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Scott Pilgrim #1-6
Scott Pilgrim Color Collection Slipcase Set
The New York Times bestselling series, and basis for the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, is now available in a new full-color softcover format!
This Color Collection Box Set collects all six volumes of the award-winning series in three massive books that might wreak havoc on your bookshelf. But the memories will be worth it! Laugh as slacker Scott Pilgrim tries and sometimes fails to get his life together and win the heart of the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers! Cry when things look bleak for our heroes! Make a confused face at the countless Canadian references! (Unless you live in Canada already.) The perfect gift for a Scottoholic—or for anyone discovering the bestselling series for the first time.
This Color Collection Box Set collects all six volumes of the award-winning series in three massive books that might wreak havoc on your bookshelf. But the memories will be worth it! Laugh as slacker Scott Pilgrim tries and sometimes fails to get his life together and win the heart of the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers! Cry when things look bleak for our heroes! Make a confused face at the countless Canadian references! (Unless you live in Canada already.) The perfect gift for a Scottoholic—or for anyone discovering the bestselling series for the first time.
1212 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2010
252 people are currently reading
3525 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Lee O'Malley
62 books4,426 followersBryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. His first original graphic novel was Lost at Sea (2003), and he is best-known for the six-volume Scott Pilgrim series (2004 to 2010). All of his Scott Pilgrim graphic novels were published by Portland, Oregon-based Oni Press. In July 2014 his graphic novel Seconds was released by Ballantine Books. He is also a songwriter and musician (as Kupek and formerly in several short-lived Toronto bands).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 626 reviews
December 7, 2011
BREAD MAKES YOU FAT?!?!
March 21, 2016
You know that thing, where you find this great webcomic and spend half an hour clicking through it backwards, seeing whether it only had a few good strips, or whether its actually solid throughout, and then you figure "what the hell, I'm not doing anything tonight" and so you click the 'archive' button, and go back to the first comic, and it's from 2002, and it's just bad--flat art, dumb jokes, no sense of pacing? That's the experience of reading Scott Pilgrim.
The jokes lack subtlety and insight, the characters are consistently annoying, the art's rudimentary, everyone looks the same (except for their hair, which the author constantly changes, anyways). I've heard some people blame manga/anime inspiration for the similarity of O'Malley's characters, but there are plenty of manga artists who have mastered the art of caricature, and use it to great effect. Also like a web comic archive, it gradually gets better--but not quickly enough.
It's reminiscent of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, a movie I tired of about halfway through. Both of them are trying to be cutesy, quirky, ironic, and referential, but it's all very familiar stuff. I never felt there was a quick, complex mind at the helm--and with modern, referential humor, it's all about the delivery and the originality.
Then again, by this point, quirky internet humor has entered the mainstream and lost much of its punch, like Jerry Seinfeld talking about airline food: now everyone’s doing it. It's like your friend who thinks saying 'remember that episode of Family Guy?' is the same as telling a good joke. Both Nick and Nora's and Scott Pilgrim were by-the-book quirky. None of it is going to strike you as interesting or witty if you’re the least bit familiar with internet subcultures and humor already.
Both also had somewhat unsettling homophobic overtones, playing off all the gay characters and same-sex romance for jokes--and cute lesbians for titillation. It's nice to have more openly gay characters in YA media, but not as thin, walking punchlines. It was worse in 'Infinite Playlist', but there was still a persistent undercurrent of homosocial discomfort.
The book was also very reminiscent of the splendid anime FLCL, from the mysterious, begoggled, badass delivery girl arriving to complicate the (sex) life of our oblivious jerk protagonist to the naive, sweet waif caught up in it all--the seemingly normal world invaded by magic, twisting our expectations of reality. Yet unlike FLCL, this was not a rollicking, take-no-prisoners, psychedelic reimagining of the genre, it was just a dull story about annoying people occasionally perked up by in-joke fight scenes. The musical obsession was another shared thread, right down to the same characteristic Rickenbacker.
