Let’s all contemplate our mortality, shall we?

Welcome to Pine Point is a “creative non-fiction interactive documentary” by Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons for the National Film Board of Canada.

Despite the rough, hand-animated photo-collages and humble lettering, Welcome to Pine Point achieves sophisticated and haunting effects as it chronicles a small Canadian town that was literally wiped off the map, and the lives of those who once called it home. I especially liked the use of music.

I highly recommend setting aside some free time, hitting full screen and diving in.

It’s not comics, but shares some of our visual vocabulary, and it should be of interest to anyone studying visual communication, storytelling, and the power of shared memories.

I don’t have a lot to say about comics today, but this made me laugh.

This too [via @looori]. It’s a couple of years old, but came up again, what with that sports thing yesterday.

Oh! Speaking of which, I saw the half-time show, and I’m happy to report that, sure enough, all you need is LO\’E.

Well, this seems to be the week of jaw-dropping over-the-top tributes.

Gaming in Obscurity’s guide to Five Card Nancy features host Ryan McSwain’s own home-made Five Card Nancy deck (learn about the game here) and a complete explanation of the rules and origins of the game and, um… me.

And then, about seven and a half minutes in, um…

Uh…

…a thing happens.

I don’t know how to describe it. It’s wonderfully bizarre and funny, and — if you’re me — even more terrifying than yesterday’s infographic, but it’s kind of a must-see.

Meanwhile, back in Scott World Prime, Jeff Parker and Erika Moen have begun an adorable new webcomic called Bucko.

It’s off to a great start. I especially like the local, rainy, Portlandiness of it. Feels like a love letter to that wonderful, cartoonist-clogged city already. Definitely one to bookmark.

Have a great weekend!

[qdv Ojh]

This video confuses me.

I mean, I like it; it’s funny, well-made, etc, etc… And I strongly endorse the basic message. I’m just not sure it fits comics in 2011 as I see them.

I complained about diversity with the best of ’em a decade ago in RC and I think there’s plenty of room for improvement even now, but when I look at today’s comics scene, I see great progress on multiple fronts, and somehow that doesn’t seem to be reflected in the more serious rant portion (starting about 5 minutes in) of this otherwise great video.

Graphic novels, Manga, All-Ages Comics, Non-Fiction Comics, Webcomics… all of these have had some genuine success stories in the last decade. Hell, all five largely began as serious markets in the last ten years. When looking at diversity as they define it, I wonder if Eric and Co. really considered Persepolis, Fruits Basket, Bone, The 9-11 Report, or Penny Arcade?

Maybe I’m missing the point, but it seems like kind of a direct market, comics store centered complaint. A bit like saying that TV doesn’t try anything new, based on the fall schedule of ABC, CBS and NBC.

Anyway… still a great funny video, and its heart is in the right place. Do check it out.

[via pretty much everyone]

HEY! ALMOST MISSED IT: IT’S HOURLY COMICS DAY TODAY!

Congratulations to Jim Woodring for actually building and using that big-ass pen I told you about a while back! Some pictures via Bart Beaty here and a video here (links via twelve zillion people, but I think I read about it on Comics Reporter and the Beat first).

Another notable new webcomic to check out: Doug Tennapel’s Ratfist (thanks to Corey Mcdaniel for the heads-up). Also realized that Kris Dresen’s She Said is gathering steam. Hop on board before its done.

And via Snail Mail, two books about comics:

The comics-format To Teach: The Journey in Comics by Bill Ayers (yes, that Bill Ayers apparently) and Ryan Alexander-Tanner, which looks intriguing, and The Rise of the American Comics Artist: Creators and Contexts, which I have an interview in, but looks plenty interesting anyway.

Finally, congratulations to Sarah Oleksyk on the publication of the collected Ivy. I’ve read them all, but I’m happy for the excuse to read them again.

Have a great weekend!

Something about this three-part interview with Vancouver cartoonist Colin Upton made me very happy.

It’s encouraging to see a mini-comics rebel from my small press excursion days holding forth on a dozen topics and looking relatively healthy after recent bouts with diabetes and other challenges.

Upton’s interview reminded me of another recent YouTube find; a video interview with minicomics legend Steve Willis from Washington State. Both videos communicate an air of stubborn resistance to anything slick or mass-produced which makes me smile.

As I’ve mentioned here before, one of the things I loved about the small press scene of the ’80s and early ’90s was the freedom it gave cartoonists to pursue their own path regardless what the marketplace might have wanted from them.

A version of that freedom migrated to the Web, but even a technophile like me knows it’s not the same, and can still enjoy listening to a cartoonist explain his craft with a pencil in hand, sitting at a slanted table, surrounded by books, and hearing the sound of a northwest rain falling outside his window.

Some random notes from the last nine days.

Got an email from Ryan Estrada this morning announcing his latest insanity, the One Month Animated Feature. Actually sounds like a fun project. I wish him luck. Also sleep, when it’s done.

Really enjoyed the first volume of X’ed Out, the new Charles Burns series. Eager to read more.

Okay, the end of Walking Dead Episode 3… How many saw that coming halfway through #2? Show of hands. (Failed surprises aside, I’m really enjoying that series).

Via Ivy (who got it from Stephen Fry), we’ve all been enjoying the Hell out of this video.

After largely missing them in New Orleans due to explodey-chest syndrome, I had the pleasure of seeing Neil and Amanda at a great engagement party at agent-extraordinaire Jon Levin’s house Saturday. Lots of new and old friends there, but I have to make special mention of Stephin Merritt, who I’d never met before but is one of my favorite songwriters. We’d just watched Pieces of April two nights before (a Thanksgiving tradition in our home) which has songs by Merritt in it, so he was on our mind already.

Speaking of music: Two recent buys I can’t get enough of are “If You Return” by Maximum Balloon (with vocals by Little Dragon) and the criminally-catching “L.O.V.” by Fitz and the Tantrums.

Back to the drawing board!

Having some problems uploading new images this morning for the post I was planning, so instead, I might as well link to this curiosity: a rare video of me that doesn’t make me cringe (filmed at last year’s Barcelona convention).

Two more 24-Hour Comics Day links to consider, now that this year’s event is in the rear-view mirror.

Sean Michael Robinson offers a thoughtful look at the phenomenon, his own experience in Seattle, and improvisation in comics here.

Pay special attention to the paragraph on our daily impediments to focus and see if you can’t relate. “Iron swimsuit” indeed…

Meanwhile, the video (from 2008) in this blog entry about 24-Hour Comics Day in Amsterdam, just made me smile from ear to ear.

You don’t need to know Dutch to recognize the language of creativity, camaraderie, and comics. Wish I could have been there.