Tom's Mad Blog
June 8th, 2019 | Posted in General
Well… okay. Not really “battle” damaged like your favorite action figure variation, but sort of. Books bought wholesale for brick and mortar stores can be returned if unsold within a certain timeframe. Sometimes these returned books come back with a crease on the cover, a bent corner, a little wear on the spine… very minor damage that does not reduce the readability of the book at all, but does preclude the distributor from selling it again as “new”. I picked up a limited supply of these returned but lightly damaged copies from my distributor the other day, and am selling them for a mere $9.99!… READ MORE
June 7th, 2019 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Looks like MAD subscribers are back to getting their copies earlier than the official publication date. This was stinking up my mailbox today! Look for MAD #8 to hit all thirteen remaining news stands in the country on Tuesday! READ MORE
June 6th, 2019 | Posted in Illustration Throwback Thursday
I did this in acrylics for the wedding invites of my pals Robert Sundini and Celestia Ward back in 2007 (I think it was 2007). I sent them the original but it disappeared from their doorstep after the delivery guy left it laying there. It’s either rotting in the Nevada desert somewhere after being blown off their porch or someone has this caricature of two people they don’t know hanging in their den. Both Rob and Celestia are top pro caricaturists and Celestia edited my book The Mad Art of Caricature. READ MORE
June 5th, 2019 | Posted in MAD Magazine
I have to cop out this week on a new SotW because… BUSY. However here’s a look at a rare revision on a splash page for MAD. It’s especially relevant since this show just ended a few weeks ago. I don’t often have to do more than minor revisions for my MAD stuff, because the MAD staff knows what to expect from me and I know what they are looking for. Every once and awhile we have differing opinions on what works and what does not. This was the pencil rough for the splash page of MAD‘s parody of “The Big Bang Theory” from MAD… READ MORE
June 4th, 2019 | Posted in MAD Magazine
I was remiss yesterday in not recognizing that it was the 27th anniversary of the passing of MAD Magazine’s founder and, as his business card said, “Publisher and Chief Bigot”… those were simpler times. I started with MAD in 2000, a full eight years after Bill had left Planet Earth. I will always feel that I missed out on something special in that I never met or knew Bill Gaines. While MAD has of course continued since his death a chapter of it’s history closed on June 3rd, 1992. In his time as publisher I’ve heard that nearly every page of original art for the… READ MORE
June 3rd, 2019 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Here’s another sneak peek at a panel from the parody I drew for MAD #8, written by Alec Owen. This one is tough to figure out. It it a parody of the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”? Why is Guy Fieri playing Willy Wonka? What’s with the bucket of chicken parts? Was someone on drugs when they came up with this stuff? All questions will be answered (except the one about the drugs) when you run out and buy a copy of MAD #8, on sale June 11th! Fa fa fa! READ MORE
June 2nd, 2019 | Posted in Mailbag
Q: I love your signature… it’s perfect for a cartoonist. Is it just your natural signature or did you engineer it? A: Thanks! No cartoonist I know did not design their signature in some way. It’s an extension of their art, really. I can’t remember exactly when I ‘engineered’ my signature, but it was very early on in my career. Certainly before I started doing professional illustration work, when I was signing about 3,000 live caricatures every summer at the theme parks. It’s evolved a little bit over the years, but the elements I intentionally incorporated into it remain: The big swooping “R” and the… READ MORE
June 1st, 2019 | Posted in News
My workshop in Austin in October is now sold out, meaning all workshops for the rest of 2019 are booked solid. That, however, does not mean you have no chance of getting in. Right now I have no one on the waitlist in Austin or Denver, so if one of those locations interests you, being first or in the top few of the waitlist gives you a good chance of getting a spot if someone backs out. Drop me a line and mention the workshop location you are interested in, and I’ll put you on the waitlist. I other workshop news, we have planned a… READ MORE
