Tom's Mad Blog
July 15th, 2014 | Posted in News
Hard to believe but Comic-Con 2014 is only a week away! I don’t have as hectic a signing schedule as I have had in the past, so I’ll be spending a lot more time at the National Cartoonists Society booth this year… which is good since this is my last year as President of the NCS. Here’s my complete appearance schedule (so far): Wednesday 7/23 (Preview Night) 6 pm-9 pm- NCS Booth #1307 Thursday 7/24 10 am-12pm- NCS Booth #1307 1 pm-4pm- NCS Booth #1307 MAD about MAD Panel- 5:30 pm-6:30 pm- Room 4 Friday¬¨‚Ć 7/25 11 am- 12 pm- Cartoon Art Museum Sketch-A-Thon Booth… READ MORE
July 14th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
I’m going to do something different today for Monday MADness and send you all via this magic link to the blog of Mark Evanier, to read a terrific piece about the late MAD editor Al Feldstein he wrote this past weekend. Feldstein was the editor of MAD for about 29 years, and Mark’s post really lends some insights into Al’s career and why it was very unique. He talks a lot about some of the things that made Al Feldstein a polarizing figure in MAD history. Some people will tell you Al had nothing to do with the things that made MAD great, that we… READ MORE
July 13th, 2014 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: The pages you do for your MAD parodies are very detailed and full of a lot of little gags and touches, especially the opening pages. How long to you spend on each page? A: I get this question a lot when people look at my originals. The only accurate answer is that it takes as long as they give me. Doing the physical artwork is only part of the work and time I put into a movie or TV parody for MAD. I spend quite a bit of time doing research and getting familiar with the show or film as well as looking for… READ MORE
July 10th, 2014 | Posted in General
The Lovely Anna and I are currently in New York City with Number One Son Thomas as part of his high school graduation present. When one of our kids graduate, they get a trip with just mom and dad to the destination of their choice (within reason). Tom chose NYC and we are seeing multiple shows, touring the sites and putting some miles on the shoes. We’ll be dropping by the MAD offices tomorrow. I was going to bring the last two pages of my latest job for them with me and hand them in like the old school guys did back when Bill Gaines… READ MORE
July 9th, 2014 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Just for fun… or maybe not? Details to follow soon… READ MORE
July 8th, 2014 | Posted in General
Some time ago I posted some of my thoughts on the long-time controversy surrounding the creation of Batman, specifically how much credit Bob Kane really deserves and how much credit writers and artists like Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson should be given. This is hardly a new topic. Kane was a bit of a polarizing figure, and his iron-clad grip on the credit as the creator of Batman has rankled many over the years who know that Bill Finger came up with much of the backstory, mythos and elements that make Batman the enduring character he is. Writer extraordinaire Mark Evanier has recently written a… READ MORE
July 7th, 2014 | Posted in Monday MADness
Alfred E. Neuman is one of the most recognized pop culture icons in the world. Go figure, but it’s true. MAD didn’t invent him, he’s actually been around since the 1800’s, appearing in ads for children’s dentistry and other products. Maria Reidelbach‘s book “Completely MAD: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine” has a whole chapter on the origin of Alfred, but the bottom line is that nobody really knows for certain when the grinning gap-toothed idiot really first appeared in pop culture. As the story goes, original MAD editor Harvey Kurtzman had seen images of the “What- Me Worry? kid” from old… READ MORE
July 6th, 2014 | Posted in General
Q: I’ve just come from noseying around your blog where I’ve been greatly enjoying your “The Game is Afoot!” Sherlock Holmes series. This sparked me off thinking: when creating something like this, is the subject matter primarily chosen by your own enthusiasm and tastes (I know you’re a big Holmes fan), or are you keeping one eye on what might be a popular seller when it comes to limited edition prints? Also, I was wondering whether you have all of your prints made in one go – or if you have a few smaller runs done periodically, to minimize the risk of being left out… READ MORE