It's very soap opera: who is dating who, who used to date who, which would be more intriguing if I were interested in the characters. Instead, they’re the sort of dull, naive, self-absorbed people that I spent high school and college avoiding, right down to the fratboy favorite lipstick lesbian poster on the wall and an undying reverence for whatever bands Pitchfork told you to listen to this week. They value music solely because of their emotional reactions to it, but they act as if this somehow makes them special, as if their emotional connection to a particular song were somehow more valid than the average jugglette's.
Then there's the obsession with the rarity of music: collecting unknown bands and staking claim, which is a symptom of the fact that most trendy people don't recognize the difference between a cause and its effect. It's true that a knowledgeable musicologist or musical historian will be familiar with a number of 'undiscovered' bands, but deliberately seeking out unknowns will not make you more musically sophisticated--most unknown bands are unknown for good reason.
Scott himself is a mess, and yet without being either sympathetic or complex. He's definitely got that Holden Caulfield 'woe-is-me, it's not my fault I'm an asshole' vibe. As it goes on, it resembles a harem anime more and more, where all women fight over Scott all the time, despite the fact that he's a self-absorbed loser.
Now, some authors, like Nabokov or Anna Kavan, have succeeded in presenting these awful, unpleasant characters in a way that reveals their natures, the psychology which drives them to be so self-centered and thoughtless--helping us to understand these characters, and even sympathize with them, while still disliking them. It’s difficult to do, but certainly possible.
Unfortunately, there's very little introspection in Scott Pigrim, the story touches superficially on a lot of parts of childhood, especially trends, but almost never turns a critical eye on them. Everything is taken for granted, not only by the characters, but seemingly by the author. Other characters do sometimes get angry at Scott, or criticize his behavior, but this isn't the same as a commentary on the sort of person he is--we don't see him change, or suffer more than temporary drawbacks.
There's something funny about a story centered on character interaction that eschews psychological progressions or conflict resolution in favor of videogame powerups and ninja battles. But then, how many self-absorbed videogame-loving assholes wish that sex and relationships were acquired and maintained by minigames and xp grinding?
Each issue is incrementally better than the last: the story becomes more streamlined, and O'Malley takes more artistic chances, usually to the general benefit of the comic, eventually hiring on other artists who really improve the style--though in all the reviews, no one ever mentions Kantz and Ancheta. Then again, it's not like they get billing on the cover, which is a pretty disingenuous move by O'Malley: he brings in some talented artists to improve his book and he gets all the credit.
Between the ever-growing cast of indistinguishable characters and the author's love of flashbacks, the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in terms of clarity. We certainly didn't need over a thousand pages of to get here, there were maybe three volumes worth of story--with some stronger structure and development to drive toward the conclusion, it could have been solid. If I'd read a thousand pages of Hellboy or Blueberry, I could have tackled ten or fifteen complete story arcs spanning decades and continents.
Sure, we get a lot of foreshadowing, but that isn't the same as actually exploring how events came about or what they meant. It’s just characters constantly referencing their background, then getting interrupted before they can explain it. It’s such a patently artificial way to maintain tension.
All in all, Scott Pilgrim feels very much like a mid-level webcomic. It centers on the author's life and experiences, harping on in-jokes and hobbies, but lacks the character, narrative structure, wit, or art that sets good webcomics apart. It does improve, by the last volume, into something more enjoyable to read, but it’s not enough to make up for all the time spent getting to that point.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
The jokes lack subtlety and insight, the characters are consistently annoying, the art's rudimentary, everyone looks the same (except for their hair, which the author constantly changes, anyways). I've heard some people blame manga/anime inspiration for the similarity of O'Malley's characters, but there are plenty of manga artists who have mastered the art of caricature, and use it to great effect. Also like a web comic archive, it gradually gets better--but not quickly enough.
It's reminiscent of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, a movie I tired of about halfway through. Both of them are trying to be cutesy, quirky, ironic, and referential, but it's all very familiar stuff. I never felt there was a quick, complex mind at the helm--and with modern, referential humor, it's all about the delivery and the originality.
