Tom's Mad Blog
February 12th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
MAD #550 is starting to show up in subscribers mailboxes and digitally via the MAD app, etc. (Cover above by Mark Fredrickson). I’ll list the contents as always in the week the issue is due on newsstands, which is next week Tuesday. This was the last issue produced by the New York City MAD staff, although the last production touches and the ceremonial sending off to the printer actually took place in the new year at the new offices in Burbank. Word is the new LA MAD staff added the copy above the logo on the cover, and the back cover image teasing the “New… READ MORE
February 11th, 2018 | Posted in General
Q: When you illustrate a typical multi-panel parody, how do you determine which panels should receive greater emphasis than others — or simply look the way they do? Is this a co-development process with the writer or do you act independently to lay out the story the way YOU want to? A: The story and what is going on in each panel, plus the design of the page as a whole, determines the design of each panel. If the story line or gag in a given panel requires a great deal of detail or many figures or a lot of action or some other visually… READ MORE
February 9th, 2018 | Posted in News
Due to popular demand I have added another LA area workshop in November. The dates are Nov 9th-11th, and it will be held at the same location I did the two in January, the Pop Secret Gallery in Eagle Rock, right by Pasedena. The January ones sold out very fast, so if you missed out before or are interested now, don’t put off placing a deposit for long. As of this morning, I still have ONE spot left in my Chicago workshop, three left in the Long Island City workshop, and lots of room in the Las Vegas and MN ones that don’t happen until… READ MORE
February 8th, 2018 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Mental Floss has a great article about time MAD printed a phony $3 bill as part of an article and got in some trouble with the FBI and the U.S. Treasury Dept. The article in question appeared in MAD #115 (the same issue that Mort Drucker and Dick De Bartolo‘s famous parody of Star Trek, “Star Blecch” appeared). It was entitled “MAD Mintlies” and featured phony coins poking fun at obsessed coin collectors. It also featured the fore mentioned fake $3 bill. Art by Bob Clarke, BTW. Despite the fact that it was cheaply printed in black and white, featured none of the engraving or… READ MORE
February 7th, 2018 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Are we getting bored with the Bat-Villains series yet? Here’s the fabulous Julie Newmar as Catwoman. READ MORE
February 6th, 2018 | Posted in News
Submissions for the NCS Divisional awards also known as the “Silver Reubens” are due TOMORROW!!! Each division has specific sets of eligibility criteria, but the following are universal: Must be professionally published between Dec 1, 2016 and Dec 31, 2017 Creator need not be an NCS member, but must be eligible for NCS membership (i.e. a professional cartoonist) The NCS has specific requirements for different divisions, so please read the guidelines carefully. Submissions are due on Feb 7th. Here’s the details: The National Cartoonists Society has begun its annual call for entries for consideration for the NCS Divisional Reuben Awards recognizing excellence in professional cartooning.… READ MORE
February 5th, 2018 | Posted in Monday MADness
Wrapping up my foray into the Harry Potter parody world, here’s a look at MAD‘s spoof of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”: “Harry Plodder and the Torture of the Fanbase” written by Desmond Devlin and appearing in MAD #480, Aug 2007. Below are my pencil roughs, followed by the final art for the rest of the 7 pages (clicky the spreads to embiggen): READ MORE
February 4th, 2018 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I assume you knew from a pretty young age you wanted to pursue a career in art. Were your parents/family pretty supportive or did they try to steer you into a more traditional (i.e. “stable”) direction (“You can always fall back on teaching”)? A: I was fascinated with drawing and comics as long as I can remember, and was saying I wanted to be an artist since probably age 4. My parents were tremendously supportive of my creative career goals. In fact I cannot ever remember a time where either of them expressed any reservations about if I could make a living in art,… READ MORE
