Sunday Mailbag- MAD Word Balloons?

Q:  I realize you draw your word balloons directly onto your art boards so you know where your art fits and how much space the word balloons will take up. Does MAD send you the blocks of type? Or do you take the script and break it down yourself? Do they tell you what dialogue goes in each panel – or do you have some leeway in how the story dialogue is broken down? And lastly, what font does MAD Magazine use in these parodies?

A: The MAD staff does all the editing and production on the movie and TV parodies. They start by editing the script that is sent in by the writer. Once the script is all set the art department puts together what they call the “mechanicals”. These are full layouts of the entire parody including the header graphics, all panels and all the boxes with the text. This and the script is what I get from MAD to get started with the art. Here’s an example:

The word boxes and text are basically set in stone. I cannot change them or move them around at all. There are rules regarding how the text boxes line up and work across the page. I cannot change the dialogue or do any further editing. Not my job. My job is to draw around them, like this:

After submitting the pencils for review with the staff, I do the final art:

As for the font, when I started in the early 2000’s the font used was Quorum ITC, but sometime in the early 2010’s they switched to Frutiger 65. That’s the font they still use today, I believe.

Thanks to Greg Lunzer for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!