Tom's Mad Blog
August 25th, 2025 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Time again for another entry into the seemingly never ending trek through my work at MAD Magazine. In this episode we look at what was my fifth cover for MAD… one featuring Batman no less! The gag for this one was written by Desmond Devlin. The gag for this one is a little hard to “get”, especially if you don’t know what gargoyles on gothic buildings are actually for. The term “Gargoyle” comes from the French term gargouille, composed of the root garg (a form of gurg)– a word meant to imitate the sound of water (i.e. gurgling) and the Old French word goule meaning… READ MORE
August 20th, 2025 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Here’s another in our series of classic comedians, the incomparable Carol Burnett! READ MORE
August 18th, 2025 | Posted in General
Don’t look now, but it’s another step on the road that was my work with MAD Magazine. This week we take a peek at the cover of MAD #20, the origins of which are a good lesson in professionalism as an illustrator. This was also the 150th issue featuring some of my work in it. As I’ve discussed in the last couple of “Tom’s MADness” episodes, MAD had essentially become a publication of reprinted material at this time. Issues featured only a new cover, a new Johnny Sampson “Fold In” and the very occasional new piece inside that was for some special reason or event.… READ MORE
August 13th, 2025 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
When it comes to my “Sketch o’the Week” I try not to do the same person more than once. There have been a few exceptions to this, mostly doing actors in different movie roles where they have a very different “presence” and therefore it’s a challenge to capture and exaggerate the differences. That said sometimes I just have to draw someone again, and as I am just starting my “Classic Comedians” series I cannot resist drawing the late, vey great Richard Pryor again. Here’s one I did a few years ago: READ MORE
August 11th, 2025 | Posted in General
Here we go with another of the stumbling steps along the path that is the look back at my work for MAD Magazine! This week we have a look at a kinda-sorta two pager for MAD #19, June 2021, written by Benjamin LeClear. Benjamin was (and still is) the senior manager and archivist of the DC Comics Library. After MAD #15 came out (see last episode), it really did look like it was over for me and the magazine. For the first time in 12 years, I had no assignment for the next issue. Or the next. Or the next. In fact is was nearly… READ MORE
August 6th, 2025 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
We have to pause our “Classic Comedians” series to do a tribute caricature to the recently passed “Godfather of Heavy Metal”, Ozzy Osbourne! I was a serious metalhead in high school. In fact I was once briefly suspended from La Crescent High after an air band competition in which our band, “Eddie and the Back Doors” hid and ignited banned pyrotechnics during our set, scorching the ceiling of the cafeteria, filling the place with smoke, and causing the fire department to be called in. Our roadie Rob was a little overzealous with the flash powder. He graduated valedictorian of our class, by the way. The… READ MORE
August 4th, 2025 | Posted in MAD Magazine
We’ve reached another milestone in our ongoing trek looking back at my career with MAD, but this is one of the depressing ones. I both wrote and drew this two pager for the ongoing feature “The Wisenheim Museum” for MAD #15, Aug 2020. This piece was significant for me for several reasons. It was the first piece I ever both drew AND wrote for the magazine. I’d do one more a few years later (another remembrance sort of piece), but at the time this was a first for me. It came about when following the passing of the great Mort Drucker in April of 2020, MAD… READ MORE
July 30th, 2025 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
We continue our new “Classic Comedians” series with one of the greatest of all stand up comics, the late George Carlin! Any list of the top 10 stand up comics of all time that does not feature Carlin (and frankly in the top three) is not a legitimate list. He is constantly cited as one of the most influential comedians to ever pick up the mic. He was not only hilarious, but his humor addressed the human condition and social issues with razor sharp insight and understanding. He didn’t just make people laugh, he made them think. READ MORE
