i2Culture Secon GRAPHIC NOVEL a NG twozerofour.net Seconds: book review Colin Slark Team Member his summer saw the release of a new graphic novel from Scott Pilgrim creator and Ontario native Brian Lee O’Malley titled Seconds. How does O’Malley follow up his successful franchise that spanned six books, a movie, and a video game? Very well. Whereas Scott Pilgrim dealt with a young man who was finally forced to grow up, Seconds is about problems you face after you've already grown up, and the ways in which things aren’t what you had always dreamed they'd be. Katie is a 29 year old going on 30 who is the head chef of a restaurant named Seconds. While the menu and many aspects of the restaurant are by her design, she does not own Seconds. Because of this, she has partnered with a friend to buy and renovate a previously existing building into her dream restaurant. One day, while working at Seconds, Katie accidentally causes one of the wait staff to burn her arms with hot oil. When she goes to bed, she finds three items in her dresser: a notebook, a mushroom, and an instruction card. The instruction card tells her to write down a mistake in the notebook, eat the mushroom and go to bed. Katie does this and finds herself having a dream in which she relives the previous day, and is able to fix her mistake. She awakes to find that reality has been altered to fit what happened in her dream. Katie finds another mushroom and becomes addicted to the effect, constantly trying to fix every mistake she has ever made. The art in Seconds is top notch. O’Malley’s art is inspired by manga, but he stretches his artistic muscles further, drawing some neat set pieces where reality is dissolving, and inhuman monsters stalk the pages. The art also benefittes greatly by the colours finished by Canadian artist Nathan Fairbairn, helping set the mood on many pages and giving it a distinct look. Seconds is a much more serious book than Scott Pilgrim. Though its predecessor was packed with references to pop culture and jokes on every page, Seconds has funny moments, but the story is more focused. As a result, it feels like a more personal and emotional story, and carries a bit of weight to it. The book also benefits from being 336 pages long. It isn’t a serialized story like many graphic “novels” are. It isn’t a collection of shorter stories; it is one long story that allows for better pacing. Seconds is a very approachable book--big, colourful, and emotionally resonant. If you're looking for a graphic novel to pick up, give it a try. Colin Slark Team Member A UNBC students return for the fall semester, they might be wondering what to do for entertainment after they have paid a sizeable chunk of money on tuition. Fortunately, the Internet contains thousands of free episodes of serialized audio and video programs in podcast form. Grab your media player of choice, and read this list of some of the most interesting podcasts around. All of the following podcasts are available on iTunes and their respective websites. Welcome to Night Vale: A twice-monthly podcast bringing you broadcasts from the community radio station of the fictional American town of Night Vale. This podcast is a celebration of weird and spooky things and feels like what a radio station from Twin Peaks would sound like. It is enthralling to hear the residents of Night Vale dealing with love, war, and the tiny civilization that lives underneath lane five of the local bowling alley. The History of Rome: If you're a fan of history or of Rome, you could do far worse than to listen to this. Mike Duncan goes through Roman history from start to finish, from the mythical beginnings of the city to the collapse of the Western empire. Duncan’s style is informal, but confident. This makes listening to 179 episodes feel like grand tale rather than homework, or a chore. CBC Radio’s Under the Influence: Former advertising copywriter Terry O'Reilly discusses the ins and outs of the advertising business. you Stave off boredom O'Reilly takes on a wide variety of subjects related to advertising, and discusses them with a mixture of inside knowledge and interesting examples of successes and failures. Less Than Live with Kate Or Die: Canadian cartoonist and comics writer Kate Leth discusses the comics industry with fellow creators every two weeks in this podcast. Less Than Live talks about comics’ news, new releases, and the current and future projects of Kate and her guests. One of the greatest strengths of this podcast is how the industry is discussed in regards to women in the comic book industry. While comic books are typically marketed towards a male audience, Leth and her guests talk about what comics are welcoming to female readers, and how comics can be made more accessible to women in general. My Brother, My Brother and Me: Brothers Travis, Justin, and Griffin McElroy host this podcast in which they give humourous advice based on both listener submitted questions and questions submitted to websites like Yahoo Answers. Their answers are ridiculous and amusing, and with over 200 episodes, you won't run out of content any time soon. The Thrilling Adventure Hour: This podcast collects recordings of a live stage show in Los Angeles performed in the style of old-time serialized radio series. With many different segments spanning from supernatural mystery to cowboys on Mars, this series is very funny and features guest stars from your favourite TV shows and movies.