Tom's Mad Blog
October 12th, 2006 | Posted in General
Ah’d ratha be golfin’ Any conversation about the greatest and most influential cartoonists of the last half century must, at some point, include the name Jack Davis. From the notorious E.C. horror comics of the 1950’s to MAD Magazine to TIME and TV Guide covers, record covers, movie posters, advertising, animation design and even US postage stamps, Davis’s art has entertained, amazed and inspired generations. On Oct. 21st the Comic Art Professional Society will be honoring the legendary master cartoonist with a special award for lifetime achievement. I would be hard pressed to think of a more worthy recipient. John Burton “Jack” Davis Jr. was… READ MORE
October 11th, 2006 | Posted in General
On Sept. 23rd I wrote this post about the passing one year earlier of my friend and mentor, caricaturist and illustrator Gary Fasen. A few weeks ago a fellow caricaturist and former Gary disciple Paul Roustan contacted me about a documentary he was putting together about Gary’s life and work. He had me tape some comments on Gary and send them to him for inclusion. Paul did a really outstanding job on the video, which features many of the artists Gary influenced personally and professionally. The documentary turned out great and he has uploaded it to YouTube. It’s 30 minutes, but will give anyone interested… READ MORE
October 11th, 2006 | Posted in General
The last of this year’s NCS North Central Chapter meeting took place at a chapter brunch at my house. We had several members still in town over, and Dave Phipps did his radio show live from my studio. As usual my wife Anna went all out and made enough food to feed three times the people who attended. It was all delicious, of course. Michael Jantze hangs out in the foyer Michael and I in the Studio Iowa cartoonist Bucky Jones and St. Cloud’s Dave Phipps Dave prepares for his radio show In addition to being a full time freelance cartoonist, Dave does a one… READ MORE
October 10th, 2006 | Posted in General
It was a full day of events for the North Central Chapter on Saturday. We started by attending the FallCon comic book convention, organized by the Midwest Comic Book Association. The MCBA crew were enthusiastic about our appearance there, and set aside a lot of table space for chapter attendees. They were very hospitable and we were welcomed with open arms and a free taco bar. Dave Phipps and Michael Jantze man the tables at FallCon Michael signs a book for a fan Cedric Hohnstadt does a sketch for another fan I’m thinking about the free taco bar while Dave thinks I am listening to… READ MORE
October 9th, 2006 | Posted in General
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design were gracious hosts for the cartoon art show that opened last Friday, and coincided with our NCC meeting this weekend. Several of the cartoonists attending the meeting were on hand Friday for the opening reception. The space was great and the presentation terrific. MCAD and in particular Kristin Makholm, the MCAD Director of Gallery and Exhibition Programs really knocked themselves out to corral this stack of original cartoon art from all over central USA and turn it into a classy looking show (as classy as you can get with anything from MAD included). Here are some pictures of… READ MORE
October 8th, 2006 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I was wondering if you’d ever post a step by step of your live caricature technique. What you look for to get a likeness, and what your thinking is to make it look cartoony as opposed to realistic. A: While I plan on doing another tutorial or two on the blog in the near future, I am afraid I won’t be doing one on the live caricature technique, or certainly not one that in depth. The reason being that I have a book in the works on that particular subject. While it is still at least a year away from publication I don’t want… READ MORE
October 7th, 2006 | Posted in General
I had all intentions of posting pictures today from last night’s gala show opening at MCAD. “eyeToons: The Work of the North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society” did indeed open and it is a small but very well put together show. Unfortunatley I left my camera in my car and one of our members volunteered to take pictures for me and e-mail them… but I didn’t get them last night as I had wanted. So, today I will get them and on Monday we’ll have a monster entry about the show opening, today’s chapter appearance at the FallCon comic book convention and our… READ MORE
October 6th, 2006 | Posted in General
Back in July I wrote this post about the annual meeting of my chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, which is taking place here in Minneapolis/St. Paul. St. Cloud cartoonist David Phipps, local Twin Cities illustrator Cedric Hohnstadt and I did the on location organizing for the event. The turnout of members is disappointingly small, but those of us that will be participating are in for a great program. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design really got on board with the meeting, hosting not only our main speakers but a 2 week plus gallery exhibit of original cartoons and humorous illustration. Most of the… READ MORE
