Tom's Mad Blog
October 15th, 2007 | Posted in Freelancing
Over the years I’ve picked up a lot of tips and advice from artists I greatly respect about the best way to make a living freelancing. While there are differing opinions about a few concepts and approaches, most of the successful freelancers I’ve talked to tend to agree about the fundamentals like developing strong relationships and communication with clients, creating a reputation as a reliable, hard worker who meets deadlines and fulfills promises and doing solid work. One concept that does see a fair amount of debate is whether or not a freelance illustrator should stick to a single style and/or specialty or develop several… READ MORE
October 14th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I’m wondering if you can recall which issue of MAD ( either by number or cover subject ) you first read. Which was the first artist that captured your interest? I think I can recall my first MAD. A: Yes, I clearly remember my first look at MAD. I was in 5th grade, living in a small town in Wisconsin. A friend of mine from school and I used to get together and draw comics and such over at his house. He had a very liberal single mom who worked a lot, so he was left to his own devices quite often, and we… READ MORE
October 13th, 2007 | Posted in General
I won’t be surfing but I may be spotting some giant, four fingered mice while visiting Disney World for a week with The Lovely Anna and the kids. We fly out today. Thanks to the miracle of advance posting the blog will not miss a beat. Today, however, is one of those cheap posts that just have links to several interesting and worthwhile stops when surfing the web. Apple iPods are Supposed to “Rock”, but this is Ridiculous Dept.- I’m still not sure this isn’t a joke, but the Texas Star-Telegram reported that little Regan Ritter got a big surprise for her 14th birthday… a… READ MORE
October 12th, 2007 | Posted in General
Must work??ᬨ‚Ć must work must work must work must work must work must work must work must work must work must work…. READ MORE
October 11th, 2007 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Whenever I appear at a comic book convention, there is one thing I can always count on happening, and I’m not talking about seeing fat, sweaty guys in spandex superhero suits… It never fails that I end up defending MAD‘s taking on real ads in the magazine back in 2001 with some irate attendee. Sometimes they seem to really take this personally… like the fact that there are ads in MAD is an affront to their personal liberty. Usually the person I have the debate with is an old hippy or codger, and they seem very offended that MAD has “knuckled under to The Man”.… READ MORE
October 10th, 2007 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Number One Son Thomas is doing so well in his first year of middle school that last week he got a reward… a copy of Halo 3 for his Xbox 360. He loves playing those chase and shoot games. A few days ago he came into my studio and asked if I would draw a picture of Halo’s “Master Chief” for the cover of his school organizer. The sketch above is the result. Loosely based on the cover of Halo 2, but with some creative fudging of the armor. READ MORE
October 9th, 2007 | Posted in News
I mentioned a week or so ago about stopping in at the Charles M. Schulz Museum on our trip to the Sonoma County area of California and spending some time with Jeanne Schulz and other friends, and of course enjoying the exhibits. I read this article yesterday in my local paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune (reprinted from the New York Times), concerning the release of a new biography of Charles Schulz by David Michaelis: ‘Peanuts’ creator cold, tormented, biography says The article relates how the extended Schulz family is very unhappy about the book, which paints Schulz as “a depressed, cold and bitter man who… READ MORE
October 8th, 2007 | Posted in General
I rarely go to comic book conventions, being that MAD doesn’t really fit in to the comic book world. Yes, it’s full of cartooning, but it’s a little like the red-headed stepchild in that environment. There are certain factions of exhibitors and attendees at these conventions. You have the cape and tights crowd, that go primarily for the mainstream superhero genre comics, and the majority of them don’t have any time for the ‘funny books’ or a lot of the underground type stuff. Then you have the kind of La Bohemme crowd, most of whom are creators of various underground or avant garde comics with… READ MORE
