Tom's Mad Blog
July 12th, 2007 | Posted in MAD Magazine
In comic book shops today and on newsstands on Tuesday, July 17th: MAD # 480 (August 2007) Cover (James Bennett) The Fundalini Pages (Scott Bricher, John Caldwell, Paul Coker, John Crowther, Dick DeBartolo, Jeff Kruse, Jacob Lambert, Leonardo Rodriguez, Steve Rosso, Irving Schild, Kiernan P. Schmitt, Eric Scott, Bob Staake, Jack Syracuse, Rick Tulka) Harry Plodder and the Torture of the Fanbase (Desmond Devlin, Tom Richmond) Things to Consider Before Accepting a Summer Job (Teresa Burns Parkhurst) Monroe and… Gone Internet Phishin’ (Tony Barbieri/Tom Fowler) If Chickens Could Time Travel (John Caldwell) Mad Has a Gay Old Time with Outtakes from I Now Pronounce you… READ MORE
July 11th, 2007 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time to work up a real “Sketch O’The Week”, so here’s something a little different. This is a very rough sketch for a park sample of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson from the new Harry Potter movie. I stole the gag from an SNL skit. I didn’t finish it because compositionally it’s too out of whack. The drawing is too left-side heavy. I tried to compensate with the window behind them, but that won’t do the job. It’ll need to be reworked if I want to finish it. I was also thinking about having sparks shooting… READ MORE
July 10th, 2007 | Posted in General
Funny News!- One of my frequent daily stops on the internet is CNN.com, where I get my daily news ( I still read the newspapers, that is a ritual). Anyone who frequents CNN.com will see they recently revamped their site. It’s now drab and boring… nice work, CNN. They did add an interesting new feature, though. Under their “More News” links at the bottom of the main page they have a new category among the “Health”, “Tech”, Politics” and such. It’s called “Funny News“. In it are links to strange and bizarre stories that are too weird for the main news. Today the “Funny News”… READ MORE
July 9th, 2007 | Posted in General
It’s no secret I am a big Stephen King fan. I could never quite figure out why he was so often panned by critics. Sure, his stories were sensational and based on horror and paranormal subjects… but he brought his characters to life in such a way that the books often left me saddened that these were not real people that were going to continue to lead their lives (those that lived, anyway) once the back of the dust jacket showed me it’s inevitable ugly face. His dialog never seemed contrived and I could count on several places in each book that would surprise me… READ MORE
July 8th, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What is the best way to get your work registered or how does one get a copyright? I’m sure a lot of work can be misused by someone when your cartoons are on the web. And what is the best method to put a water mark on your cartoons? A: I’ve posted some news about the Orphan Works legislation that some politicians are trying to push through that would seriously undermine the 30 year old copyright laws that the creators of artistic works currently enjoy, so visit a few of those posts for more info on that. Registering your work may become mandatory if… READ MORE
July 7th, 2007 | Posted in General
My youngest daughter The Effervescent Gabrielle pointed out to me last night that today’s date is 07-07-07, which is a ‘lucky day’. Since she’s already a lucky person, she thought I should take her up to the convenience store at 7:00 am today and have her buy a lottery ticket. She’s thirteen, this is summer and none of my kids have seen the awake side of about 10:00 am in a month. Somehow I think she’d have reconsidered how lucky today is if I really had woken her up at 7:00. Personally I’m not feeling real lucky. I’m paying the price for being a business… READ MORE
July 6th, 2007 | Posted in General
I did the above image as part of a new collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes stories on audiobook, performed by the incomparable David Ian Davies. The new collection will feature David’s unabridged readings of the entire Conan Doyle “canon” of 56 short stories and 4 novels. I’m a big fan of David’s work and am delighted to both participate with a little artwork and for playing a small part in the collection’s origins. As I have said many times here, I listen to a lot of audiobooks when I am working in the studio. As I have also said before, I need… READ MORE
July 5th, 2007 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Busier than usual right now. I have a few jobs already “In the Can” as they say in the business, and several more on the board, including two more for MAD, one for Scholastic, the Audible job and an image for the NCS Foundation. Whew. Most I cannot share until publication, but this client doesn’t mind my sharing the process… another of those poster jobs: Initial Pencil Sketch Finished Inks Final Art- Click for a closer look READ MORE
