Tom's Mad Blog
March 23rd, 2009 | Posted in General
Like an idiot I forgot to post a big Happy 88th Birthday to MAD‘s Al Jaffee on the 13th of this month (incidentally, another long time MAD artist shares that same birthday, but Sam Viviano is a relative spring chicken at a mere 56 years old). Well, Al never blogs about my birthday, so maybe I don’t feel that bad about it. For those who, like myself, are in awe not only of Al’s lifetime of fantastic work but that he’s still at the top of his game at 88, here’s some links to a great three part interview with Al by The Daily Crosshatch:… READ MORE
March 22nd, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: It’s obvious that networking is a very valuable practice in the cartooning and illustration world, but are situations such as a comic-con or other gatherings of that nature an appropriate venue to try and foster such contacts? Those with booths and tables are likely there primarily to sell their own work, so would they view that sort of thing as an annoyance or an opportunity? A: Comic cons are weird animals, to be certain. I actually haven’t been to that many cons, but I think I know what you are driving at. You want to know if it’s worth attending a comic con as… READ MORE
March 21st, 2009 | Posted in News
I received a nice e-mail the other day from the administrator of Gillian Anderson‘s Official Web Site (Scully of The X-Files, Lady Dedlock in Bleak House) wanting to extend Gillian’s invitation for me to contribute a doodle/drawing for NF, Inc’s Third National Doodle Day Auction scheduled to start on May 7, 2009. Gillian is the spokesperson for Neurofibromatosis, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization that helps families affected by NF – a genetic disorder of the nervous system which causes tumors to form on the nerves anywhere in the body at any time.¬¨‚Ć Gillian’s brother suffers from this disorder and their mother is the vice-president of… READ MORE
March 20th, 2009 | Posted in General
Today is the big limited release of “Super Capers”, playing at a theater near you (maybe). Check the theater list for where and when, then bring a group out to see it! Lionsgate will distribute it to 0ver 2000 theaters if it reaches a certain goal today! READ MORE
March 20th, 2009 | Posted in Wall of Shame
If I was feeling a little sorry for myself and was down in the dumps about my surgery yesterday, the package I just got in the mail sure cured my blues! Way back when I did a parody of the TV show “Heroes” for MAD, and was contacted by produced Michael Green about buying the original artwork for himself, creator Tim Kring and others that worked on the show. I had gotten hooked on “Heroes” after researching for the parody, so I did my customary deal of getting an oversized print of the splash signed by as many members of the cast as possible. Michael,… READ MORE
March 19th, 2009 | Posted in General
By the time this blog entry gets posted, I should be sitting in the pre-op area waiting to get surgery to repair one of my left rotator cuff tendons. The decision to get the surgery did not come lightly. I actually already have a decent tear in the same tendon in my right shoulder. That injury happened about 22 years ago. I was weightlifting in the basement of our apartment complex with a couple of roommates in Minneapolis. during the slow downward movement of a barbell behind-the-neck press, I felt a searing pain in my right shoulder and I dropped the weights as my shoulder… READ MORE
March 18th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I came across a recent picture of one of my favorite musicians from back in high school in an entertainment magazine the other day. The guy doesn’t look much different than he did in the 80’s, but I would have said he looked 25 years older than he was twenty five years ago… so maybe he just caught up to his features. I couldn’t resist drawing Geddy Lee, bassist and lead singer of Rush. I forgot to mention that Rush is still one of my favorite bands. Moving Pictures is one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and I have seen them in… READ MORE
March 17th, 2009 | Posted in News
Art by Sean Parks The 63rd Annual National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Awards weekend is shaping up for this spring. The event will be held in Los Angeles on May 22nd-24th at the Renaissaince Hollywood Hotel. Guest speakers include “In The Bleachers” cartoonist Steve Moore, animator Eric Goldberg, movie poster illustrator Drew Struzan and Pulitzer prize winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez. The Reuben Awards Master of Ceremonies will be another Pulitzer prize winning editorial cartoonist named Mike… Mike Luchovich. As mentioned before, the finalists for “Cartonnist of the Year” are¬¨‚Ć Dave Coverly (“Speedbump”), Stephan Pastis (“Pearls Before Swine”) and Dan Piraro (“Bizarro”). The NCS just released… READ MORE
