Tom's Mad Blog
May 14th, 2009 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Neil Cuadra is getting more press for his latest CD effort than Axl Rose got for “Chinese Democracy”… but then again that’s not saying much. Cuadra is a huge MAD fan from Los Angelses, CA who fulfilled “a dream” by getting a letter published in MAD‘s “Letters and Tomatoes Dept.” by sending in his portrait of Alfred E. Neuman created by nothing but AOL junk mail CDs. Inspired by a MAD parody chastising AOL for all the junk diskettes they used to send out (since changed to CDs), Cuadra collected the shiny junk disks from AOL and other companies for over ten years until he… READ MORE
May 13th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I am extremely busy right now and the “sketch o’the week” posts for the next few weeks may be well short of ambitious. This week’s subject is actor Ben Affleck, a quick and loose study from a very old entertainment magazine I came across in the studio. READ MORE
May 12th, 2009 | Posted in News
Pittsburgh’s ToonSeum is having it’s annual fundraiser early next month. From Toonseum: Friday June 5th: KA-BLAM! A party to benefit the ToonSeum. Join us Friday June 5th from 7pm-11pm, at Verno Studios on the Southside to support the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh’s Museum of Cartoon Art. Featuring live music by the Whips, DJ Raw-Z, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, live cartooning, the opportunity to bid on one of a kind cartoon art and unique experiences, free comics and much more! Tickets are just 35 dollars online at brownpapertickets.com Entertainment and Activities Live music by The Whips! Performance by burlesque entertainer Paige Turner Music and dancing with DJ Raw-Z… READ MORE
May 11th, 2009 | Posted in General
Last October I was privleged to be part of a group of cartoonists who traveled to Washington D.C. and then on to Landstuhl, Germany to visit with and draw for wounded U.S. soldiers. Those who went on the trip with me were¬¨‚ĆChip Bok, Jeff Keane, Rick Kirkman, Mike Peters, Bruce Higdon, Jeff Bacon and Stephan Pastis. The trip was an incredible experience. Last month another group of 8 cartoonists made the same trip.¬¨‚ĆBill Amend (Fox Trot), Jeff Bacon (cartoonist for Navy Times and Marine Corps Times), Dave Coverly (Speed Bump), Jack Davis (Mad Magazine), Bill Hinds (Tank McNamara, Cleats, Buzz Beamer),¬¨‚Ć Jef Mallett (Frazz), Michael… READ MORE
May 10th, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’m just wondering if there are any particular syndicated strips that you are a fan of (past and present), what you think of their decline with the newspaper industry, and how you feel about the growth of web comics? A: I was a huge fan of Bloom County back in the 80’s. That strip consistently made me laugh. I also liked Peanuts, B.C. and enjoyed many other strips as well. I also liked Calvin and Hobbes but that was popular right at the wrong time for me… it ran during my college years, my marriage, move to Atlanta and the births of three of… READ MORE
May 9th, 2009 | Posted in Surf's Up Dept.
Shadowhare… NO MORE! Dept. Readers may remember my posting this little piece about “real life superheroes” patrolling the streets of our cities making life… uh… safe for citizens. The news piece I linked to specified several heroes and one in particular, “ShadowHare” from Cincinatti, OH. Well, it seems Shadowhare is being targeted by a gang of supervillians and a reward is being offered by the evil mastermind ‘The Dark Side” for information about Shadowhare’s secret identity. He’s serious… he posted it on Craigslist: Hard to believe it never occurred to the Joker to advertise for Batman’s secret identity on Craigslist in “The Dark Knight”… somebody… READ MORE
May 8th, 2009 | Posted in News
I did the above doodle for Gillian Anderson‘s cause fighting neurofibromatosis some weeks ago, as part of National Doodle Day. National Doodle Day is an annual event where dozens of doodles are auctioned off to raise funds to benefit NF, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing support to individuals and families affected by neurofibromatosis (NF). Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that affects one in every 2,500 births. NF is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular Dystrophy and Huntington’s Disease combined. Funds raised from the Doodle Day auction will go to support education, advocacy, coalitions, and research for treatments and a cure. The auction is on!… READ MORE
May 7th, 2009 | Posted in Surf's Up Dept.
Happiness is a Warm Carcass Dept. I ran across this on MAD production artist Ryan Flander‘s Facebook page. Like him I think it’s unbelievable: Tauntaun Sleeping Bag My favorite parts are the intestine print on the interior lining and the disemboweling light saber zipper pull…. and the fact that the kid in the picture is smiling pleasantly instead of screaming in terror. Nothing like snuggling your young Jedi up in the simulated stinking carcass of a dead tauntaun at bedtime. Sweet Dreams! In fact it is unbelievable. It’s a April Fools prank. Apparently they do something like this every year on ThinkGeek.com. Brilliant, though. READ MORE
