Tom's Mad Blog
June 9th, 2007 | Posted in General
This month a local magazine did a story on me and my family for their summer issue. It seems odd that a small, suburban town like Burnsville, MN would have it’s own (and extremely professional) glossy magazine. It turns out many suburban towns have similar publications… the publisher that produces Burnsville Magazine does other magazines for several other Twin Citie’s suburbs like Woodbury and Eden Prairie. They are very well done, but likley too small a budget to be a potential client for a freelance illustrator. The story is several pages and describes my work, my background and my family, including a little about my… READ MORE
June 8th, 2007 | Posted in MAD Magazine
MAD is always offering premiums (i.e. toys or other collectibles) to entice new subscribers. In the past that’s meant Alfred keycahins, MAD decks of cards, pins and other goodies. Right now they are offering a unique and pretty cool premium with a new subscription… a mint copy of MAD # 166, the cover of which is shown above. This issue has a sorted and lurid history. According to Franks Jacob‘s book MAD: Cover to Cover: “What started as an in-house joke, the premise for this cover was determined “usable”. The tag line for this “finger cover” originally read: “MAD- Always Number One in Good Taste!”… READ MORE
June 7th, 2007 | Posted in General
Three of the TV shows I watch regularly… okay the only TV shows I watch regularly… have or are wrapping up for the season. I was so busy in the week leading up to my Orlando trip I was unable to watch the season finales of “Heroes” or “Lost” until well after the airdates, but I did get to see them eventually. “The Sopranos” is having it’s grand series finale on Sunday. Here are some thoughts on the shows: SPOILERS AHEAD!! Heroes- I have to say I was a little disappointed in the finale. I thought it was all building up to a knock down-drag… READ MORE
June 6th, 2007 | Posted in MAD Magazine
In comic book shops today and on newsstands on Tuesday, June 12th: MAD # 479 (July 2007) Cover (Mark Frederickson) The Fundalini Pages (Charles Akins, Matthew A. Cohen, Russ Cooper, Dick DeBartolo, Desmond Devlin, Garth Gerhart, Jeff Kruse, Scott Maiko, Noel Rappin, Kiernan P. Schmitt, Sam Sisco, Ty Templeton, Rick Tulka) Things Overheard at the Premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean 3” (Jacob Lambert, Hermann Mejia) Rejected Army Recruitment Posters (Jacob Lambert, Irving Schild) Startling Similarities Between Modern Celebrities and Ancient Artifacts (Chari Pere) Planet TAD!!!!! (Tim Carvell, Brian Durniak) MAD’s Touchy-Feely Wrestlemania Outtakes (Uncredited) A MAD Look at Global Warming (Sergio Aragon?¬©s) iMus- A… READ MORE
June 5th, 2007 | Posted in General
Every once and a while you come across something in the news that makes you shake your head and wonder “is society is really that bad off?”. I was checking the news at CNN.com the other day and one of the ‘quick link’ main news items was a blurb about a new record in a hot dog eating contest. Yes, a hot dog eating contest. The link was to this ‘news’ (and I use the term loosely) story on Sports Illustrated‘s website detailing the triumph of Joey “Jaws” Chestnut at the Southwest Regional Hot Dog Eating Championship at the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe, AZ,… READ MORE
June 4th, 2007 | Posted in General
Frame from one of three Apple iPhone ads Apple released ads this weekend with the official release date of the iPhone: June 29th. You can see all three ads online here. It’s been unofficially said that most AT&T store will have only 40 or less iPhones on the first day. Jobs was quoted as saying not to come to an Apple store to buy one, as it will be chaos. Apple has not lost it’s touch with designing intuitive, innovative and elegant hardware. It’s too bad the initial roll out will make it so hard for anyone to actually get one, and that it’s price… READ MORE
June 3rd, 2007 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: A friend of mine who does the party caricatures for a living told me “zones out” a lot while drawing a big crowd. He said that he gets in a rythm of drawing where he’s so comfortable and routine he goes on automatic pilot to the point where he’s actually floated above himself watching himself draw and entertain for a couple subjects. My friend says it happens almost every gig. Sometimes its out of boredom too. Its very surreal. He said watching himself draw and talk was freaky. He doesn’t do drugs and has a couple beers to unwind only after the gig. Have… READ MORE
June 2nd, 2007 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Never one to rest on their laurels when a fatter wallet is more comfortable to rest on, MAD puts out collections in book form now and again. Some are “themed”, like the terrific MAD about the Mob and MAD about Superheroes, and some are compilations of decades like MAD about the 70’s. For a while there I was very unlucky about not being included in these collections. MAD about the Mob, a collection of features about gangsters, was ending production just as my two page “MAD look Behind the Scenes of the Sopranos” was published. Likewise my “Spider-Sham” parody missed MAD about Superheroes by a… READ MORE