Then again, by this point, quirky internet humor has entered the mainstream and lost much of its punch, like Jerry Seinfeld talking about airline food: now everyone’s doing it. It's like your friend who thinks saying 'remember that episode of Family Guy?' is the same as telling a good joke. Both Nick and Nora's and Scott Pilgrim were by-the-book quirky. None of it is going to strike you as interesting or witty if you’re the least bit familiar with internet subcultures and humor already.
Both also had somewhat unsettling homophobic overtones, playing off all the gay characters and same-sex romance for jokes--and cute lesbians for titillation. It's nice to have more openly gay characters in YA media, but not as thin, walking punchlines. It was worse in 'Infinite Playlist', but there was still a persistent undercurrent of homosocial discomfort.
The book was also very reminiscent of the splendid anime FLCL, from the mysterious, begoggled, badass delivery girl arriving to complicate the (sex) life of our oblivious jerk protagonist to the naive, sweet waif caught up in it all--the seemingly normal world invaded by magic, twisting our expectations of reality. Yet unlike FLCL, this was not a rollicking, take-no-prisoners, psychedelic reimagining of the genre, it was just a dull story about annoying people occasionally perked up by in-joke fight scenes. The musical obsession was another shared thread, right down to the same characteristic Rickenbacker.
It's very soap opera: who is dating who, who used to date who, which would be more intriguing if I were interested in the characters. Instead, they’re the sort of dull, naive, self-absorbed people that I spent high school and college avoiding, right down to the fratboy favorite lipstick lesbian poster on the wall and an undying reverence for whatever bands Pitchfork told you to listen to this week. They value music solely because of their emotional reactions to it, but they act as if this somehow makes them special, as if their emotional connection to a particular song were somehow more valid than the average jugglette's.
Then there's the obsession with the rarity of music: collecting unknown bands and staking claim, which is a symptom of the fact that most trendy people don't recognize the difference between a cause and its effect. It's true that a knowledgeable musicologist or musical historian will be familiar with a number of 'undiscovered' bands, but deliberately seeking out unknowns will not make you more musically sophisticated--most unknown bands are unknown for good reason.
Scott himself is a mess, and yet without being either sympathetic or complex. He's definitely got that Holden Caulfield 'woe-is-me, it's not my fault I'm an asshole' vibe. As it goes on, it resembles a harem anime more and more, where all women fight over Scott all the time, despite the fact that he's a self-absorbed loser.
Now, some authors, like Nabokov or Anna Kavan, have succeeded in presenting these awful, unpleasant characters in a way that reveals their natures, the psychology which drives them to be so self-centered and thoughtless--helping us to understand these characters, and even sympathize with them, while still disliking them. It’s difficult to do, but certainly possible.
Unfortunately, there's very little introspection in Scott Pigrim, the story touches superficially on a lot of parts of childhood, especially trends, but almost never turns a critical eye on them. Everything is taken for granted, not only by the characters, but seemingly by the author. Other characters do sometimes get angry at Scott, or criticize his behavior, but this isn't the same as a commentary on the sort of person he is--we don't see him change, or suffer more than temporary drawbacks.
There's something funny about a story centered on character interaction that eschews psychological progressions or conflict resolution in favor of videogame powerups and ninja battles. But then, how many self-absorbed videogame-loving assholes wish that sex and relationships were acquired and maintained by minigames and xp grinding?
Each issue is incrementally better than the last: the story becomes more streamlined, and O'Malley takes more artistic chances, usually to the general benefit of the comic, eventually hiring on other artists who really improve the style--though in all the reviews, no one ever mentions Kantz and Ancheta. Then again, it's not like they get billing on the cover, which is a pretty disingenuous move by O'Malley: he brings in some talented artists to improve his book and he gets all the credit.
Between the ever-growing cast of indistinguishable characters and the author's love of flashbacks, the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in terms of clarity. We certainly didn't need over a thousand pages of to get here, there were maybe three volumes worth of story--with some stronger structure and development to drive toward the conclusion, it could have been solid. If I'd read a thousand pages of Hellboy or Blueberry, I could have tackled ten or fifteen complete story arcs spanning decades and continents.
