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: Shaving
Jan 31, 2006

Yep, Wally’s skin is black, just like all polar bears. His fur is clear, and his skin is black, yet polar bears appear bright white due to the reflection of light off their hollow hairs.

I don’t think Wally shaving for no apparent reason is even the insane issue here, it’s the fact that he used one of those old-fashioned barber straight-edge razors. Those things are terrifying. When I first started shaving I did so with an electric razor, it was a while till I even used a normal razor. But those straight-edge ones, who thought that was a good idea? Maybe it was rough times for barbers back then and they used them to defend themselves and have knife fights in the back alley.

Perhaps those were the same razors they used for blood-letting, if you’ve ever seen the rotating red and white tubes at a barber shop, that’s what it is symbolic for. Back in the days a barber was a jack of all trades, he’d pull a tooth, stitch a wound, give you a nice hair trim and you’d be on your way.

28 Comments

  1. D3 says:

    Those straight edge things are nasty, and another great comic 😀

  2. Alexander says:

    They’re awful in the hands of an amateur, I live in Bulgaria but I’ve heard that in Istanbul ( Turkey ) they only shave you with these kinds of razors, they’re old fashioned but they actually work better than a modern razor or elecrtical one.

  3. Sev says:

    Yeah, people I know who use them say they give a closer shave than safety razors. Whether that’s worth years of face-slicing to leanr how to do, I don’t know.

    I just recently got back into using shaving cream and water. I dry shaved for a long time, and I’m not sure why.

  4. Tyler Martin says:

    I use my electric now when I’m in a hurry, or the regular one but with soft gooey shave gel. I’m 31 and can’t even grow a full beard, just a goatee and mustache… don’t even have sideburns. 🙂

  5. Sev says:

    I am often amazed at how I can how so hair in unattractive places and so little on my face.

    I think I phrased that delicately enough.

    Hobbit.

  6. Tyler Martin says:

    Heh, the way you phrased it… “I can how so hair”.

    I don’t even have a single chest hair. I’m like a manchild. I hang out with Michael J Fox and Leonardo DiCaprio.

  7. Matt D says:

    I went to a barber one that cut all of my hair (yes, the one in my head) using one of those things. It wasn’t a complete shave, but it was pretty short.

    Very painful experience.

  8. Julie says:

    Man, I’ve never been happier about the fact I’m a girl and don’t have to use a straight razor!

  9. Sev says:

    Matt, you only have one hair on your head?

    I would grow a mustache, but I’m afraid I would end up looking too much like Kip Dynamite.

  10. Kevin says:

    Shaving is a pain – I only recently started shaving every day because in summer for some reason, I always feel like my face is dirty if I don’t shave it every day.

    I also don’t know why they call them safety razors – usually my throat is a bloody mess at the end of it.

  11. Sev says:

    Are you using one blade or two? I use two blade disposables, and I rarely cut myself.

    I was in a huge hurry one morning and forgot to shave, so I bought a one-blade disposable and shaved while walking to class. I cut some sort of blood vessel and got blood all down the front of my shirt.

  12. Tyler Martin says:

    Julie, yeah, you get to use fun things like wax and glue strips. 😀

    Kevin, you might be doing something wrong… 😯

  13. michael says:

    sorry, because this is kinda’ off subject, but I just wrote a on the rocks article in wikipedia (the free encyclepedia that anyone can edit, find it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) and someone might want to add to it

    forever off subject, and to young to shave.
    Michael B.

  14. Phill says:

    I’ve only ever used an electric shaver, not even a safety razor. I’d probably run for the hills if someone approached me with one of those straight-edge things.

  15. Sev says:

    Electric shavers don’t give me a close enough shave quickly enough.

    Michael, the wikipedia article seems to be missing.

  16. Tyler Martin says:

    Wikipedia wolves are pretty quick to remove webcomics if you don’t have a full list of credentials and a letter from the governor. I don’t really see the need to have the site there though, I mean, if you are on the internet already, and want to learn about a site, just go to the site. 🙂

  17. tylerdurtin says:

    wtf that was prety fhking funny

  18. LPS says:

    Very funny strip. I always use a gillette mach 3 to shave. I never use shaving cream, only water, probably because I’m too lazy to put some on.

  19. bobo says:

    wikipedia whias on the news.

  20. Eric says:

    I hate wikipedia! I posted an article and it was up for speedy deletion within 10 seconds! Those admins! I want to be one! I’d refuse speedy deletion of a lot of pages!

    Eric

  21. hi guys says:

    Ii’m a girl AND to young to shav so i’m pretty lucky 😎

  22. baybay2 says:

    Hey jenny i was joking you suck!!!

  23. Joseph says:

    No, polar bears DO NOT have black skin! I thought they were supposed to have pink skin!
    Why did you have Wally’s tongue blue? And why did you make his skin black?
    Is it because of the limited colour palette?

  24. Joseph says:

    On second thought, my mistake.

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