Tom's Mad Blog
October 26th, 2006 | Posted in General
It seems like ever since I was in art school, the rumors of the death of commercial illustration as a career and a viable market have been numerous and unending. They still are. Organizations like the Illustrators Partnership and the Graphic Artists Guild have been rallying against various issues that have adversely affected the ability of illustrators to make a living and/or have hurt the illustration market in general. Some things are inevitable and beyond anyone’s control, and some are being thrust upon illustrators and their market… and some are us shooting ourselves in the foot. Even as early as 20 years ago, when I… READ MORE
October 25th, 2006 | Posted in General
In honor of Halloween’s approach, I thought I’d share this story. When ever we have guests at the house they are inevitably shown into my studio for a look around. It’s full of fun and cool stuff, so there’s a lot to look at. The one object that gets their attention initially is always the same, however. No, it’s not the original Al Hirschfeld, nor the original Mort Drucker. It’s not the original Sebastian Krüger, either… not the Twins bobbleheads, or the shelves of old Batman toys, or even the Shakespeare bust with the flip-up head. It’s always: “Where did you get that Batman statue?!”… READ MORE
October 24th, 2006 | Posted in On the Drawing Board
Very busy with several jobs right now but here are the pencil roughs for two in the works: Workplace poster job: Yet another one of these, but they are always fun and the Marlin Co. is a great client. I am unhappy with the figure on the left handing the deposit slip to the teller… he is very awkward and stiff looking. I’ll have to play with that one. Personal commission: This is the President of the Minneapolis Club, who is retiring this year. This is technically a print job for his “retirement brochure” (whatever that is), but he wants the original so it’s more… READ MORE
October 23rd, 2006 | Posted in General
I know… I’m too busy to blog today. I had to post this link to a post on the outstanding blog of writer Mark Evanier. I am envious he was actually on hand Saturday evening at the Comic Art Professional Society‘s dinner honoring Jack Davis, which was the subject of this post of mine last week. I wish I could have been there. Follow the first link above to read Mark’s report on the evening. I knew about the secret plans to also honor Sergio, as CAPS president Chad Frye quietly asked for artists to do their version of Groo for a book to be… READ MORE
October 23rd, 2006 | Posted in General
Vacation over… READ MORE
October 22nd, 2006 | Posted in General
Links to this have been floating around the internet for a while, but I thought it worth another here. This is a brief (7 plus minute) video showing a 99 year old Al Hirschfeld drawing and inking a caricature of Paul Newman from the Broadway play “Our Town”. Hirschfeld literally worked right up to the time of his death just a few months after this video was shot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC1t2DmCeAU I think it’s fascinating watching his scratchy and short-stroked drawing and inking style. For something that ends up reproducing so elegant and with such distinct and clean-looking lines, it’s beginnings and execution are remarkably messy feeling.… READ MORE
October 22nd, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: What is your favorite movie parody? What is the favorite movie parody you have drawn? A. The mailbag questions have begun to flow again! I will assume the first part of your question is my favorite movie parody ever, whether I worked on it or not. I have not read every one MAD has ever published, but I have read a lot of them, and I think my favorite is “The Oddfather”, art by Mort Drucker and written by Larry Siegel. I know that sounds like an obvious answer, but I can’t help it. First, “The Godfather” is one of the greatest movies ever… READ MORE
October 21st, 2006 | Posted in General
I’m sitting on the airplane back to Minnesota with Anna and our four kids… another annual trip to Orlando in the books. I think I may have worn holes in my sneakers. I need a vacation from my vacation. I’ve been working in the theme park business for over 20 years, in Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks, and have visited parks like Sea World and Universal Studios many times with my family over the past 15 years. For the last decade, our timeshare in Orlando has brought us to sunny central Florida and it’s plethora of theme parks for a week of rides, countless… READ MORE
