issue 31// vol 47 arts // no. 11 An Indigenous superhero fighting to save the world » For once a highly original comic that isn’t from the Marvel or DC universe Jonathan Pabico Senior Columnist wkweK KY f you're looking to get into Indigenous comic books, a good place to start is Kagagi: The Raven by writers Jay Odjick and Patrick Tenascon. Their story blends comic elements with First Nations culture to reimagine the genre with arguably the first ever Indigenous superhero. The graphic novel follows Indigenous teenager Matthew Carver walking the usual beats of high school life until he awakens his inner power as the superhero Kagagi. Helped by mysterious stranger Wisakedjak, Carver battles an evil entity from the stories of old which is known as the Windigo. What really makes the story so accessible for anybody is that it has many interesting Spider-Man parallels to engage readers with its content, while simultaneously subverting superhero tropes for relevant themes. Like Peter Parker, Carver is an outsider picked on by the school bully—but Carver is not targeted for being an introverted nerd. Instead, he is targeted because of his First Nations roots. Carver's racial othering reflects the societal pains caused by anti-Indigenous racism that still happens in Canada today. His emotional distance from friends and how alone he feels in carrying his personal problems deepen how culturally displaced he is as an Indigenous youth. The evil entity Windigo is treated like a comic book supervillain through his serrated teeth, chilling dialogue, and imposing dark form that give him some surreal Venom vibes. Moreover, Kagagi has powers like Spider-Man that add familiar energy to his fight scenes with Windigo. The comic also has decent tone from Carver’s heartwarming family relationship with parental guardian Janet (who's basically his Aunt May). The action scenes are the most exciting set pieces in the graphic novel. Kagagi has fast-paced and hard-hitting fights with Windigo and his followers. This is achieved through angled close-ups, vivid onomatopoeias, glossy colours, and punchy character dialogue within small or narrow panels misaligned with wider sections. These visuals create tension, while growing the action’s grave dangers as Windigo’s and Kagagi’s worlds collide. Odjick and Tenascon use the Windigo story and scenes with Carver and Wisakedjak to educate readers on how important it is for current Indigenous generations to preserve stories. The comic advocates for how storytelling is the core of First Nations’ cultural beginnings. As far as flaws go, Carver’s superhero segment from his story arc is rushed, since he masters his powers quite quickly and easily accepts the dark events orchestrated by the Windigo. If the comic had more time to explore his disbelief, there could’ve been more believability for him as a protagonist. This issue is quite minor since the graphic novel is satisfying enough for any superhero fan. After the comic ends, Odjick and Tenascon also include bonus material consisting of incredible pieces of concept Art from 'Kagagi: The Raven' art and sketches for their book. Along with the Kagagi narrative, these drawings make the comic feel like an art gallery proudly celebrating Indigenous culture. Overall, Jay Odjick and Patrick Tenascon’s Kagagi: The Raven is an enjoyable standalone graphic novel not from Marvel or DC. The authors explore First Nations culture, history, and identity, utilizing the superhero genre in refreshing ways with relevant themes and original characters. Odjick and Tenascon’s comic is available online for free on the streaming platform Hoopla. YouTube music video classics: The Weeknd » Sex, drugs, and success according to Abel Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist uring his childhood in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Abel Tesfaye would make mixtapes about the struggles in his life and performing in singing competitions to get his work out. After being found on the music scene in the early 2010s and the release of his 2015 breakthrough album Beauty Behind the Madness, he would become one of the biggest musicians in Canada and worldwide—known commonly as The Weeknd. I remember the first time I watched Tesfaye performing as one of the headliners in the inaugural edition of FVDED In The Park in Surrey where he said positive things about Vancouver. During the encore, he even held a bra that was thrown on the stage while he was performing the Academy Award nominated theme song of Fifty Shades of Grey “Earned It.” His vocals are reminiscent of Michael Jackson and his songs tackle the dangers of the streets late at night, substance abuse, and in his recent Juno winning album After Hours he discusses the “bandages of Hollywood.” Each of his albums have a cinematic universe in the music videos and I will be explaining most of them by album (which you can find on YouTube). Beauty Behind the Madness has my favourite song by the musician “Can't Feel My Face.” In the music video he performs in a club unnoticed. After a woman smokes a cigarette and throws her lighter towards him, he is set on fire, and everyone starts dancing. (I thought that being on fire was what the song was about, but he was talking about his face being numb after using cocaine.) The same woman can be seen in the music videos of “The Hills” and “Tell Your Friends” where we find out that Tesfaye works for a mob boss and later shoots her in the middle of the desert. He follows up with 2016's Starboy produced by the recently disbanded electronic group Daft Punk and described as an epic science-fiction film. In the music video of the title song, Tesfaye gets murdered by an alter ego named Starboy and rides along with a black panther ina stolen car. The vibe of the music video of the song is like, “I got my awards, what’s next?” You see Starboy’s world in the music video of “Party Monster” which is similar to the music video of “In the Night” both directed by BRTHR and looked like a B-List 1980s action film. He would later perish in the music video of “I Feel It Coming” and would later be found by Daft Punk. After that, the low key My Dear Melancholy was released in 2018 which only had a music video for its main single “Call Out My Name.’ In the video we see Tesfaye going through a windstorm and encountering unusual creatures and statues along the way. His masterpiece After Hours is like his take on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas where he plays a lucky guy being high while getting chased by mobs later to find out that he gets possessed and becomes a creepy murderer. His backstory is explained in “Heartless” and the music video of the popular song of last year “Blinding Lights.” Tesfaye getting beat up at the end of the video might be the reason Photo of The Weeknd by Salandco via Wikimedia Commons rad re - . why his face is swollen in the music video of “Save Your Tears.” The music video of “Snowchild” summarizes his troubling life so far in the form of an anime. Everyone knows his struggle and Tesfaye has more stories to tell from his madness.