MAD Magazine
September 5th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Now that the inks are all done, erased and cleaned up, it’s computer time! First the pages need to be scanned in sections, then placed together to make a complete page. This is roughly as much fun as getting poked in the eye by a sharp instrument, but it is what it is. I invested in a very large scanner to simplify my life and cut down on popping veins in my forehead. I use a Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL (Epson Expression GT 20000), which is a flatbed with a 12?x17? scanning area. I use their ScanWizard Pro software and scan directly into Photoshop.¬¨‚Ć Even so,… READ MORE
September 4th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Now that the pencils are finished, it’s time for the inking. This has always been the toughest part for me. I don’t know too many comic artists who ever feel their inked work is as effective as their pencils are, and you can count me among them. No matter how much I’ve done it, I always begin an inking job with trepidation and a certain amount of nervousness. Over the years I’ve learned to trust myself a bit more, but I still wouldn’t say it’s easy. To get started, I take out a #3 (.80) Rapidiograph pen and rule the balloons and tails, bleed and… READ MORE
September 3rd, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Once the pencil roughs are approved with the gang at MAD, I can move on to the final pencils. This is the stage where most of the hard work occurs. The first thing I do is transfer the roughs on to the final boards. I do this by blowing up my scans of the roughs to 200% of original size, and then printing them off on 11???17 paper. In the case of a splash, I have to use the 13???19 paper and print the image in quarters, then trim and tape them together. With the story pages, a typical row of panels fits an 11???17… READ MORE
September 2nd, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
The next step in a MAD job is the package I get from the art department. In it is a copy of the script, printouts of the layouts and the reference materials they have gathered and the boards. The boards large pieces of Strathmore bristol with all the pages, panel borders and text boxes drawn in pencil. These are usually done by longtime MAD production guru Lenny “The Beard” Brenner (I get nothing from MAD other than the emailed script and layout images these days. I layout my own boards with the text boxes etc. This deal has been getting more and more onesided over… READ MORE
September 1st, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
This week I am in lock down, do-or-die, 24-7, no foolin’ Deadline Demon mode trying to finish an eight (that’s right EIGHT page parody) for MAD by the weekend. No time for anything else. So… Welcome to flashback week! About eight years ago I posted this little walk through of a typical job for MAD entitled “Diary of a MAD Job”. I thought I would repost it this week. It’s a little dated (I have annotated these with updated comments) but most of the process is the same. Diary of a MAD Job Part 1: Whenever I meet someone who knows that I do work… READ MORE
August 20th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Betcha didn’t know that back in 2002 MAD produced a Sunday only comic strip version of Spy vs. Spy, which was syndicated by Tribune Media Services (Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Broom-Hilda, etc). Written by Don “Duck” Edwing and drawn by Dave Manak, the strip had a run of 39 weeks… guess the humor just didn’t translate well to the Garfield crowd. Anyway since April MAD has been posting these Sunday comics every Wednesday… I guess because they had something better to do on Sundays. This week was #22, and you can check them all out here. Check into MAD‘s website every Wednesday for another Spy… READ MORE
August 12th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
As promised, here’s a sneak peek at my art from the Dick DeBartolo scribed parody of “Shark Tank” in the latest issue of MAD (clicky any to embiggen…): If you are familiar with the show, it’s a reality series where hopeful entrepreneurs pitch product ideas to a panel of rich business people, who then either reject them or bid on investing in a portion of their concept. Most of the time the entrepreneurs are inventors of some process or idea, thus the scene with lots of inventors both dead and alive (mostly dead). Dick also wanted to use a couple of people he works with… READ MORE
July 18th, 2014 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Paste Magazine has a terrific article on the incomparable Al Jaffee and the MAD feature he created and made famous… the “Fold-In”. Al talks about the thinking behind his favorite Fold-Ins from the last five decades. Go check it out. Incidentally, Al still does the Fold-In every issue. He still hand delivers the art to the MAD offices. He’s 93. READ MORE