Sure, we get a lot of foreshadowing, but that isn't the same as actually exploring how events came about or what they meant. It’s just characters constantly referencing their background, then getting interrupted before they can explain it. It’s such a patently artificial way to maintain tension.
All in all, Scott Pilgrim feels very much like a mid-level webcomic. It centers on the author's life and experiences, harping on in-jokes and hobbies, but lacks the character, narrative structure, wit, or art that sets good webcomics apart. It does improve, by the last volume, into something more enjoyable to read, but it’s not enough to make up for all the time spent getting to that point.
My Suggested Reading In Comics
July 4, 2025
Vol. 1 ☆☆
The main character is a creep (which everyone else sort of calls out, yes, but idc to read a story about him).
Vol. 2 ☆☆
Too much about Scott's past and love life, which idc about.
Vol. 3 ☆☆
Cool fights, cool Envy, Scott's a hypocrite, but what's new. I liked the extra Kim Pine chapter.
Vol. 4 ☆☆
I liked some of this volume (Wallace, the fights, and that one scene with the vivid colors and dark Scott), but the part where Scott is staying over at Lisa's and some other things reminded me of how little I care for Scott and Ramona, so I definitely didn't care about the confession at the end of this volume.
Vol. 5 ☆
She thought he was better than that for some indiscernible reason. But at least the final boss fight is incoming.
Vol. 6 ☆☆
See, if I gave a flying duck about Scott and Ramona, I would've liked this ending.
Now that I've read six volumes of this three volumes worth of story about a man-child and his magical pixie dream girl, with all its gay jokes and fat jokes and yo momma jokes, I can only say: goodbye and good riddance.
The main character is a creep (which everyone else sort of calls out, yes, but idc to read a story about him).
Vol. 2 ☆☆
Too much about Scott's past and love life, which idc about.
Vol. 3 ☆☆
Cool fights, cool Envy, Scott's a hypocrite, but what's new. I liked the extra Kim Pine chapter.
Vol. 4 ☆☆
I liked some of this volume (Wallace, the fights, and that one scene with the vivid colors and dark Scott), but the part where Scott is staying over at Lisa's and some other things reminded me of how little I care for Scott and Ramona, so I definitely didn't care about the confession at the end of this volume.
Vol. 5 ☆
She thought he was better than that for some indiscernible reason. But at least the final boss fight is incoming.
Vol. 6 ☆☆
See, if I gave a flying duck about Scott and Ramona, I would've liked this ending.
Now that I've read six volumes of this three volumes worth of story about a man-child and his magical pixie dream girl, with all its gay jokes and fat jokes and yo momma jokes, I can only say: goodbye and good riddance.
June 1, 2023
Although I didn't give any of the volumes a 5-star, I think taken as a whole this is such a fantastic series that it's worthy!
Bryan Lee O'Malley has so much creativity and each page is so well-drawn. It's energetic, humorous, and unique. Certainly one of the best comics of its type I've read.
Bryan Lee O'Malley has so much creativity and each page is so well-drawn. It's energetic, humorous, and unique. Certainly one of the best comics of its type I've read.
December 29, 2010
Everyone brings a context to their book reviews. Someone who has worked in the fast food industry, for example, brings a very different perspective to a review of Fast Food Nation than someone who hasn’t. For me, I bring two contexts to this review: (1) I broke my rule of always reading the book before watching the film adaptation (Scott Pilgrim vs the World was one of my favorite movies of 2010); and (2) I was (am?) an awkward, video-game obsessed, neurotic-about-girls guy – so I’m sorta pre-disposed to liking this whole graphic novel series – and I absolutely do. These stories are focused on a 23-yr-old boy (certainly not a man when we first meet him) living in Toronto who plays in a band. He is your typical twenty-something slacker: out of college with no ambition, job, or direction for his life – until he falls in love with a girl named Ramona Flowers. His life goal then becomes trying to make this relationship work, even if it means defeating her seven evil exes and his own failed-relationships demons. While there are other significant characters in these volumes, the focus is clearly on Scott. Scott views each conquest (emotionally and over the evil exes) through the lens of video games and the conventions of that activity. The art style is clearly anime-influenced, with very expressive faces throughout. My one criticism of the art styling is that sometimes I had a hard time telling some of the female characters apart when they were together as a group (especially Ramona and Lisa). Fans of the movie will most likely be fans of these books, too, although there are pros and cons in approaching these books in the context of having seen the movie. On one hand, the books go into greater detail in the lives and thoughts of all of the characters (especially Ramona, who was fairly limited and one-dimensional in the movie, but who is much richer as a character in the books). On the other hand, the books feel a bit less focused than the movie did. Overall, however, I found the series engaging, funny, and emotionally sincere. Recommended read.
