Simpson chalkboard gag.
1990 Topps Simpsons trading cards can be found with two different pack and box configurations. Standard wax packs have eight cards and one sticker with 36 packs per box. Jumbo packs, which are 24 per box, have 16 cards and one sticker.
1990 Topps Simpsons Checklist
Set size: 88 cards
Cards per pack: Wax – 9, Jumbo – 17
Packs per box: Wax – 36, Jumbo – 24
Shop for 1990 Topps Simpsons packs and boxes on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
88 cards.
1 Marge Simpson – Don’t Forget Your Lunches!
2 Maggie Simpson – Suck!
3 Lisa Simpson – I’m Lisa Simpson–I’m Above Domestic Cleaning!
4 Bart Simpson – I’m Bart Seemp-Seau, Famous Underwater Explorer!
5 Homer Simpson – No More Television–For All Eternity!
6 Bart Simpson – I Have an Annoucement to Make: I’m Bored!
7 Homer and Marge Simpson – Marge–You’re My Wife But Cupcakes Are My Mistress!
8 Homer, Lisa, Marge and Maggie Simpson – Calm Down, Boy! It Was Just a Nightmare!
9 Bart and Homer Simpson – Comics Are for Kids, Boy!
10 Lisa and Bart Simpson – Time for Our Favorite Cartoon, “Itchy & Scratchy.”
11 Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Homer Simpson – The Family That Mambos Together, Stays Together!
12 Bart and Homer Simpson – “Bart!!” “Uh, Oh…”
13 Bart, Maggie and Lisa Simpson – At We at Weenie Barn Yet?
14 Simpson Family – We’re the Grown Ups and You’re the Children–Understand?
15 Marge Simpson – Help! I’m a Fully Developed Female Trapped Inside the Body of a Child!
16 Maggie Simpson – Suck! Suck!
17 Marge, Bart, Homer and Lisa Simpson – Now Get in There and Clean Up That Mess!
18 Homer Simpson – Come Back Here, You Little Smartass!
19 Bart Simpson – Tolstoy Schmolstoy! Space Mutants II Is What I Call a Work of Genius!
20 Homer Simpson – I’m No Supervising Technician…I’m a Technical Supervisor.
21 Bart and Maggie Simpson – All Right! “America’s Most Armed and Dangerous” Is On!
22 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – Ha, ha, ha, ha!
23 Maggie Simpson – Suck! Suck! Suck!
24 Lisa Simpson – Homework Is Society’s Way of Torturing Their Young!
25 Homer Simpson – No Reststops for the Next 16 Hours!
26 Bart SImpson – Zee Brave Undair Sea Exploraire Wrestles Ze Yuge Sea Monstair to Zee Better End.
27 Bart and Homer Simpson – Look Homer, Clean as a Whistle!
28 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – “We Can Never Let Him Down. He’ll Kills Us.” “My Thoughts Exactly.”
29 Bart Simpson – Don’t Bug Me. I’m Studying, Man!
30 Homer and Bart Simpson – And Don’t Come Out Till You Sparkle, Boy!
31 Bart Simpson – Maggie? Lisa? You In There?
32 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – “Should I Turn on the TV?” “It Already Is On.”
33 Lisa, Bart, Maggie and Homer Simpson – Don’t Have a Cow, Man!
34 Homer Simpson – Bart! Get Back Here!!!
35 Maggie Simpson – Anbody Seen Maggie?!
36 Homer and Marge Simpson – Marge, Let’s Run Away from Home
37 Homer, Lisa, Marge and Bart Simpson – “She’s Such an Adorable Infant!” “Gootchie Gootchie Goo!” “I Think She Needs Her Diaper Changed, Man!”
38 Bart Simpson – It’s the Bart Simpson Show Starring Bart Simpson, and Featuring the Bart Simpson Orchestra and the Bart Simpson Dancers!
39 Bart Simpson – Quiet! Genius at Work, Man!
40 Homer and Marge Simpson – SHut Up Back There You Little Smart Alecks!
41 Homer Simpson – Bart! Did You Eat All the Prok Rinds?!
42 Homer and Marge Simpson – What’ll It Be Tonight, Marge? The Rusty Barnacle or the Singing Sirloin?
43 Maggie Simpson – Suck! Suck! Suck!
44 Simpson Family – “March Your Little Butts Straight Up to Bed You Little Hellions! Pronto!” “Can the Rest of Our Bodies Stay Up and Play?”
45 Lisa and Maggie Simpson – Happy Father’s Day. They Were 12 for a Dollar at “Bud’s Big and Wide Shop.”
46 Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson – Stand Back Comrades! The Smell Alone from This Closet Can Be Lethal!
