Axe Cop

Axe Cop Comic

As the site says, "Written By A 5 Year Old And Illustrated By His 29 Year Old Brother".

Be sure to read the "Ask Axe Cop" pieces. Question 3 is currently my favourite. If I could, I would relax in the exact same way.

Esquire Piece on Roger Ebert

I recently read this very moving and insightful piece on film critic and author, Roger Ebert, who continues to struggle with cancer and its repercussions.

If you ever find yourself in need of defending the importance of the written word, send people to this article.

J. L. Roop

Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew has an interesting piece on J. L. Roop, an early (and largely unknown) American stop motion animator.

Great Puppet Making Book

I plucked this one off the stacks at Sheridan's library a few months ago, just at random. It's not for making stop motion puppets, but rather various hand puppets. The book very much impressed me for a number of reasons.

First, it's a very cute, tidy, "pocketbook" size. Charming. An easy read/reference.

Second, it's filled with very clear and well explained puppet "stuff". This includes not just hand puppets, but also stages for puppet shows. Some are very simple, some are complex, but all are explained very clearly.

Third, the book has a great tone. It's witty, and reads as though the writer had fun putting it all together.

Fourth, the actual puppets that the book shows how to make are clever and charming, and encourage the imagination of the reader to envision variations on designs and methods.

Fifth (and finally)- the book is DIRT cheap. Amazon.ca has it for approx. $10 (Can).


For all these reasons, I ordered myself a copy.

I highly recommend this little gem.

More 4th Year Stop Motion Goodness

Here's a still from Sheridan Animation's Carla Veldman's film, The Scarf.

More pics and info as they become available...