June 28, 2022
Here is a compilation of my reviews for the series (:
Volume #1
3 stars
Rereading this has given me some mixed feelings.
Scott Pilgrim has historically been one of, if not my absolute favorite comic book series of all time. I read it at least once or twice a year, and I've always considered myself a die-hard fan, so it's definitely sort of disappointing that re-reading it has left me picking up some questionable vibes.
If you're not familiar with the premise, Scott Pilgrim is a 20-something broke-ass Canadian. He plays bass in a horrible band and lives with his gay roommate, Wallace (who is my absolute favorite). Scott meets this girl named Ramona and becomes totally obsessed with her, but the catch is that he has to battle her 7 evil ex-boyfriends in order to date her.
I'm not even gonna lie, Scott is a d*ck and a little bit of a creeper.
See, Scott, who is 23 years old, starts off this book dated Knives Chau, who is a 17 year old Chinese girl, attending the town's local catholic school. (Knives is the worlds biggest sweetie and my favorite, after Wallace). But like CMON that is gross, a 17 year old and a 23 year old? And Scott doesn't even like Knives all that much, he openly admits he's just using her to get over his old ex.
Knives is literally done so dirty in this book that it's not even funny, y'all did my girl wrong from the very start and never let up. Scott meets Ramona at a party and after basically stalking her and then orders a CD from amazon because apparently she's the only delivery person in the area and then he begs her to go out with him until she agrees. And the whole time I was literally just like, WHAT ABOUT KNIVES!! WHAT ABOUT MY SWEET ASIAN CHILD, KNIVES??? HOW U GONNA DO HER SO WRONG LIKE THIS????
And that was basically me for the whole rest of the book, specially the 2 or 3 times Scott and Ramona make out and/or almost have sex.
See, I could sort of cut Scott a little bit of slack or at least understand slightly better if the thing with Ramona wasn't so much of a pre-meditated thing, like if they ended up kissing at a party in the spur of the moment or something like that, but Scott literally stalks her and thinks about her and all the ways to try and get her attention and asks her out like 3 separate times and has SEVERAL chances to come clean to Knives, or at least break up with her, and he doesn't. So boo.
That being said, this is still one of the most absolutely hilarious comics I've ever read, I think the art is great, and the side characters are literal icons. I just think on my latest read that I'm kind of not really feeling Scott all that much. I know I normally don't write reviews for shorter graphic novel series, but I think I'm going to try and attempt it because the series only has 6 books and is something that I re-visit often. Happy Reading!! <3
Volume #2
4 stars
Scott is slightly less of a douche bag in this one and Knives is creepy and evil now? What???
Knives, I thought we were cool, I wrote a whole rant review defending your innocence in the first volume 😓
Also, Wallace, please be real and be my best friend.
Volume #3
5 stars
My favorite part is when Envy and Ramona realized they were two-timed by Todd and then they were both like, "wait, is that why there are two holes in the moon?"
I wanna smack Envy with a giant hammer.
Todd is gross.
Also Knives needs to get over Scott asap and stop using my precious young Neil.
Wallace, please keep being your iconic self.
Volume #4
5 stars
Lisa stop, you are such a ho 😭😭😭
It's no wonder you weren't even in the movie 💅
Volume #5
4 stars
The depression hits hard in this one.
Also this is a side note but the fashion in this series is literally iconic.
