Malden Native Launches New Humor Blog
By Matt Shaw

“Sarah Palin is gold,” says Paul Malden, former author and illustrator of the award winning “Dead Guy. The Cartoon.” humor blog, founder of the humor blog www.blamemymom.com and, coincidentally enough, Malden native. He’s speaking about which political candidates he hopes succeed for the sake of comedy alone. And if watching a carbon copy of Tina Fey speak in an adorable accent about putting lipstick on canines and raising five children with hippy names doesn’t scream comedy jackpot, then America needs to lighten up.

“I don’t know many funny Republicans,” Malden says. “They’re great at being mean, but not at being funny.” This, of course, is yet another confirmation of the long held Hollywood hypothesis that it’s impossible to be both conservative and hilarious at the same time. “The closest they come is probably Joe Scarborough,” Malden says. “He can sometimes be kind of funny. But maybe that’s just because I’m usually not fully awake yet when I watch him.”

Malden is quite the character. For several years leading up to the comic’s ironic demise, Malden wrote “Dead Guy. The Cartoon.” under the pseudonym Ignatius M. Dedd. He was featured on UPN 38’s morning show in an interview throughout which he wore a series of masks and never revealed his face. His latest entry into the world of political and social humor-blogging, “Blame My Mom,” is perhaps less enigmatic, but just as edgy. And maybe even funnier.

But blamemymom.com isn’t just another political humor comic. Heck, it’s not even just a comic. “Cartoons will anchor the site,” Malden says, “but there will also be writing, photos, links and videos (such as the “Let’s All Waterboard” video I did in late 2006). Interestingly, the batch of cartoons I’m preparing for the site is surprisingly un-political.”

The reason for the paradigm shift? Hand cramps. “It’s tough to keep drawing George Bush’s ears over and over,” Malden says. “And I’m sure I’ll eventually tire of drawing John McCain’s big, bald head.” So much the better; with the October launch of “Blame My Mom,” Malden will set a different tack. “Hopefully, ‘Blame My Mom’ will stand out because of the consistently original cartooning and its variety of complimentary content,” he says. “But I make no promises.”

So is “Blame My Mom” intended to address weighty political issues, or is it simply a couple of cheap laughs at the expense of prominent social figures? “At the risk of sounding self-important and preachy,” says Malden, sounding both self-important and preachy, “it’s both. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to raise public awareness. The public desperately needs it. Though, admittedly, it’s pretty arrogant to go around saying you feel informed enough to try and do something like that. But no one ever called me humble. At least not to my face.”

To local officials thinking they might escape Malden’s malicious pen, beware: none are absolved from scrutiny. “I’d like to do more local [humor],” Malden says. “Local is where I live, and where I’m involved. It’s also where I’ve gotten the most publicity; it’s where I’m most well known and therefore have more readers.” This, of course, is more commonly known as the David Archueleta approach to international fame and fortune. “It seems like a good fit,” Malden says.

As for the upcoming election, above all else Malden is concerned – as we all must be – that Sarah Palin could be one slippery tile away from the Presidency: “Let’s just hope they put those handrails into the White House bathrooms,” Malden says.

That’s exactly the kind of hope that America needs.