Click for a closer look…

My usual reply to MAD art director Sam Viviano when he calls and asks me if I’ve ever seen the TV show he is about to assign me the parody art for is “Never seen it”. That’s because I really don’t watch much TV… but this one was different.

The few shows I do watch are usually because my kids or The Lovely Anna watch them, and thus I see them through osmosis. Even so I usually just casually catch some bits and pieces and don’t get very interested. However, “The Big Bang Theory” is one of the family’s favorite shows, and is one that I usually put on the brakes for, sit down and actually watch when I see they have it playing on the old DVR. I think it’s a very funny show, and the comic book/sci fi geek references are not lost on me. Case in point: My kids looked aghast at me the other night when I mentioned before Sheldon did that the writing on the One Ring from the Lord of the Rings was not Elvish but in the language of Mordor, but written in Elvsh script, and then recited what it said as the characters on the show did. That earned me the classic “ohmygoddadisatotalgeek” look.

So, I was thrilled to get to do the art for the parody, written by the inimitable Desmond Devlin. Here are a couple of other sneak peek images… you’ll have to buy a copy of the issue to help keep the Usual Gang of Idiots employed to see the rest:

Finally! On news stands March 16th and in comic book stores and subscriber mailboxes now!

MAD # 503 (May 2010)

• Cover (Mark Frederickson)
• The Fundalini Pages (Tom Bunk, Desmond Devlin, Evan Dorkin, J.C. Duffy, Sarah Dyer, Nate Fakes, Darren Johnson, Jeff Kruse, Barry Liebmann, Tom Richmond,  Sam Sisco,  Rick Tulka,  Sam Viviano, Richard Williams)
• The MAD Quarterly Report (Paul Coker)
  
• The Big Bomb Theory (Desmond Devlin, Tom Richmond)
• The Tiger Wood’s Mistress Mini-Golf Fun Center (Scott Maiko, Ty Templeton)
• The Darker Side of The Lighter Side (Dave Berg)
• Amish POWER SPIKE Miracle Heater (Scott Maiko, Irving Schild)
  
• Spy vs Spy (Peter Kuper)
• The Rich Rewards of a Full-Time Career as a Convenience Store Clerk (John Caldwell)
• A MAD Look at Avatar (Sergio Aragonés)
• The 9 Reasons You Can’t Get a Job (Teresa Burns Parkhurst, Kevin Pope)
  
• 7 Periods Closer to Death (Ted Rall)
• The 38 Worst Things about Late Night TV! (Desmond Devlin, Scott Maiko, Jeff Kruse, Hermann Mejia, Ward Sutton )
• MAD’s Iron Man 2 Outtakes (Uncredited)
  
• Germ Prevention Service Poster (Dick DeBartolo, Gary Hallgren)
• The Strip Club (Christopher Baldwin, Feggo, Dustin Glick, Scott Nickel, Douglas Paszkiewicz, Joey Alison Sayers)
• The MAD Vault- 1969 (Various)
• Steal These Tweets (Dave Croatto)
• MAD Fold-In (Al Jaffee)
• Drawn Out Dramas (Sergio Aragonés)

I have two reprint pieces in this issue, both in the “Fundalini Pages”, one of which is the “MADE UP” movie parody poster I did for the website back in November. The main piece I did for this issue was a parody of “The Big Bang Theory” with writer Desmond Devlin. Look for a sneak peek of that tomorrow.

So what are you waiting for? Go out and buy a copy, clod!