Volume #6
5 stars
Omg everyone worked out their trauma!! Yay!!!
Volume #1
3 stars
Rereading this has given me some mixed feelings.
Scott Pilgrim has historically been one of, if not my absolute favorite comic book series of all time. I read it at least once or twice a year, and I've always considered myself a die-hard fan, so it's definitely sort of disappointing that re-reading it has left me picking up some questionable vibes.
If you're not familiar with the premise, Scott Pilgrim is a 20-something broke-ass Canadian. He plays bass in a horrible band and lives with his gay roommate, Wallace (who is my absolute favorite). Scott meets this girl named Ramona and becomes totally obsessed with her, but the catch is that he has to battle her 7 evil ex-boyfriends in order to date her.
I'm not even gonna lie, Scott is a d*ck and a little bit of a creeper.
See, Scott, who is 23 years old, starts off this book dated Knives Chau, who is a 17 year old Chinese girl, attending the town's local catholic school. (Knives is the worlds biggest sweetie and my favorite, after Wallace). But like CMON that is gross, a 17 year old and a 23 year old? And Scott doesn't even like Knives all that much, he openly admits he's just using her to get over his old ex.
Knives is literally done so dirty in this book that it's not even funny, y'all did my girl wrong from the very start and never let up. Scott meets Ramona at a party and after basically stalking her and then orders a CD from amazon because apparently she's the only delivery person in the area and then he begs her to go out with him until she agrees. And the whole time I was literally just like, WHAT ABOUT KNIVES!! WHAT ABOUT MY SWEET ASIAN CHILD, KNIVES??? HOW U GONNA DO HER SO WRONG LIKE THIS????
And that was basically me for the whole rest of the book, specially the 2 or 3 times Scott and Ramona make out and/or almost have sex.
See, I could sort of cut Scott a little bit of slack or at least understand slightly better if the thing with Ramona wasn't so much of a pre-meditated thing, like if they ended up kissing at a party in the spur of the moment or something like that, but Scott literally stalks her and thinks about her and all the ways to try and get her attention and asks her out like 3 separate times and has SEVERAL chances to come clean to Knives, or at least break up with her, and he doesn't. So boo.
That being said, this is still one of the most absolutely hilarious comics I've ever read, I think the art is great, and the side characters are literal icons. I just think on my latest read that I'm kind of not really feeling Scott all that much. I know I normally don't write reviews for shorter graphic novel series, but I think I'm going to try and attempt it because the series only has 6 books and is something that I re-visit often. Happy Reading!! <3
Volume #2
4 stars
Scott is slightly less of a douche bag in this one and Knives is creepy and evil now? What???
Knives, I thought we were cool, I wrote a whole rant review defending your innocence in the first volume 😓
Also, Wallace, please be real and be my best friend.
Volume #3
5 stars
My favorite part is when Envy and Ramona realized they were two-timed by Todd and then they were both like, "wait, is that why there are two holes in the moon?"
I wanna smack Envy with a giant hammer.
Todd is gross.
Also Knives needs to get over Scott asap and stop using my precious young Neil.
Wallace, please keep being your iconic self.
Volume #4
5 stars
Lisa stop, you are such a ho 😭😭😭
It's no wonder you weren't even in the movie 💅
Volume #5
4 stars
The depression hits hard in this one.
Also this is a side note but the fashion in this series is literally iconic.
Volume #6
5 stars
Omg everyone worked out their trauma!! Yay!!!
March 17, 2019
This is one of the most influential comic books I have ever read. The pace and most importantly, the tone, defines a generation that just doesn't want to grow up. And that is a good thing. And a bad thing. And life itself, really.
Brian Lee O'Malley just gives us a mashup of sassy, funny, wholesome, absurd moments of the life of Scott Pilgrim and friends, and gets to encapsulate what those 20-30s were all about. It is a relatable and at the same time fantastical portrayal of what we go through in life, and this journey is wrapped up in extremely idiotic situations, were quintessential characters just are themselves, unapologetic, funny, witty, absurd and at the same time, extremely real and surprisingly profound.
