Kyle Lees

If comics are for nerds, then webcomics (comic strips published, sometimes exclusively, to the web) are for supernerds, for lack of a better title. When was the last time you opened the comic section of your local newspaper, besides The Argus of course, and actually laughed out loud? For comics that are actually funny, don’t open your newspaper to page A12. Save a tree, use a web browser.  Here are some great starter comics:

Chainsawsuit
www.chainsawsuit.com
Kris Straub, already an accomplished cartoonist, writer, and podcaster, started Chainsawsuit as a pastiche of “indy webcomics” like xkcd, with a very simplistic, gag-a-day style. There are few, if any, recurring characters, and the humour is very stream-of-consciousness in style.  Law and Order: Astronaut Crimes? A man marrying a flock of birds?  Iron Man throwing up inside his armour? It’s 100% class I tell you.

Dinosaur Comics
www.qwantz.com
Ryan North writes this constrained comic, which has the exact same six panels every time, with the only change being the dialogue of the strip. While it seems like this could lead to a drought of ideas, the site has over 1500 comics in its archives, and it just keeps going. By necessity, the only (on-panel) recurring characters are T-Rex (who loves being awesome, and is awesome) and his friends, Utahraptor and Dromiceiomimus. T-Rex also talks to off-panel characters including God, the Devil (who is portrayed as a huge nerd),     and a tiny Batman head that only T-Rex can hear.

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja
www.drmcninja.com
When you’re both a doctor, sworn to uphold the Hippocratic oath, and a ninja, sworn to cut folks up, life can be rough. Add in a preteen sidekick who can grow a moustache through sheer force of will, ninja parents who are very disappointed with the path you’ve taken in life, and a bucket list that includes things like punching Dracula in the face. Your life is now ridiculous, because you are Dr. McNinja. Chris Hastings writes and draws this long-form comic, but he also makes use of an inker and a colourist, so his life isn’t entirely unlike the plot of Chasing Amy.

Nedroid
www.nedroid.com
The ongoing tales of a bear shaped vaguely like a potato (aptly named “Beartato”), his self-centered friend, a bird named Reginald, and their put upon, shark-headed “friend” Harrison. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is simple, but it’s also one of the funniest comics on the web today, if not one of the most nonsensical. Anthony Clark is the genius behind this one, and he additionally colours the aforementioned Dr. McNinja.

Hark! A Vagrant
www.harkavagrant.com
If the first thing that pops into your head when you think of history is ‘boring,’ then Cape Breton native Kate Beaton just might change your mind. The waveringly dry and absurd humour of the comic is typically founded on ridiculous occurrences in history or famous literary works. Each comic is typically paired with a blog entry containing additional information regarding the topic of the strip, or social commentary on odd conventions and traditions. Beaton’s biweekly (the one that means twice a week) comic is always good for a laugh, so be a good patriot and check it out, eh?

Sheldon
www.sheldoncomics.com
While the majority of webcomics are a little more “adult” in content, Dave Kellett’s Sheldon prides itself on being an all-ages strip. The main characters include the titular Sheldon, a ten-year old software billionaire, his talking duck, Arthur, and his grandfather. The strip has a childlike innocence to it, while simultaneously covering topics as diverse as caffeine addiction, the evolutionary messes known as pugs, and the origin of how peanuts got that name.

Girls With Slingshots
http://www.daniellecorsetto.com/gws.html
Romantic relationships, and the lack thereof, is the focus of this comic. While the site’s header proclaims “two girls, a bar, and a talking cactus,” a less succinct way of putting it might go something like “dating, heartbreak, drunk dialing, dealing with creepy stalkers, and sex toys.” It’s just as wacky as the other strips on this list, it’s just a different kind of wacky, centered around the reality of being a twenty-something struggling to make one’s way in the world. It’s a heck of a good read.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
www.smbc-comics.com
How often have you heard the phrase “Far Side cranked up to 11” when someone has describe a one panel comic? Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is one of the best examples of what can be done within the constraints of a single panel. Zach Weiner (yes, that is his real name) started writing SMBC for his college paper, and look at him now. It kind of gives amateurs like our own Beth Billson some hope.

