On his first trip to India, cartoonist-illustrator-caricaturist, Tom Richmond had a good time at the Delhi Alto Comic Con. The vibrant young lot here at the Con are total fun to be with, he says. By Team Viva
“I like cookies. I also have a tremendous singing voice. Other than that I am perfectly ordinary,” began Tom Richmond, humorous illustrator, cartoonist and caricaturist. As a huge Batman fan who even owns his own cape and cowl, Richmond relishes drawing Bruce Wayne. The award winning artist has many accolades under his belt but is best known for his movie and TV parodies and feature article illustrations. “I work for a humour magazine that makes fun of TV shows, movies and nearly everybody. And I believe that what is life without fun (or making fun),” he winked.
The journey however, did not have an easy beginning. “I had to do odd jobs at a local grocery store in the neighbourhood and many jobs like that only for a financial support. It was not until I completed my college that I got paid for doing some art work. It was my summer job in a theme park to draw caricatures and I was paid well for doing that,” said Tom. He further added, “I went to a college of art but did not learn anything about cartooning. I learnt realistic painting and illustrations. However, that did help me to look at art with more discipline.”
He shared that there was very less encouragement for cartooning when he started. “I was told cartooning was for losers and learning to do real art-like product illustration was the only way to make a living as a commercial artist. Obviously PhotoShop was not invented then,” he said.
Tom recalled that it was comics that got him interested in creating art in the first place. He mostly drew Batman and it was only after Star Wars that he began drawing sci-fi cartoons. “Batman was always my favourite but I also had a number of the C.C. Beck Shazam, books, and other DC comics. Not too many Marvels. My father was a manager at a grocery store, so he would bring home comics from the old rotating wire display stands they had in the stores,” he said. Tom recalled an incident which made his parents believe that he was a complete Batman fan. “When I was three, I knocked over and blew up our family television during an episode of the old Adman West Batman TV show. Fortunately I was shielded from harm by the thick bath towel I had pinned around my neck as a cape. I got the bat-paddle for that one,” he laughed.
When about what sort of things does he hope younger Con-goers can take away from such conventions, he said, “In general, I hope Con-goers reach out past their familiar favourites and discover new comics and cartoons. They should explore the place which gives them a window to reach out to the comics which are equally good as their favourite ones. There is so much out there.”
The cartoonist, who is on his first trip to India, believes that the vibrant culture of the country makes convention like Comic Con all the more fun. “I have never been out of my country doing a convention so coming to India is a fantastic experience. Apart from the lively culture, I love the food,” he said. Tom has also created Alfred E Neuman-Rajnikant Mashup. “I have heard about Rajnikant a lot. I got a chance to watch one of his movies and like every Indian, I too believe he is fantastic,” chuckled Tom.