Tom's Mad Blog
March 14th, 2009 | Posted in General
A few web only features and parodies are beginning to appear on MAD‘s website, including this little gem: Click image to see a larger version on the MAD website And this one: Click image to see a larger version on the MAD website There are a several more parody ads and magazine posters on the website as well, including the Phelps “High Times” cover and the Madoff movie poster “Scumbag Billionaire” I showed on the site before. A sign of the future? Maybe. I don’t know exactly what the plans are for the website, but with 3 months between issues there is a lot of… READ MORE
March 13th, 2009 | Posted in News
“Who Wants to be a Millionaire” is over and my pal Jim Batts took them for a cool quarter of a million bucks! Congratulations Jim! READ MORE
March 13th, 2009 | Posted in Wall of Shame
I’m very busy right now opening up a new aibrush tattoo/caricature location at Mall of Amrica’s “Nick Universe” theme park. However I got this in the mail yesterday which was a fun surprise: Some time back I was contacted by one of the producers of the TV show “Samantha Who?” about buying some of the original art from MAD‘s parody of the show. He bought the original splash page from me. Usually when that happens I get an oversized print of the splash and have some of the people I drew sign it to put on my “Wall of Shame“. Unfortunately that wasn’t possible this… READ MORE
March 12th, 2009 | Posted in News
Tune in and see! Way back in October last year I sat dutifully by the telephone waiting to get a call from Meredith Vieira just in case my longtime friend and fellow caricaturist/cartoonist Jim Batts needed me as a phone a friend when he was on “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?“. Jim appeared on the movie trivia themed week of the show. Asking me to answer a movie trivia question that stumps Jim is a little like asking a 5th grader to solve a physics problem that Stephen Hawking couldn’t handle. Basically I was Jim’s “Harry Potter” ringer, since he knew my family and… READ MORE
March 11th, 2009 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This week’s sketch is of former Tonight Show host Jay Leno. I figured since I did Letterman last week I’d do Leno this week, then maybe I’ll keep to the theme with other late night talk show hosts. Or not… READ MORE
March 10th, 2009 | Posted in News
Al Feldstein served as the editor of MAD Magazine for almost 30 years, having taken over after Harvey Kurtzman left due to differences with Bill Gaines. Kurtzman took most of MAD‘s artists with him to do a humor magazine called “Trump!” for Hugh Hefner, leaving Feldstein with the unenviable task of rebuilding MAD almost from scratch. The rest, as they say, is history. Feldstein retired from MAD in 1984. Recently Al’s health has taken a wrong turn. On February 24th he was hospitalized for some tests after blacking out while at home on his ranch. Turns out he has heart problems that require bypass open… READ MORE
March 9th, 2009 | Posted in General
Disclaimer: Spoilers clearly marked, and there aren’t many… From “Botchmen” in MAD #499 The “Watchmen” and I go way back. I can’t credit it as the reason I got interested in comic books again. That distinction belongs to Frank Miller‘s “The Dark Knight Returns“. However I can say that, even more than Miller’s masterwork, “Watchmen” showed me that comics can be as literarily relevant as any novel. I was given my first copy as a gift for being a groomsman in my friend and fellow cartoonist Mark Engblom‘s wedding. Having not read it before, I remember Mark’s general comments about it to me being the… READ MORE
March 8th, 2009 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I have a lot of trouble with facial hair AND head hair! I seem to freeze up when someone sits with 5 o’clock shadow beard or shaved head. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A: That question is difficult to answer because, like so many “how do I draw this…” inquiries, the answer is so dependent on the style of drawing. Someone with a more illustrative, involved style of drawing could not use the same techniques as someone who does a very cartoony style, or one that does a more graphic style. Therefore when answering such questions I invariably describe how I would do… READ MORE