Understand, of course, that these comics are just a starting point. There are dozens of other great webcomics out there (did I mention premise-beach.com?), and literally thousands of awful ones. Dive in, and waste an afternoon on these beauties.  It’s not like you’re actually doing any schoolwork, anyway.

Black Pirate Pub Will host Wax once again.

Derek Wall
A&E Editor

Late last summer, Wax Mannequin played to a packed house at the Black Pirate Pub and people are still talking about it. Among the comments that persist about Wax’s last gig include questions about when he plans to roll through town again and what song will he cover this time around.
In fact, his covers have become somewhat famous (in Thunder Bay at least). Wax rocked out a Gordon Lightfoot cover last time, and the one before that saw him cover I Wanna Know What Love Is by Foreigner.
In terms of when he plans to play Thunder Bay again, the answer is this Saturday at the Black Pirate Pub.
The Argus attempted to contact Wax Mannequin by phone but the touring life keeps him pretty busy.
Speaking of touring, it seems Wax is always touring to some degree. Many regard him as a true “indie” artist in the sense that he continues to tour and record in his unique DIY style.
There’s an undeniable intensity in Wax’s performances, and that’s the reason so many keep going to his live shows. His live shows are better referred to as an “experience” rather than just a gig.

Photo by Cole Breiland

The Study will host some great local bands for the sake of The Argus

Derek Wall
A&E Editor

In order to raise some awareness toward the fantastic student publication that is the Argus (*cough cough*), The Argus executive is hosting a concert at The Study coffeehouse here on the Lakehead campus. If you’ve got some time, love live music, and want to support LU’s student paper, come spend some time with us on Friday night.
The band’s lined up to perform are Thunder Bay performers Jon Reid, Marley Giunta, The Other Colour, and The Promise.
The Promise is made of vocalist Alex Onski, guitarist Timo Pehkonen, keyboardist Sara Salokari, bassist Taylor Perrault, and Master’s degree-holding percussionist Michael Wright. Onski describes the group’s sound as, “a mixture of indie rock, blues, jazz, [and] a tiny bit of folk.” This makes narrowing the sound genre difficult, and Onski further commented, “We don’t really know what to call it!”
The Promise’s line up will consist of both original material and cover tunes.
Jon Reid will also be entertaining the crowd with Jared Schaaf accompanying on guitar. Jon Reid, along with Matt Sellick, won the Youth Talent competition in Thunder Bay last year, so we can expect a solid show from the young entertainer.
In order to get some live talent to perform at the party, The Argus has written off pulling in any profound amount of money from the event. The purpose of the concert is to get as many people out as possible and have a good time. “I like that it’s not so much about raising money,” quoted Argus Editor-In-Chief, Brandi Cameron, “It’s a community event and more about raising awareness and just have people hang out.” The hope is that people, Argus readers or otherwise, come out and just have a good time.
The acoustic theme of the concert will fit right in at Lakehead’s relaxed Study Coffeehouse and should prove to be a great way to kick off the weekend.
The Argus hopes to see many people out at the concert. Price of admission is a mere $5, but remember that if you wish to criticize or complain about The Argus, it is customary to buy the executive a round of beer before doing so. Not sure why this is a custom, it just is.

