General
July 17th, 2008 | Posted in General
From an old sketch o’the week… I was reading CNN the other day and ran across this article entitled “Dealing with Jerks at your Gym”. It was an accurate portrayal of what big fitness centers are like… both in the actual problems they have and in the way things that should not be problems become so because of the stupidity and selfishness of the human race. I used to belong to a big club in Eagan, Minnesota called Lifetime Fitness. That’s where I really got back into weightlifting and I worked out there for about 5 years before I’d had enough and moved on to… READ MORE
July 11th, 2008 | Posted in General
A Mort Drucker “Bob Hope” cover As I wrote about on Monday, I had occasion to have a pleasant lunch with writer Mark Evanier on Sunday, and among other things we discussed some MAD Magazine history. Mark is quite an expert on the history of comics and MAD, and as always told me a number of things I didn’t know. We got on the subject of classic MAD artists, including the great Mort Drucker. Mark asked me if I knew who Owen Fitzgerald was. I was chagrined to say I did not. Fitzgerald was apparently one of those comic book and animation artists who “fell… READ MORE
July 7th, 2008 | Posted in General
Mark dispensing wisdom on this panel discussion An older picture of Mark, Sergio and me at an L.A. convention Many has been the time I have linked to, referred to and/or sung the praises of Mark Evanier‘s News From Me blog. Mark is one of the best writers working in comics, especially on the humorous side, today. Imagine my surprise when I visited his blog the other day to discover he was currently acting as the guest of honor at a sci fi/fantasy convention taking place about 15 miles from my house in Bloomington, MN!! What, no phone call?? In defense of Mark, Minneosta is… READ MORE
July 5th, 2008 | Posted in General
Don “Mr. Crayola” Marco has apparently been getting a lot of internet “press” in the last two years mainly from sharing via e-mail. My friend and fellow cartoonist Ken Alvine of Sioux Falls, SD sent me an e-mail about this artist because he was born here in my homestate. I do not know where the following bio came from: Don Marco was born in Northern Minnesota in the late 1920’s.??ᬨ‚Ć His interest in art was evident even before starting school.??ᬨ‚Ć As a young adult in the Army Air Corp, he began his life’s career in Air Traffic Control, which continued until his retirement from Honolulu… READ MORE
July 4th, 2008 | Posted in General
This is the closest thing I seem to have to a Fourth of July image… at least it’s a parade! Have a great and safe holiday, America! READ MORE
July 1st, 2008 | Posted in General
Ugh. Currently paying the price for my time away from the studio… and I even spent a good part of my time away WORKING!! READ MORE
June 29th, 2008 | Posted in General
Q: I read your recent posts about Will Elder and Bill Gaines, and how you never got to meet them. What MAD legends have you met, and who do you still want to meet? A: I want to meet everybody of course, be they “legends” or just your run of the mill members of the “Usual Gang of Idiots”. Meeting the “legends” is unfortunately becoming a little more urgent a goal. Sadly a few of the early artists and writers from MAD have passed away. That’s not surprising… MAD‘s 500th issue will be on newsstands in February of next year, which also marks MAD‘s 57th… READ MORE
June 28th, 2008 | Posted in General
Just a short post today as we are travellng back home after our short but fun trip to NYC. Yesterday we spent in Manhattan, visiting the MAD offices, the Frick Museum, walking about the city and having a nice dinner. Stopping by the MAD offices is almost a must of course. When you work and communicate all the time with people but never see them there is a certain disjointed feeling, so whenever I come to NYC I always pop my head into the office to say hello. The lobby at the MAD Offices Two usual idiots Prints of some of the famous works of… READ MORE
