There are many comics out there. Then, there's Brian Lee O'Malley's
Scott Pilgrim.
Scott Pilgrim's premise, along with it's art style and writing, is like nothing I've read before. Granted, I don't read many comics, and when I do it's usually the more mainstream ones. Ones like Superman, X-Men, Spider-man and Batman. Though I'm trying to fix this, nonetheless none of the comics I've read so far have captivated my mind and especially my heart much like
Scott Pilgrim has. Even against such classics that comic readers revere like Sandman, Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns, I'd have to say that is my favorite comic by a long shot. Of course, that doesn't mean I think it should receive the award for Bestest of the Best Comic Ever in the Whole Wide World (someone does have an award called that, right?), but I still think it's a damn fine read, and well worth your time.
The premise of the comic is rather simple: Scott Pilgrim, at the age of 23, is already living the life. He lives with an awesome though rather promiscuously gay roommate, he's in a band called Sex Bob-omb that's starting to get their own gigs, and, best of all, his life seems to be free of responsibilities. He can pretty much take it easy and act like a doofus, though a rather charming one, without getting into much fuss. Yes, life is quite fine for Mr. Pilgrim, until one night when he runs into Ramona Flowers in the strangest way possible. Suffice to say, he doesn't let her go, and ends up trying to track her down again. When they finally meet up, he manages to coax her into dating him, and this is where the story truly begins. For with her comes seven evil ex-boyfriends that he must face and, on top of that, a load of responsibilities he has to take care of. In essence, this is a story of a man who must juggle between his band, his girlfriend, and her evil exes, all while trying to live his life.
While that might sound soap opera-ish or boring, it really isn't. It's original and interesting in the fact that Brian Lee O'Malley gives it a big twist by adding a large dose of the supernatural into the mix. When Scott first meets Ramona, it's because she's using his dreams as shortcut for subspace travel so she can do her job more efficiently. Each encounter with one of the evil exes is like seeing a video game boss fight drawn panel by panel. Fireballs, psycho powers, ninja skills and much more are used to try and defeat our stalwart hero.
In fact, the whole comic feels very much like you're reading a story about someone living in a video game, which is just a small part of it's charm. Instead of trying to explain everything that happens out of the ordinary to the audience, the comic assumes that the reader should accept that it's normal, much like it's characters have. Even in the rare cases when Scott is surprised at something, the comic doesn't bother to explain fully why, if at all. It's different and refreshing, proving that a story doesn't need to bog you down with details to be interesting. It's much like those old 8-bit video games you'd play as a kid, where you didn't wonder why games which had a facade of realism over them had power-ups, enemies or levels that didn't make much sense at all. Instead, you just went along with the whole thing while enjoying the game. It's obvious this is what Brian Lee O'Malley wants his readers to do with many, many video game references placed throughout the comic, like savepoints, extra lives and coins that drop when Scott defeats an opponent.
The characters, on the other hand, feel quite real. Besides Scott and Ramona, there's the members in his band, Ramona's exes, Scott's friends, his friends of friends, some of his exes, his family, and not to mention the bands they meet at their gigs. Oh, and Michael Comeau (who most likely isn't any of the people that show up in the search results as you google his name this very second). Out of all of them, only a handful of them are recurring, while the rest appear only for a few pages to leave their impression on the reader before disappearing altogether, never to be seen again Well, I wouldn't exactly say that. Many do appear later, though not all at once, instead sprinkled throughout the comics lightly. Some even appear when you least expect it. Though many of the minor characters, I admit, don't get to develop, they at least have some distinct trait or personality that makes them stand out from the crowd, many of them even rather likably. The major characters are fleshed out quite a bit, whether it's through flashbacks or the amount of time they spend on each page (and for the lucky select few, both). Scott is the prime example, as through the comics you'll get to see him grow as an adult as more and more everyday problems weigh themselves on his shoulders. Ramona develops in a different way, as her past and her character is revealed more and more with each evil ex Scott takes on.
And the dialogue, oh, the dialogue It is extremely well written, making everyone all the more believable. Everyone, from Scott to the narcissistic drummer in his band, speak in a way that you would expect them to speak. It's not predicable so much as it is real. You can imagine how every word is spoken and can even see having some of these conversations in your normal day to day life. That's not to say it's boring. There are many cases where the dialogue shines through, giving you many memorable moments that would have faltered otherwise.
That doesn't mean the art is terrible, nor does it mean it can't stand on it's own. It is actually quite charming and simplistic, giving off a rather anime-ish look with the way each character is drawn. It's been said that the eyes are the window to the soul and O'Malley understands this completely. With how big their eyes are, you get a pretty clear view to see what they're feeling. With one lowered eyebrow it could indicates interest, with two it could be anger or just plain old boredom. Extremely small pupils may mean shock, surprise or even scared, depending on the context. But it's not just the eyes that's so great about the style. It's their small mouths, their pointy hair, their big ears, and their microscopic noses. It's the shape of their bodies and the squareness of their fingers. It's how easy it to tell what their facial expressions are when they're far off in the panel with only a few short lines drawn on them. Nothing is greatly detailed. Instead, it's nothing but the little details that you see, all coming together to make a unique look that other comics don't have. It's cute, uncomplicated and completely fits the spirit of the comic.
The series, while it starts out great, wastes no time breaking expectations and progressively gets even better as it goes along. Everything does, even the art. If you compare panels from first volume to the latest, you'll just see how rough the first one looked. It's not that bad, even if you put it side by side to it's latest pages, but it does look unrefined. Shading isn't as shady as it should be, poses aren't as dynamic as they could be, characters aren't as well drawn as they will be, and so on. The dialogue and overall story gets better as well, going from simply great to simply spectacular by the time you reach volume four. It's because both very much depend on the main characters and neither one of them ever take a wrong turn in their development. Even the evil exes, who are rather different from your normal group of villains, are well written, or at least well written enough to help the story, not hinder it. Overall, it's easy to tell that the whole series was written and drawn by one man, one who continues to hone his skill in both, despite how much praise he's gotten since his first volume. Most would that's good enough It's inspiring how dedicated he is in improving his work and will, without a doubt, continue to improve even long after the series is over.
Overall, I love
Scott Pilgrim. Or, rather, I don't just love it, I adore it. Within only a scant few pages, the series captured my heart and hasn't given it back since. Not once did it let go, even in the long wait between volumes. It's such an odd phenomenon too because I've never felt so attached to anything as I am to
Scott Pilgrim. I wouldn't say I eat, sleep and dream it, but every time I open a volume I completely envelope myself into it's world. I feel less like a reader and more like an invisible observer, someone who's actually there, watching over everything Scott and friends do. I may not be personally involved (and if I tried that's dangerously stepping into the borders of poorly written fan fiction), but I feel emotionally involved. I get excited when the action heats up. I get scared when Scott is in trouble. I feel proud when he accomplishes some great task and distraught when he's hurt. Although multiple readings may have dulled these emotions, I still feel them every time. My mind may know what happens next but my feelings will still react the same. It is a truly magical and wondrous series to invoke such passion in me, and I believe it's something everyone should read and enjoy (hence why I wrote this article). Like I mentioned before, it may not be the best comic in the world, but it certainly is the best comic in my heart.
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