Tom's Mad Blog
August 22nd, 2021 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: How do you determine which job solicitation is worth pursuing? I’ve inquired about jobs to a few artists I liked, only to be told they didn’t accept any freelance jobs or they were too busy, etc… never getting to a price. How do you know which job is worthy? Is it the initial approach of the potential client? A: Sounds to me like you might be a little frustrated that you cannot find an artist to take on whatever project you are looking to have done. I can understand that. I don’t know the specifics of what you are looking for but I can… READ MORE
August 20th, 2021 | Posted in Stuff from my Studio
This is a reproduction of a Peanuts strip that ran on July 5 1973, printed on a ceramic tile which The Lovely Anna gave to me as a Christmas present in 2004. The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA ran an exhibit called “MAD About Peanuts” in one of their galleries from March-Nov 2004, which featured not original Peanuts art but originals of some of the many Peanuts spoofs MAD had done over the years. I believe the museum had a number of MAD guests during the run, and on Aug 15-16th of that year I did a talk and ran a couple… READ MORE
August 19th, 2021 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
I did this illustration of Alfred E. Neuman as a “spy” in 2012 for the Warner Bros Consumer Products department, which is turn was for the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. They made T-shirts and other products out of it that were sold exclusively at the museum. Apparently the Spy Museum has a licensing deal with MAD, presumably mainly for the Spy vs. Spy characters, but they also decided to do some Alfred merch. READ MORE
August 18th, 2021 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I’m swamped today so here’s a sketch from almost 10 years back. This one was done using a fine point marker. Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep! READ MORE
August 17th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Today is the 24th anniversary of the start of MadCoverSite.com, an incredible resource for all fans and aficionados of MAD Magazine. The MADCoverSite is the tireless effort of one person, MAD Superfan Doug Gilford. Doug started it on Aug 17th, 1997 as part of the late Dick Hanchette‘s Collectmad.com website. It began as a collection of scans of the all the covers of MAD through the years, along with a list of each issues highlights (or lowlights depending on your perspective). Doug began adding lists of all the movie and TV parodies that had appeared, in alphabetical order with the real movie or show title and the issue in which it appeared.… READ MORE
August 16th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
As if Monday’s weren’t bad enough, it’s time for another nauseating look back at my furshlugginer work for MAD Magazine! Today’s episode is another MAD TV show parody, spoofing “Two and a Half Men”, written by the great Arnie Kogen and first appearing in MAD #450, February 2005. This parody was done when the show was hugely popular and before star Charlie Sheen went off the deep end, which is why you’ll find no references to tiger’s blood, warlocks, “winning”, or general delusion. I cannot remember if I was in a real hurry on this one due to a tight deadline, but the pencil roughs… READ MORE
August 15th, 2021 | Posted in General
Q: Do you ever get criticized or praised for people perceiving your work as similar to Mort Drucker? I see the differences, but just was wondering how you as an artist have dealt with that comparison. A: I spent 20 years drawing caricature/likeness based movie and TV parodies for MAD Magazine. The comparisons to Mort Drucker and other famous MAD artists like Jack Davis, Angelo Torres, etc are inevitable. I have a drawing style based on line (as opposed to values like a painter), my caricatures lean more toward likeness than exaggeration, and my storytelling comes from a comic book background. Anyone who does that… READ MORE
August 13th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Last week Saturday comedian Trevor Moore passed away at 41 in a what is being referred to as a “tragic accident” in a residential yard in Los Angeles. So far no details have been released. Moore was one of the founders of the NYC comedy group “The Whitest Kids U Know”, which ran for 5 season on the Independent Film Channel. Back in 2008 MAD did a “special advertising section” insert in issue #486 (and I think a number of other DC Comics publications) that promoted “The Whitest Kids U Know” show on IFC. It was kind of a mini MAD with a cover by… READ MORE