The Heatskores - Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse

Mike St. Jean
Layout & Design Editor

Every once in a while you will have the great fortune of finding an energy-filled CD that, for lack of a better term, absolutely knocks your socks off. Unfortunately, more times than not, after seeing said band live you leave disappointed, as their performance did not live up to the expectations their album created.
Enter The Heatskores, whose 2005 album, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse, will entice you to start a band of your own, while their concerts will make you second guess your own musical ability.
The Heatskores are, first and foremost, a live band, one that creates enough energy to power an entire city as soon as they hit the stage and strum the first guitar chord of their set. Early releases from the Newmarket, Ontario 4-piece failed to capture this energy, however, this disc definitely does them justice, to say the least.
This album will quickly become an instant favourite for all punk rock and ska fans. Just like their shows, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse contains a frantic passion for music that most bands cannot even dream of possessing. The blend of fast paced punk and up-beat ska will leave the listener craving much more music than this 36 minute release contains, but thankfully the album’s 16 tracks provide enough variation that they will seem as fresh as the first time you heard them for years to come.
From the first note of the album’s opening track, “I’ll Break Your Face,” the listener will quickly realize this band means business. Other must-hear songs include the ‘slower’ paced “Same Old Story,” the patriotic Canadian anthem “Don’t Wanna Be American,” the nostalgic “New New Newmarket Blues,” and “Emo for Sale,” which effectively sums up the seemingly never-ending amount of negative messages in today’s popular music.
Unfortunately, new listeners will not have the benefit of ever seeing the band live, as they broke up in late 2007 after 10 years of playing live and living the do it yourself lifestyle. But thanks to this album, which would ultimately be their last release, their legacy will live on as one of the most passionate bands you have probably never heard of.
Although The Heatskores likely didn’t plan to go out on top, Smile… Tomorrow Will Be Worse definitely allowed them to do just that. Fans of Choking Victim, Leftover Crack, American Distress, INDK or countless other punk/ska bands will definitely want to check this album out immediately.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

Kenneth Lloyd

Generally speaking, one praises a book for its descriptiveness and the way a novel can paint an image in your imagination. What makes Perfume special, in this sense, is the way surroundings and settings are not described as they appear, but rather as how they smell. And, considering this book is set in 18th century France, the smells can get a little graphic at times.
Enter Grenouille, a child born without any scent of his own but with the supernatural ability to categorize scent in his active memory and “remember” a scent perfectly at will. He has such a sensitive nose that he can smell individual ingredients of a particular bouquet of scent from over a mile away.
Grenouille, due to his lack of scent, has always been ostracized and forgotten by the rest of society, and therein lies one of the more interesting statements of this book. When we label someone as beautiful, ugly, important, worthless, or anything else, scent is an unconscious but crucial component.
Eventually, Grenouille begins to experiment with recreating human scents of varying social status members in order to disguise himself as any component he want to occupy for the day.
My absolute favourite part of this story is the first human scent experiment done by Grenouille. In order to recreate a human olfactory experience, Grenouille mixes some rosemary, sea salt, alcohol, oil, fermenting cheese, and a hint of cat dung.
The excitement truly picks up when Grenouille decides to make the ultimate perfume by harvesting the arousing, intoxicating scent of young, virginal women. Grenouille proves to be a powerful anti-hero, capable of using his lack of a scent to cloak himself and being able to pinpoint the location of his victims (even through porous stone walls) within a mile radius.
Well worth a read if you’re interested in a new take on detailed writing. Also worth reading if you’re at all curious about the olfactory sensations of 18th century France.

Despite initial concern, the cast rise to the occasion

Derek Wall
A&E Editor

The Cambrian players’ latest offering, Arms and the Man (AATM), by George Bernard Shaw, is a well handled and well executed staging of a classic.
Having had he opportunity to talk to some of the actors before the opening of the show, I was aware that the delivery of Shaw’s wordy and somewhat elegant text was a cause for concern for the performers. Happily, the actors delivered the text clearly and comfortably making the classical dialogue heighten the enjoyment of the performance rather than bog it down.
There was some clever play with the dialogue present, in fact. Whereas Jason Boesche’s portrayal of Nicola, the servant, seemed to savor each and every word he spoke, Bryan MacLoed’s Bluntschli dared to toss away and underplay the odd Shaw line here and there. I felt this was a success for the cast of AATM because each character had a distinct voice and they completely sidestepped the trap that many acting troupes (amateur and professional) tend to fall into with a text heavy, classic script. The text can be regarded as too sacred and as a result of all the actors carefully and deliberately executing each and every word, the spoken aspect takes on the quality of a rhythmic metronome and monotony ensues.
This was not the case at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday night, thankfully, and the audience was fully invited to enjoy in the satire and hilarity of the script. There are no weak links in the casting of this show and each scene clipped along at a good pace.
The show is running for another weekend (March 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th) at The Paramount Theatre so there is still an opportunity to see the production before closing.