Another aspect I want to talk about is the importance of self reflection. the author knows the story he is trying to convey, and he knows he is telling us in the most bizarre, cool, funny way he has concocted up. He knows it is an utter absurdity bording on insanity. It somehow works. It works on every single god darn level. You will laugh, you will be and feel nostalgic, you will feel the love for music, art, games, pop culture that permeate every kid and teen's life, and how those tastes mold them as the adults they become, because in a way those choices we made so long ago when we knew nothing and were just admiring and dissenting what was good of what was bad, or what we liked and what we don't, remain with us and are at the very core of who we are.
So yeah, there are flying robots, witty remarks, casual relationships and true love, and there is also the importance of self awareness and owning up to the worst part of ourselves, understanding that the worst is also us, and that we must own it in order to move on, and learn from the mistakes and fight not only for what is right, but for what we love.
All of that is Scott Pilgrim, or at the very least, it did all of that for me. It is a hell of a ride that I try to re read every couple of years.
Hold on people, and don't let go.
Brian Lee O'Malley just gives us a mashup of sassy, funny, wholesome, absurd moments of the life of Scott Pilgrim and friends, and gets to encapsulate what those 20-30s were all about. It is a relatable and at the same time fantastical portrayal of what we go through in life, and this journey is wrapped up in extremely idiotic situations, were quintessential characters just are themselves, unapologetic, funny, witty, absurd and at the same time, extremely real and surprisingly profound.
Another aspect I want to talk about is the importance of self reflection. the author knows the story he is trying to convey, and he knows he is telling us in the most bizarre, cool, funny way he has concocted up. He knows it is an utter absurdity bording on insanity. It somehow works. It works on every single god darn level. You will laugh, you will be and feel nostalgic, you will feel the love for music, art, games, pop culture that permeate every kid and teen's life, and how those tastes mold them as the adults they become, because in a way those choices we made so long ago when we knew nothing and were just admiring and dissenting what was good of what was bad, or what we liked and what we don't, remain with us and are at the very core of who we are.
So yeah, there are flying robots, witty remarks, casual relationships and true love, and there is also the importance of self awareness and owning up to the worst part of ourselves, understanding that the worst is also us, and that we must own it in order to move on, and learn from the mistakes and fight not only for what is right, but for what we love.
All of that is Scott Pilgrim, or at the very least, it did all of that for me. It is a hell of a ride that I try to re read every couple of years.
Hold on people, and don't let go.
September 8, 2010
Rather than rate each book individually, it made more sense to review them as a contingent.
I got into the Scott Pilgrim series backwards. I follow a few webcomic artists' Twitterfeeds, and there was mention of buying Scott Pilgrim books from Brian Lee O'Malley. Naturally, I checked out Scott Pilgrim, and found out about the film. After seeing the film and being left in awe, the next natural progression was to read the books.
Scott Pilgrim, the story of the eponymous character's battle against his new girlfriend's seven evil exes, himself, and pretty much everyone, is a surprisingly deep narrative. There are things in this which the film really glossed over, and those things are what makes me think:
What Bryan Lee O'Malley accomplishes within one or two volumes is a lot more than J.K. Rowling ever accomplished in six books.
The characters are believable, to a point, though once you insert yourself into this alternate universe they begin to flesh out and make a lot more sense. There are, it must be said, very few superfluous characters, as they all end up playing a part somewhere along the way, whether it's Other Scott affirming Wallace's homosexuality, or Comeau for his role as one of the few totally level-headed people in the entire story.
The art style, while not truly 'detailed' per se, is quite fetching in the way it holds the story together under one manga style. The art even seems to change as we venture from real life, to SP, to subspace, to dreams. Or maybe that's my perception of what's actually going down in the world of Scott Pilgrim.
While most people recommend that the comics are read before viewing the film, I'd advise the total opposite. Go see the film, as it will make you question things. If you like the film, read the books as they will answer your questions and provide yet more fodder for your enjoyment.
