Fotographical Friday: Madly reading MAD.

Fotographical Friday: Splitch

I’ve given up a lot of my toys to my kid. But not this one. (A gift from Chuch Gamble.)

Fotographical Friday: A cartoonist’s ornaments.

Left to right: now-defunct International Museum of Cartoon Art, Wrong Trousers, Alfred E. Neuman, Santa by Thomas Nast…I think.

Random-MAD-Magazine-party-photos Week.

Me and the late, great Ray Alma.

Random-MAD-Magazine-party-photos Week.

Me and the talent-laden Rich Powell.

Random-MAD-Magazine-party-photos Week

Me and the legendary Angelo Torres.

Fotographical Friday: Still #1.

Shocking image, ain’t it. No more shocking than that MAD Magazine is moving from NYC – its home since its inception 65 years ago – to Burbank. On Monday night editors, staff and contributors, both past and present, gathered at send-off party…and I got as many of them to sign this infamous image as I could. As a kid reading MAD I dreamt of being one of “the usual gang of idiots.” Many thanks to my first editor, Jon Bresman, for the encouragement and guidance to make that happen, and to my second editor, Ryan Flanders, for keeping that dream alive and becoming a dear friend in the process.

Fotographical Friday: San Diego Comic Con 2009.

Tom Richmond (MAD) draws while I look on in goof-faced awe. 

Christmas loot part 2

My fave comic book store Comix Connections was having a progressive sale around the holidays. By the time I got there on the 2nd it was up to 80% on back issues and selected items marked with a yellow sticker.

(I did a signing there on Free Comic Book Day and they were nice enough to take on some of my books. My fear, of course, is that no one had bought any of them. But they only had one left, so either they’ve sold OK or the others had been yellow stickered and got cleared out before I arrived.)

Nice reprints of classic MAD paperbacks that I couldn’t pass up for $2 a shot. I bought all five that were there. When I got home I found that I already had two of the original books. (When I was at the store I thought about calling home to ask my wife to check the bookshelves in my studio. But I figured if they were duplicates I could give them away as presents. Aren’t I thoughtful?)

I’m teaching my “Graphic Novels to Film” again in a couple of weeks and we cover the Tales from the Crypt 1590s horror comics trip to HBO in the late 80s. This seems to be some sort of rarely published fanzine.

Speaking of my class and fanzines, we’re studying two Alan Moore works – Watchmen and V for Vendetta. I bought two of what appears to be self-published interviews. I saw one on ebay for $50. Needless to say, that wasn’t what I paid.

MADly rejected -Bracelet fever