Scott Pilgrim!
If you have never heard the name Scott Pilgrim, then I am deeply saddened for you. Your life is missing a piece. You would not feel satisfied with your life if you died without reading Scott Pilgrim. You would have to come back as a ghost just to accomplish the unfinished business that is reading Scott Pilgrim. And if you’re a non-corporeal ghost without “Swayze” powers, then I guess you’ll just have to get Patricia Arquette or Jennifer Love Hewitt to read them to you.
I’m writing this post as a warning. Don’t live a life with out regret. Read Scott Pilgrim before you die, or at the most, read it before the movie comes out next year.
That’s actually the main reason I’m writing this. You have about a year to go out there right now and find volumes 1 thru 5 of Scott Pilgrim and read the hell out of them. As we speak Edgar Wright, director of such fantastic films as Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, is hard at work with getting this film together. And so far, the plan is to release the movie a little while after the sixth and final volume comes out, just as soon as Bryan Lee O’Malley (creator, writer, and artist) gets it done.
As much as I would love to give you a full play-by-play analysis of volume’s 1-5, I feel it would be better to wait for the sixth to come out, and give one large “Meta” review, encompassing the entire story of Scott Pilgrim. For right now, all I’ll do is do my best to sell you the premise and give you some damn good reasons as to why you should attach part of your life to this work of art.
First Reason: THIS PICTURE! As you can see it’s a piece of promotional art for volume 3. The art reflects that of Super Mario Bros. 3. This right here symbolizes the great gaming pop culture that Scott’s story and personality is so far steeped in. Now, mostly he makes reference to a lot of Nintendo games, but there’s a lot of jokes that any well learned gamer will appreciate. One of my favorites is of Scott going to the bathroom and relieving himself. Up above his head is a little bar that measures his current amount of urine he is withholding. As he pees, the amount get’s smaller. I love this joke because it’s something I myself have imagined; whether I’m eating, peeing, drinking (maybe I should’ve put drinking before peeing), or what ever. I love the idea of incorporating staples of the gaming culture into a daily life.
Second Reason: THE ART! Bryan Lee O’Malley has a very unique art style. Some would just say that it looks just like any other Anime or Manga, but it’s way more than that. He not only conveys emotion well, but establishes a characters personality with their sense of style or even how they carry themselves. Scott wears wristbands because he thinks they keep him cool in the warm weather. THEY DON’T! That shows how naive he is. Romona constantly changes the style of her hair, she also has a long list of ex boyfriends (exes!). His art contributes to the story almost more than the words do. The pacing, the page lay outs, even the lettering. He puts so much focus and hard work into every page that it just bleeds perfection. And if your one of those people who’s turned off by black & white art, then all I can say is “shame on you!”
Third Reason: THE WRITING! Click on the picture there and read the dialogue for that scene. It’s probably my favorite scene in the whole first volume. The exchange feels similar to how it might be if I had… a girlfriend (weep). And that’s one thing about the writing that O’Malley does best, it feels extremely relatable. It’s relatable for guys, because we’ve all felt like Scott before. It’s relatable for girls because girls have all had to deal with guys like Scott. The story may stray into some very unbelievable territory, but in the end, the situations that Scott gets himself are very real.
The whole story is based around him fighting for Ramona’s love. Even though that’s something all guys might have to do, he does it for reals. Scott literally has to fight Ramona’s Evil Exes in order to prove himself. I could get into more philosophical meanings to how this relates with real relationships, but I won’t go that far.
From the dialogue, to the story, O’Malley knows what he’s doing when he writes this because he (sort of) lived through it. He really did fall in love with an American girl, he really was in a band, and he really does play too much video games. All in all, the story is almost autobiographical, but with a fantasy twist. Which when it comes down to it, isn’t that what we all want?
I can only hope that I’ve peaked your interest. Now please, go and buy some Scott Pilgrim. Each volume is around 12 bucks, and even though they look thick, you’ll finish each one in less than an hour.
ENJOY!
-Ben, the comic guru
*If you’d like to keep track of the film’s production, go to the official Scott Pilgrim movie website and watch Edgar Wright give the first video blog. It’s fantastic!