Showing posts with label Sergio Aragones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sergio Aragones. Show all posts

21 January 2011

Sergio Aragones - Five decades of his finest works

This huge volume has been keeping me occupied for the past two weeks or so - a compendium of Mad Magazine cartoons by Sergio Aragones, long-time contributor to Mad Magazine, part of the "usual gang of idiots", also known among his peers as the world's fastest cartoonist.

I had grown up squinting and laughing out loud at his Mad Marginals - the steady stream of cartoons which filled the margins around the pages and between panels of Mad Magazine. He also has a feature in every issue called "A Mad Look at ..." which consist of two to four pages of comic strips around a common subject.

I've never met Sergio personally but I hope to some day. His work brings me much mirth and laughter, through sheer simplicity and almost always in pantomine - proof that cartooning is indeed the universal language. So half a century on, I look forward to another half century of cartoons...because Sergio is THAT fast.


Front cover


Back cover; I found myself nodding in agreement at the blurb by Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons and Futurama


Inside cover features some of his marginals


There you have it... 5 glorious decades


Foreword by Patrick McDonnell, creator of Mutts


Interview by Nick Meglin, friend and former editor of Mad Magazine


Standout piece for me - A cartoon guide to the United States


Sergio's first contribution to Mad Magazine, from issue #76.


One of Sergio's "Mad Look at ..." features (in colour from the 2000's decade).


New self-portrait created for this volume


Includes a fold out poster of 500 (out of literally thousands) of Sergio's favourite marginals

02 May 2010

Free Comic Book Day 2010

The first Saturday of May is a huge event worldwide as far as comic books are concerned. It's Free Comic Book Day! A day when readers and the non-enlightened gather at the local comic book store to pick up a sampling of the cool comic books on offer... all for free!

Free comic books are a good reason to get out of bed in the morning... slip on my FCBD Commemorative T-shirt designed by Sergio Aragones ($1 of proceeds from sale goes to my favourite charity - the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund or CBLDF for short) and head down to G and B Comics to pick up my stash. Kudos to them for being the only participating comic shop in Singapore. Extra bonus of having some of the Storm Lion crew present for live art demonstrations and book signings. I was hoping to meet Edmund Shern (CEO Storm Lion) but unfortunately he was not present.

I've had every single FCBD book that's been put out since the start with the exception of FCBD: Cars #1 from 2009 (never made it to Singapore due to licensing issues). I hope and pray that Comics Mart returns to business sorts out whatever they need to sort out so that I can pick up the rest of my FCBD books for this year.


My CBLDF T-shirt (one size too large)


Art by Sergio Aragones


'Puppeteer' Lee of Storm Lion


My signed copies of FCBD: Storm Lion


My stash for the day... all FOC!