Comics Review: Scott Pilgrim

Due to an unfortunate misunderstand at work, I had an extra hour to kill before clocking in. So I ran over to Books-a-Million and zeroed in on the graphic novel section. Unlike many stores, Books-a-Million has pretty much given up on wrapping graphic novels in plastic to keep people from reading them. So I grabbed the first volume of Fables and headed toward the cafe. One my way I went through the manga section and out of the corner of my eye caught this:


I'd been meaning to read it ever since I saw this totally rad movie poster (featuring Michael Cera):

So I sit down and try to decide, Fables or Scott Pilgrim? I had less faith in Scott Pilgrim, so I started there figuring that if it sucked I could just set it aside. It took me less than one issue or chapter or whatever they're called to decide I loved this comic. Most comics are propelled forward by the plot. Bruce Wayne meets a woman but then he finds out she is evil! So Batman is forced to fight and accidentally kill/purposely arrest her. This is what Batman does. He doesn't do it cause he's the goddamn Batman, he does it because that's the plot. Scott Pilgrim occasionally does things for the plot, but usually he does things because he's Scott Pilgrim and that's what he does. He dates a high schooler mostly cause he enjoys gossiping with her. He forgets when his birthday is. The story follows Scott Pilgrim as he stumbles through life as a dirty, unemployed hipster. The plot mostly centers on Scott's relationship with his brand new girlfriend (not the high school one), Ramona Flowers, and his attempts at defeating her seven evil exes. O'Malley's wit is spot on. He panders to hipsters while ridiculing them. Sort of like if Questionable Content had continued to make mocking hipsters it's theme but actually had clever writing. And, like most of my favorite things, the characters have conversations that remind me of my own life:

I also greatly enjoyed the random detours in story telling and style. In a later book, O'Malley includes a recipe for vegan shepard's pie (after explaining that none of them are vegan, they "just like being inclusive"). Many times, meters reminiscent of hp bars in older video games are displayed to show things like the need to pee. Here's how he represented our first view of the band's practice sessions (if blogger makes it big enough):


Bottom line: If you like hipsters, mocking hipsters, love stories, video games, relationship drama, or slice of life stories you'll like Scott Pilgrim.

Similar works: Questionable Content (for hipster relationshit), xkcd (for witty ways of looking at daily life)