Tom's Mad Blog
March 24th, 2019 | Posted in General
Q: I was wondering if there is permission needed from Mad Magazine or the artist for people to use the picture of the character Alfred E. Neuman. A: If by “picture” you mean this picture: …or any other image of Alfred that was done for MAD then yes, unless you were using the image for something that would qualify as “fair use” you’d need permission in order not to be infringing on MAD/EC Comics and Warner Bros copyright. You’d have to ask MAD since asking original artist Norman Mingo would be tough, he’s been dead since 1980. Creating a new piece of art with your… READ MORE
March 22nd, 2019 | Posted in General
Happy 90th birthday to one of the greatest cartoonists and caricaturists who ever lived… the legendary Mort Drucker. While the early MAD Magazine had a number of film and TV parodies pre-1960, It is no exaggeration (pun intended) to say that without Mort’s very unique and incredible set of caricature and storytelling skills, MAD Magazine would never have had movie and TV parodies as one of the staples of the publication for 60 years. When Mort came on board they recognized his skill set and very shortly put him to work on jobs requiring the drawing of likenesses (like the “Bob and Ray” features) and… READ MORE
March 21st, 2019 | Posted in News
That’s right, another comic-con. TWO WEEKENDS IN A ROW!! This is one of my favorites of the year, though. C2E2 at McCormick Place in Chicago. I’ll be in Artist’s Alley at table P-14 with my usual stack of stuff. New since last year will be copies of “Don’t let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile” and “Sketch o’the Week Vol 2”, plus my Catwoman print. Of course I’ll be doing commissions and caricatures. This is also the only comic-con I do where I bring full sized original MAD pages along. That’s because they are huge and since I drive in it makes it feasable. I’m also… READ MORE
March 20th, 2019 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s SotW is “Homeland” and “Billions” star Damian Lewis! Drawing him occured to me today after I saw the just-released trailer for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (a movie I an very anxiously awaiting release for multiple reasons) and saw he was cast as Steve McQueen. The first time I saw Lewis my first thought was “this guy is a dead ringer for Steve McQueen”. I guess Quentin Tarantino thought so too! Anyway as always this original sketch is available in the Studio Store. READ MORE
March 19th, 2019 | Posted in News
After taking an unofficial online poll the Austins defeated the Houstons by a wide margin, so I’m happy to announce I’ll be doing one of the caricature workshops in Austin TX on October 18th-20th, 2019! You can reserve your place in the workshop here, and if you are not familiar with what my workshops are all about, check out this page. I also still have availability in my workshops in Minnesota in May and Denver in Sept. Everything else is sold out! About my May workshop in Minnesota: I only have three students signed up so far, but I am going to change the dynamics… READ MORE
March 18th, 2019 | Posted in Monday MADness
I had a lot of fun at Emerald City Comic Con this past weekend, especially doing MAD variant sketch covers. Here’s a couple from the show. I adjusted the “Aquaman” image a bit to brighten it up from the version I posted over the weekend. READ MORE
March 17th, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How long does it take you to do a movie/TV parody for MAD? A: This is probably the number one question I get whenever I am on a panel or speak about my work for MAD. The only truly correct answer would be “It takes as long as they give me”. I’ve had as long as 5 weeks to work on a parody and as little as 10 days. Either way I turn it in at the absolute last second. Just ask my art directors while they are sticking pins in a Voodoo doll with my name on it. However, no one is ever… READ MORE
March 15th, 2019 | Posted in General
The Lovey Anna and I are having a great time here in Seattle at Emerald City Comic Con. That’s a MAD blank variant cover commission above. Come by and say hello if you are attending. We are at Artist’s Alley booth A10. READ MORE