47 Simpson Family – There’s Nothing More Disheartening to Young Fertile Minds Than the 5:00 News Hours
48 Bart Simpson – Right On, Dude!
49 Homer, Maggie, Lisa and Bart Simpson – Who Do You Think You Are, Thomas Edison?!
50 Homer Simpson – This Looks Like the Work of Bartholomew J. Simpson!
51 Homer and Marge Simpson – You Said “Left”.
52 Marge, Maggie and Homer Simoson – “It’s Quiet.” “Yeah. Too Quiet!”
53 Bart Simpson – Kids Out There in T.V. Land…You’re Being Duped!
54 Bart Simpson – There’s Only So Much One Hell Raisin’ Kid Can Take, Man!
55 Lisa Simpson – It’s Amazin How Much Beauty and Intelligence Can Fit Into Such a Petite Frame!
56 Bart Simpson – Aaauuughhh!
57 Homer and Bart Simpson – Who Ate My Cookies?!!!
58 Homer and Bart Simpson – Back Off Homer. I Happen to Be Having Some Very Educational Dreams.
59 Homer Simpson – I Said Knock It Off!!
60 Homer, Maggie and Lisa Simpson – Don’t Blame Us, Dad! We’re Merely Acting Under the Whim of Our Genetic Programming!
61 Homer, Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson – Go to Bed! Go to Bed Right Now!!
62 Homer and Marge Simpson – “There’s Only One Cookie Left!” “And Somebody’s Responsible!”
63 Bart Simpson – “I Didn’t Do It. Nobody Same Me Do It. You Can’t Prove Anything.”
64 Bart Simpson – “Gangway Man!
65 Marge and Homer Simpson – Which One of You Ate My Last Donut!
66 Bart Simpson – “Bart?” “Uh Oh Gotta Hide.”
67 Bart, Maggie and Lisa Simpson – Last One to the Breakfast Table Is a Wimp, Man!
68 Homer Simpson – God Help Me.
69 Lisa Simpson – Bart, You’re Such a Dimwit!
70 Bart Simpson – I’m Bart Simpson, Who the Hell Are You?
71 Lisa, Maggie and Marge Simpson – “Your Father’s Chasing After Bart Because He Loves Him.” “Nice Try Mom.”
72 Homer Simpson – Bbaarrtttt!
73 Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson – “I Can’t Wait to See the Happy Little Elves!” “Oh, Grow Up, Man! The Crappy Little Elves Are for Babies!”
74 Homer and Bart Simpson – “Why You Little…!!!” “Lets Break for a Commercial.”
75 Maggie, Lisa and Homer Simpson – For the Last Time, I’m the Parent and You’re the Children!
76 Homer and Marge Simpson – I Think It’s Time to Go Down to the Dairy Den for Some Frosty Chocolate Milshakes!
77 Lisa, Marge and Homer Simpson – “Let’s Take Turns Yelling Into the Canyon, Lisa, You Start.” “Okay, Burrrrrring!”
78 Simpson Family – Marge! Where’s the Personals Section of Today’s Paper?!
79 Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson – We Have No Idea Who Made This Mess.
80 Bart Simpson – This Is the Life, Man!
81 Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson – “Me, Bartunga!” “Me, Leesumba!”
82 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – Unga, Bunga, Yunga, Ho!
83 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – There Is Justice in the World, Maggie.
84 Maggie Simpson – Suck, Suck, Suck, Suck, Suck.
85 Homer Simpson – Uh, Oh….
86 Lisa, Maggie and Bart Simpson – Another Day of Parental Oppression.
87 Bart Simpson – Aye Carumba!
88 Lisa Simpson – “Apple Polisher!” “Thank You Very Much, I Take That as a Compliment.”
Stickers Checklist
22 stickers.
1 per pack.
1 Bartman – Watch It, Dude!
2 Bart Simpson – “Underachiever” And Proud of It, Man!
3 Bart Simpson – Peace, Man.
4 Bart Simpson – Don’t Have a Cow, Man!
5 Maggie Simpson
6 Marge Simpson – Thank You. It’s My Specialty!
7 Homer Simpson – Come Back Here You Little–!!
8 The Simpsons
9 Homer Simpson – Why You Little–!
10 The Simpsons – Family Portrait
11 Bart Simpson – I’m Bart Simpson. Who the Hell Are You?
12 Bart Simpson – War Is Hell, Man.
13 Homer Simpson – There Was a Little Accident at the Power Plant Today…
14 Bart Simpson – Go for It, Dude!!
15 Bart Simpson – No Way, Man!
16 Bart Simpson – Cowabunga, Man!
17 Lisa Simpson – I’m Going to Tell Mom and Dad!
18 The Simpsons – The All-American Family
19 Lisa Simpson – Queen of the Blues
20 Maggie Simpson – Suck Suck Suck
21 Bart Simpson – Fun Has a Name and It’s Bartholomew J. Simpson.
22 Homer and Bart Simpson – That’s My Boy!
