Tom's Mad Blog
August 14th, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
We’re back to our “Famous Movie Moments” series, this time revisiting 1994’s “Forrest Gump” with Tom Hanks on his park bench with his suitcase, box of chocolates, and the feather. Hanks has one of those faces that’s hard to “unlock”, partly because he’s such a great actor that his “presence” can change considerably role to role. That makes it hard to grab hold of an expression that reads as undeniably “him”. As Forrest Gump, he often had a slightly confused and somewhat vacant look on his face, which is what I was going for here. READ MORE
August 12th, 2024 | Posted in MAD Magazine
It’s been a long time since I did one of these… I’ll bet you wish it was even longer! It’s time for another step on that dreary chronological drudge through my work for MAD Magazine. We are at the moment where MAD published its final issue produced by the New York Staff, MAD #550, April 2018. At the time this issue hit the newsstands, there had not been any official announcement that the next issue of MAD , the first produced by the new staff in Burbank headed up by new MAD editor Bill Morrison, would be a new #1 or continue the numbering and… READ MORE
August 7th, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Not exactly a “famous movie moment” in the category of “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” or “Here’s looking at you, kid”, but it’s one I think of now and then… especially at certain events. “Revenge of the Nerds” was a goofy movie but it had some great characters. Donald Gibb played the dim-witted Alpha-Beta frat jock Fred “Ogre” Palowoski, who famously hated nerds. This moment from the movie plays in my head a lot during comic cons… I don’t know why. READ MORE
August 5th, 2024 | Posted in News
I just got back from teaching a workshop in the Chicago area. It was a great group and we had a fun time drawing together all weekend! I’ve only got two open spots in my remaining 2024 workshops, one here in Minnesota and one in Phoenix. I just announced my first one for 2025 in Tampa, FL, and there will be a handful more in 2025. Reserve a spot ASAP before they sell out! READ MORE
July 31st, 2024 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Giants of entertainment keep dropping like flies lately. Just when I thought we would be getting back to our “Famous Movie Moments” series another legend passes. Bob Newhart was a favorite in my family. I listened to his comedy albums as a kid, and I remember watching “The Bob Newhart Show” with my parents in the mid 70’s. The later show “Newhart” was a favorite of mine as a young adult in the mid to late 80s. Both those shows were great successes and long running, popular sitcoms. He also starred in a couple of short-lived, mostly forgotten shows, but those hardly diminished his legacy.… READ MORE
July 24th, 2024 | Posted in General
Shelley Duvall starred in two of my favorite movies, “The Shining” and “Popeye”, and her performances in both are big reasons why they are favorites of mine. So, I had to take another pause in my “Famous Movie Moments’ series to draw Ms. Duvall as “Olive Oil”. RIP Ms. Duvall. READ MORE
July 23rd, 2024 | Posted in News
The first of my 2025 workshops is all set! I’ll be in Tampa in January, skipping the snow and cold in Minnesota to draw with up to 12 artists for a full weekend! Click here for the details and to join in! READ MORE
July 17th, 2024 | Posted in General
Our “Famous Movie Moment” this week is both a notorious and infamous one. It’s Sharon Stone in the “leg crossing” interrogation scene in “Basic Instinct”, where it’s obvious Ms. Stone is not wearing any underwear when she switches her crossed legs. It’s notorious as being the (allegedly) most paused moment in home video history. It’s infamous because Stone claims she was asked to remove her underwear because of some lighting issues, and she only did it with the assurance that the shot would be dark/shadowy enough that no nudity would be visible. Director Paul Verhoeven claims he told her exactly what the shot going to… READ MORE
