Tag: Tom Richmond

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MAD Magazine gives Superman a Miserable, Rotten, No Fun, Really Bad Day

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Superman and the Miserable, Rotten, no Fun, Really Bad Day, by Dave Croatto/Illustrated by Tom Richmond, (Oct. 2017, Mad Magazine), $14.99, ISBN: 9781401276119

Recommended for readers 5+

MAD Magazine, I love you. I grew up laughing at your Star Wars parodies, your Spy vs. Spy comics, and  host of jokes I probably didn’t get until I was older. And now, you bring me a series of superhero parodies based on childhood classics. You get me. You really, really get me.

The fun began with last year’s Goodnight, Batcave: narrated in the gentle bedtime style of Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon, we peeked into Batman’s bedtime routine. Now, we get Superman having the lousiest day ever in the style of Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and it is hilarious. Whether he’s listening to kids argue over who the better hero is – Batman or The Flash – or being relegated to monitor duty by the Justice League, Superman has the same petulant, endearing voice that makes Alexander such a fun storytime read. Supes tends to get dinged a lot by Batfans (cough, cough) that  call him a boy scout, and seeing that reflected here is just perfect. Lois and Jimmy Olsen get sent on super cool assignments, while Clark goes to a flower show. Where Alexander is ready to move to Australia, Supes is ready to abandon it all for the Fortress of Solitude. But as with all the best bedtime stories, Ma is there to tell him that some days are like that, and sends him off to bed – and hopefully, a better day the next day.

Tom Richmond’s classic MAD-style artwork meets Ray Cruz – the illustrator on Judith Viorst’s Alexander books – gives an instantly recognizable feel to the story – even the cover is a perfect sendup of the original. This is absolutely perfect for a Superhero Storytime, or just a really fun laugh-along. Read it in the same pouty voice that you use for Alexander, and make sure to be extra offended by the Batman-is-Better inferences.

What’s next? Make Way for Lanterns? Where the Amazons Are? I NEED MORE.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade

A Dark Knight bedtime parody: Goodnight Batcave

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

batcaveGoodnight Batcave, by Dave Croatto/Illustrated by Tom Richmond, (Oct. 2016, MAD Magazine), $14.99, ISBN: 9781401270100

Recommended for ages 5+

“In the great gray cave, there were a lot of bats, and souvenirs saved…”

Margaret Wise Brown could never have seen this coming: her sweet bedtime story has been turned into seemingly countless tongue-in-cheek retellings, including Goodnight iPad and Goodnight Goon. Goodnight Batcave is MAD Magazine’s take on the sleepytime classic and takes readers inside Batman’s inner sanctum, The Batcave. Batman’s wiped out and ready for bed, but his rogues gallery – including both fan favorites and old reliables, from Joker to Bane – just won’t behave and decide to attack the Batcave, maybe in the hopes of catching Bats unawares for the night? Using Goodnight Moon‘s familiar rhythm, Dave Croatto hilariously inserts Batman references that any fan worth their Bat-insignia pajamas will love. Bats flips and whips, knocks out knaves and bowls Penguins down the stairs. At the end of the night, Alfred is there, as always, to send Master Bruce off to sleep.

Tom Richmond’s art is classic MAD style, with exaggerated facial expressions and a superhero chin that you could land a Bat-Plane on. There are fantastic little references and Easter eggs for fans, including a nice showing by Ace, the Bat-Hound, and a quietly, ever-present Bat-mite, who snuggles up to Bats when their shift is finally over. The giant penny and T-Rex are there, and – this is MAD, after all – Alfred E. Neuman makes a cameo.

Younger Bat-fans will get a kick out of the fun take on a Bat-time story, and grown-up Batfans will love having this one on their bookshelves alongside favorite graphic novels and trade paperbacks.