Why I Love... Scott Pilgrim!
Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week's column was one I was going to wait on, but with no idea on when the last book is going to be released next year I figured now was a perfect time to do a spotlight on the series. I'm talking, of course, about Brian Lee O'malley's indie hit Scott Pilgrim!
Scott Pilgrim is the story of a 20-something Canadian slacker who ends up falling in love with a New Yorker who has 7 evil ex-boyfriends that, in order to keep dating her, Scott has to fight and win against. Pretty simple sounding concept, right? Well, in my mind there is nothing simple about this series. Scott is our lead and Ramona is the girl he falls madly in love with after she appears in his dreams via subspace.
So far there are 5 books out of 6 in the series. The 6th has been promised before the release of the movie in 2010. The movie will be directed by cult movie director Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead, Spaced and Hot Fuzz fame.
Each book tackles different problems, introduces new characters (6 out of the 7 ex-boyfriends have officially appeared) and throughout the series there are hints of the 7th evil boyfriend, Gideon.
The supporting cast of each book is just as strong as Scott himself. Whether it's his ex high school girlfriend, Knives Chau obsessing over Scott and trying to get him back, or lead singer/guitarist of Sex Bob-omb Stephen Stills, who is a personal favorite of mine. Kim pine is one of Scott's closest friends and also one of his exes who through the first few books we don't know what happened between them.
It's a romance story, an action story, an adventure story and an epic battle story all thrown into a blender and what comes out is one of the more unique series of original graphic novels I've ever read in my life. (I realized it's a pretty big list by now on how many I've actually read)
Bryan's art on the series is truly one of the more unique things it has going for it. You can tell that it's influenced with a kind of cartoony style and infused with manga like sensibilities to make a really one of a kind look to each book. The characters, while looking a bit manga like, all feel human. There is a scene in volume one where Ramona is drenched and trying to warm up and looks pretty real to life.
Music plays a big part in the series as Scott's band Sex Bob-omb plays a few shows with a few different bands and I'm very anxiously awaiting to hear how they actually sound as obviously music doesn't fully translate off the page of a comic. The way Bryan draws the music though it might as well jump off the page and you can tell just how big a role it plays in the overall series.
The battles with the different evil ex-boyfriends are often humorous, though the last two go the more serious route. The first 3 are very video game like, which is another thing that goes throughout the series. There are a lot of video game references from Zelda to Super Mario.
Scott's parents play a kind of mysterious role throughout the series and actually finally appear in volume 5. It's also great to see all the flashbacks to the past revealing what made Kim the way she is (I flat out love Kim Pine as a character and she's one of my favorites). Not to mention Scott's successful ex who is kind of a bitch and leads into more of the interesting material in book numbers 2 and 3.
The series is full of mystery, people trying their best to grow up and become better people, rock showdowns, big action fight scenes and plenty of romance along the way. I really appreciate how Bryan paced the series and I can remember sitting there reading book 5 flipping through each page to the next shocking revelation.
I think being a 20-something myself, the book hits harder as I find myself identifying with some of the crazy stuff that Scott goes through. He's not quite sure what he wants to do with his life, he wants to find love and make it work out and he seemingly does his best to be liked by everyone.
There is a lot to love in the series; from the music to the action and the romance there is a lot here. Each battle is unique and offers something different from the last. Relationships change through each book and Ramona's hair changes more times than you can count. Overall, each book is easily affordable and makes you want to read the next. I highly anticipate the next volume and look forward to seeing the final epic battle between Scott and Gideon and what happens with Sex Bob-omb!
The Why I Love Comics Awards are coming in two weeks on the 31st! Join us here next week for another spotlight on another awesome book!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
blog comments powered by Disqus