Tom's Mad Blog
October 28th, 2024 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Here we go with another edition of Monday MADness, where we continue our shambling lurch down the Trail of Terrible that was my work for MAD Magazine. I timed this post for Halloween week for obvious reasons. This week we look back at “Sven Golly… It’s Svengoolie!”, written by Ian Boothby and first appearing in MAD #4, Dec 2018. This is an interesting feature because it’s not technically a parody of the “Svengoolie” TV show. They use his actual name instead of a spoof version like “Svengoofy”, so it can’t be a parody. Instead it’s played like an actual episode of the show, the gag… READ MORE
October 23rd, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
“You Shall Not Pass!” I’m not sure this movie moment stacks up to the Rosebud reveal in “Citizen Kane”, but it’s a favorite of mine. Sir Ian McKellen‘s casting as Gandalf in Peter Jackson‘s “The Lord of the Rings” films was pure genius. There are lots of stories about other actors who were considered for the part, including another KBE by the name of Sir Sean Connery, but McKellen made the role so much his own that it’s now next to impossible to imagine another actor in the part. I do a video of me drawing these sketches every week, and paid subscribers to my… READ MORE
October 21st, 2024 | Posted in MAD Magazine
Back in 2016 MAD started producing a series of parodies of children’s books starting with Goodnight Batcave (spoofing the beloved Margaret Wise Brown/Clement Hurd classic Goodnight Moon) written by MAD editor Dave Croatto with art by me. We followed that in 2017 with Superman and and the Miserable, Rotten, No Fun, Really Bad Day, also written by Dave with art by me, and in 2018 with Don’t Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile, this time penned by another MAD editor, Jacob Lambert, and again with art by yours truly. I talked about that one last week. Shortly after MAD moved to Burbank in early 2018, we actually pitched another kids book parody to DC, this one entitled Where the Wonder Things Are, spoofing another… READ MORE
October 17th, 2024 | Posted in General
I’m at New York Comic Con this weekend! If you can’t make it to the con, you can still get any of the comic con exclusive stuff I am doing in NYC here at my “Virtual Artist’s Alley Table”. The virtual table will be open through 5 PM CDT Sunday Oct 20th. I’ll be selling all the commissions I usually only offer at comic-cons, at the same prices I charge at comic-cons. I only do these twice a year, so now is your chance… and guaranteed deleivery in time for Christmas! What kinds of things do I ONLY do at conventions? My “live caricature” style… READ MORE
October 16th, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
This sketch is still available in the Studio Store! I don’t know if this qualifies as a “famous movie moment”, but it’s one of my favorites. “Airplane” was released in 1980, and quickly became the gold standard for spoof movies. Leslie Nielsen also found his calling as one of the great camp actors of all time. He’d go on to start in the “Naked Gun” series, “Spy Hard”, a few of the “Scary Movie” films and, of course, “Dracula: Dead and Loving it” where he teamed up with another great parody film master, Mel Brooks. I loved his take on Dracula so much, I had… READ MORE
October 14th, 2024 | Posted in MAD Magazine
This week we take a brief detour from the bumpy, pothole-filled washboard of a road that is our chronological journey through my work at MAD to have a look at the third and the last book project I did for MAD. First there was Goodnight Batcave, then there was Superman and the Miserable, Rotten, No Fun, Really Bad Day. MAD wrapped up it’s shameful desecration of everyone’s childhood memories with this third volume in their kid’s book parody series. It was released almost exactly six years ago today. MAD editor Dave Croatto wrote the first two, but MAD associate editor Jacob Lambert did the dishonors with the writing this… READ MORE
October 12th, 2024 | Posted in News
Come find me at NYCC next weekend! I’ll be there all hours of the Artists’ Alley area, but on Saturday from 1pm-4pm CLAPTRAP writer Desmond Devlin will be appearing at my booth, where we will answer questions about the book or MAD, and both sign copies of CLAPTRAP for cover price! READ MORE
October 9th, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Here we go with a sketch of yet another acting legend who has recently left us, and this one was a real witch. And a countess. And a nun. And an Oscar Winner (twice). And an Emmy winner (four times). Three Golden Globes. Five BAFTAS. A Tony. In other words, a true acting legend. She had an incredible career well before the Harry Potter films and “Downton Abbey” cemented her legacy in blockbuster films and high profile TV shows. Farewell, Dame Maggie. As always, Premium Subscribers to my Substack are able to watch me do my weekly sketch in real time, while I bather on… READ MORE
