Tom’s MADness!
October 25th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
It’s Monday… AGAIN?!? Seems like this happens every single week! Well, it’s once again time for another pulse-pounding episode in our chronological crawl through my work at MAD Magazine. Today we take a look at MAD’s spoof of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”, written by MAD’s MADdest Writer Dick Debartolo and first appearing in MAD 460, December 2005. I remember this splash page being a very tough one to “solve”, meaning to figure out how to lay it out with the word boxes working with the characters speaking them all within a single environment. The show always begins with the designers and contractors in their big… READ MORE
October 18th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Looks like it’s Monday AGAIN, so time for another naustiating look back at my work for MAD Magazine! This week’s episode is a holly, jolly look at the holiday follies that were the December movies of 2005. “MAD’s Inside Scoop on This Year’s Stupidest Holiday Movies” was written by Desmond Devlin and Scott Maiko, and first appeared in MAD #459, Nov 2005. The opening page with the “King Kong” movie gags was just reprinted in MAD #20 a few months ago. I recently read that “King Kong” star Adrian Brody turned down a role he was offered in “The Lord of the Rings” which he… READ MORE
September 27th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
It’s time for another pitstop on the pot-hole riddled road that is my work for MAD Magazine. This spoof of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” was my 13th TV show parody for MAD. It was also my second collaboration with MAD editor Dave Croatto as writer… and my last with Dave. I guess he thought enough was enough. This feature appeared in MAD #456, Aug 2005. This is unusual but I have scans of the final pencils of this job as opposed to the “roughs” I usually save. Ordinarily I would do rough sketches of the pages on drawing paper or later digital done at print… READ MORE
September 20th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Holy Monday, Batman! It’s another episode of our chronological crawl through my twenty years of work at MAD Magazine. Today we have a look at another superhero movie spoof, “Battyman Begone” written by my CLAPTRAP cohort Desmond Devlin and first appearing in MAD #455, July 2005. As a huge Batman fan, this job was a genuine thrill to do. Batman was what got me hooked on comics and cartooning back when I was a little kid. I watched the reruns of the Adam West TV show in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and was obsessed with the character. My parents scoured garage sales for… READ MORE
September 13th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
You don’t have to be a psychic to know that today is Monday, and it’s time for another look back at my work for MAD Magazine. Today we part the mists of the paranormal with a look at MAD‘s spoof of the TV show “Medium”, first appearing in MAD #454, June 2005, written by Dick DeBartolo. The show starred Patricia Arquette, Jake Webber and Miguel Sandoval. I’ve always like this splash page. I had a lot of fun with the lighting using two opposing light sources of very different colors. I also liked how the sleeping dog turned out. Patricia Arquette’s feet?… not so much. Take a look at the intro… READ MORE
August 30th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42… do you remember the significance of these mystery numbers from the mid-late 2000’s hit TV series “LOST”? No? That’s okay, neither does anyone else. No doubt not too many people remember the MAD parody either, but MAD‘s Maddest writer Dick Debartolo and I spoofed the show in MAD #453, May 2005. I recall this splash page being particularly fun to do. Not only are all the word boxes jumbled about as opposed to the strict horizontal layout that MAD usually employs, but showing the cast in mid-crash of the plane was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately in… READ MORE
August 23rd, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
It’s Monday! That means it’s time to deal out another look back at my work for MAD Magazine, and this hand is definitely a 7-2 off suit. Today we have a look at “A MAD Peek Behind the Scenes at Celebrity Poker Showdown”, which took not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR people to write… Desmond Devlin, Steve Rosso, John Caldwell and David Shayne, and appearing in MAD #452, April 2005! Honestly, not my favorite MAD job. Not that it wasn’t funny, I just don’t give a &*%$ about poker, and find it all extremely boring. I don’t know anything about it, and… READ MORE
August 16th, 2021 | Posted in MAD Magazine
As if Monday’s weren’t bad enough, it’s time for another nauseating look back at my furshlugginer work for MAD Magazine! Today’s episode is another MAD TV show parody, spoofing “Two and a Half Men”, written by the great Arnie Kogen and first appearing in MAD #450, February 2005. This parody was done when the show was hugely popular and before star Charlie Sheen went off the deep end, which is why you’ll find no references to tiger’s blood, warlocks, “winning”, or general delusion. I cannot remember if I was in a real hurry on this one due to a tight deadline, but the pencil roughs… READ MORE
