By: Tom Richmond
March 28th, 2018 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Here’s another 60’s Bat-villain… John Astin filled in as “The Riddler” in season two. Original available in the Studio Store. Bat Facts: Astin’s appearance as The Riddler was supposedly due to Frank Gorshin‘s demand for a raise, although some sources claim Gorshin just didn’t want to play the part anymore. An earlier episode series in season two was originally supposed to feature The Riddler but the villain was changed to “The Puzzler” due to Gorshin’s absence. Gorshin did come back as The Riddler for a single episode in the third and final season. READ MORE
March 27th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
The new MAD staff gave the Usual Gang of Idiots the OK to share a little peek at what we did for the new MAD #1. Here’s a close up look at a little part of a panel from the parody of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” I did the art for, written by Desmond Devlin. I did not really impart on yesterday’s posts how impressed I was with what they are doing with the new MAD. It’s going to be very comics-centric (and visually stunning) but still have the irreverence and lunacy of the MAD you’ve known and loved for 66 years. I’ll post… READ MORE
March 26th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
After weeks of teasing and gaslighting readers with hints about what to expect, this past weekend the new look MAD Magazine was unveiled at Wondercon in Anaheim. So, what was real and what were gags about the new MAD? Here’s a rundown: Alfred E Neuman gets a facelift and becomes Al Newman– Gag. Alfred is still Alfred. He’s still a gap-toothed idiot. He’s not this: They are redesigning the logo– True, but it’s not the horrific 80’s chrome monstrosity seen above. That was a gag. The new logo: It’s clearly a re-imagining of the classic Kurtman Era logo from the comic book days. MAD is… READ MORE
March 25th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
This happens a couple of times a year… I have no viable questions to answer in the mailbag. Well, I have been asked and answered over 500 of them since starting this blog. It’s entirely possible that people have run out of questions. There are only so many questions people might have about freelancing, illustration, MAD, etc. So maybe this feature has run its course. I guess that’s up to you. So, if you have questions concerning cartooning, illustration, freelancing, MAD Magazine or other similar subjects I’ll be happy to answer them as best I can. E-mail me your questions and I’ll try and answer… READ MORE
March 23rd, 2018 | Posted in News
I’m here in sunny(ish) Anaheim CA this weekend at Wondercon! Here’s where you will find me: Friday, March 23 11:30am-7:00pm- Booth SP-83 (Small Press area) Saturday, March 24 10:00am- 4:00pm- Booth SP-83 (Small Press area) 4:30pm- 5:30pm- “Quick Draw” North 200B 6:00pm- 7:00pm- Booth SP-83 (Small Press area) Sunday, March 25 10:00 am- 1:00pm- Booth SP-83 (Small Press area) 1:30pm- 2:30pm- “MAD” Panel room 213AB 3:00pm- 5:00pm- Booth SP-83 (Small Press area) READ MORE
March 22nd, 2018 | Posted in News
Me and Mort, 2006 NCS Reuben Award Weekend, Chicago IL March is a big month for MAD birthdays… today (well, actually tomorrow the 22nd but WordPress sucks and posted this 22 hours earlier than scheduled) is the incomparable Mort Drucker‘s 89th! Happy birthday to one of the greatest cartoonists and caricaturists who ever put pen to paper!! To say Mort “wrote the book” on MAD‘s movie and TV parodies is an enormous understatement. By most accounts, the film and TV show spoofs became a staple of the MAD identity largely because of Mort’s unique talents. When Mort brought his work in to show the folks… READ MORE
March 21st, 2018 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Our series of caricatures of Bat-Villains from the 60;s TV show continues with Art Carney as “The Archer”. Original available in the Studio Store. Bat Facts: Writer Stanley Ralph Ross on working with Art Carney: “You had to tell Art who you want him to imitate. You say, ‘I want you to imitate Cary Grant.’ He will do what he thinks is Cary Grant, but no one else will know it’s Cary Grant.” READ MORE
March 20th, 2018 | Posted in News
I just got booked as a last minute substitute guest for my fellow MAD man Tom Bunk at Indiana Comic Con next weekend in Indianapolis. Tom had to cancel his appearance at the last second, so the nice folks at ICC asked me if I could fill in for him. I suspect they already had a bunch of MAD “Tom” stuff printed up so this way they saved some dough on reprinting promos, but I am flattered nonetheless! Anyway, the convention is March 30-April 1st at the Indianapolis Convention center. I’ll have a table in the “guest artists” area somewhere, and am giving a presentation… READ MORE
