Tom's Mad Blog
October 30th, 2009 | Posted in General
Late on the evening of Oct. 19th our band of ten landed at COB Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq. Formerly it was FOB Speicher (forward operating base) but because of it’s size was reassigned as a COB (contingency operating base). It was also formerly Al Sahra Airfield under Saddam. Tikrit, of course, is famous for being the hometown of Saddam Hussein. Getting off the plane it was the first of many surreal moments… hard to believe a bunch of middle aged cartoonists were standing on the sands of Tikrit, Iraq. Stephan Pastis and I turned to each other frequently during the next few days to say… READ MORE
October 29th, 2009 | Posted in General
Arriving at the airport in Kuwait City, I was prepared for some major culture shock. Traveling in Europe is one thing… usually you can figure out the meaning of things like signs based on the common nature of the Latin based languages, and they all use the same basic alphabetical charters which at least look familiar. Arabic, on the other hand, is totally indecipherable to one with no knowledge of the language. Every time I saw something written in Arabic I had the impulse to turn it upside down. The Kuwait Airport My fears were groundless. Almost every sign is Kuwait, especially road and direction… READ MORE
October 28th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch subject is “Twilight” actor Taylor Lautner. I still refuse to draw Robert Pattinson on general principal. READ MORE
October 27th, 2009 | Posted in General
The 2009 NCS Cartoonist USO Tour band members: Jeff Bacon of “Broadside” and “Greenside” Chip Bok syndicated editorial cartoonist Bruce Higdon of Army Times, Army Magazine, Soldiers Magazine, and Stars and Stripes Jeff Keane of “The Family Circus” Rick Kirkman of “Baby Blues” Stephan Pastis of “Pearls Before Swine” Mike Peters of “Mother Goose and Grimm” Michael Ramirez of Investors Business Daily Tom Richmond of MAD Magazine Garry Trudeau of “Doonesbury” Our 8 day USO tour began at a Washington DC area hotel on Wednesday, October 14th where most of our band met, had a quick dinner and talked about our upcoming odyssey. As usual… READ MORE
October 26th, 2009 | Posted in General
A Little Background Last October eight Cartoonists from the National Cartoonists Society went on a trip to Landstuhl, Germany with a stop in Washington DC to visit wounded soldiers at Walter Reed, the Bathesda Naval Medical Center, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the Ramstien Air Force Base terminal and staging facility. You can read all about that trip here and here. The cartoonists were NCS president Jeff Keane (The Family Circus), Jeff Bacon (Naval Times/Broadside), Bruce Higdon (Army cartoonist), Rick Kirkman (Baby Blues), Mike Peters (Mother Goose and Grimm), Chip Bok (editorial cartoonist), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine) and myself. The entire trip was funded… READ MORE
October 25th, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was wondering if you could explain the process of getting an art rep/agent. When I develop my portfolio more I would like to seek out work in various publications and book illustration. What steps would someone take to get represented or to get regular work? A: I’ve never had a rep (with the exception of a loose arrangement with Cagle Cartoons, now defunct), but having both looked into one and knowing enough colleagues that do that I think I can answer your question. First off, for those who may not know a “rep” (short for “representative”) in the art world is like an… READ MORE
October 24th, 2009 | Posted in News
Here’s a link to an article by “Comic Riffs” writer Michael Cavna about our USO trip. READ MORE
October 24th, 2009 | Posted in MAD Magazine
The International Society of Caricature Artists (ISCA, formerly known as the NCN) 2009 Annual Caricature Convention and Competition is just over a week away on November 2nd-7th in Sandusky, Ohio. For caricature artists this is the ultimate event. Whether you work as a live artist, publication or fine artist, if your work involves caricature you could not spend your time and money better than to attend this event. There are some unique things about this year’s convention that makes it a perfect time for non-ISCA members to attend to see what it’s all about. First off, there is not one, not two, not three but… READ MORE