[However, I would highly recommend reading up to the end of Volume 2 before viewing said film, just for the one line which really doesn't go over right, and makes Scott look like a total ass. The explanation is in Volume 2, with further explanation - which to be frank, is better left until after the film - in Volume 6.]
I got into the Scott Pilgrim series backwards. I follow a few webcomic artists' Twitterfeeds, and there was mention of buying Scott Pilgrim books from Brian Lee O'Malley. Naturally, I checked out Scott Pilgrim, and found out about the film. After seeing the film and being left in awe, the next natural progression was to read the books.
Scott Pilgrim, the story of the eponymous character's battle against his new girlfriend's seven evil exes, himself, and pretty much everyone, is a surprisingly deep narrative. There are things in this which the film really glossed over, and those things are what makes me think:
What Bryan Lee O'Malley accomplishes within one or two volumes is a lot more than J.K. Rowling ever accomplished in six books.
The characters are believable, to a point, though once you insert yourself into this alternate universe they begin to flesh out and make a lot more sense. There are, it must be said, very few superfluous characters, as they all end up playing a part somewhere along the way, whether it's Other Scott affirming Wallace's homosexuality, or Comeau for his role as one of the few totally level-headed people in the entire story.
The art style, while not truly 'detailed' per se, is quite fetching in the way it holds the story together under one manga style. The art even seems to change as we venture from real life, to SP, to subspace, to dreams. Or maybe that's my perception of what's actually going down in the world of Scott Pilgrim.
While most people recommend that the comics are read before viewing the film, I'd advise the total opposite. Go see the film, as it will make you question things. If you like the film, read the books as they will answer your questions and provide yet more fodder for your enjoyment.
[However, I would highly recommend reading up to the end of Volume 2 before viewing said film, just for the one line which really doesn't go over right, and makes Scott look like a total ass. The explanation is in Volume 2, with further explanation - which to be frank, is better left until after the film - in Volume 6.]
October 1, 2019
A bunch of Canadian 90s kids in the music scene have All the Drama.
I thought this was stupid cute. Oh, Scott. You're such an idiot. The SF elements were very cool, and I liked the art a lot, more than I expected. This is a Romance With Nerd Elements, Including Farce. Do not read this if you are not up for a Romance With Nerd Elements, Including Farce.
--in one of the extras, there was an English/French warning that you were at the back of the book, and to read from the other direction, as a parody of one of those warnings that you always see in mangas, only because Scott Pilgrim reads left-to-right, this warning was at the opposite end of the book as the manga warnings. I'm not explaining this as well as I should, but it was funny.
An amalgamation of all things 90s, including cute manga/anime tropes.
Recommended if you like all the drama or are a Jane Austen fan. If you're like, "I thought this was supposed to be about epic battles'n'stuff," then...maybe give it a pass.
I thought this was stupid cute. Oh, Scott. You're such an idiot. The SF elements were very cool, and I liked the art a lot, more than I expected. This is a Romance With Nerd Elements, Including Farce. Do not read this if you are not up for a Romance With Nerd Elements, Including Farce.
--in one of the extras, there was an English/French warning that you were at the back of the book, and to read from the other direction, as a parody of one of those warnings that you always see in mangas, only because Scott Pilgrim reads left-to-right, this warning was at the opposite end of the book as the manga warnings. I'm not explaining this as well as I should, but it was funny.
An amalgamation of all things 90s, including cute manga/anime tropes.
Recommended if you like all the drama or are a Jane Austen fan. If you're like, "I thought this was supposed to be about epic battles'n'stuff," then...maybe give it a pass.
July 13, 2014
Aww it would be really hard not to like these books, even though it would be cool if everyone didn't say bitch gay and retarded like a million times each. Have you seen the movie? It is, quite possibly, the greatest film ever made.
November 26, 2022
This series is so entertaining that I was ready to go back and reread the series when I was on vol. 3
November 16, 2020
review originally posted: https://amanjareads.com/2020/11/16/sc...
I am certain many of you are Scott Pilgrim fans. It seems to be an extraordinarily popular series and movie. I saw the movie however many years ago, around when it came out. I thought it was, fine. I just wasn't blown away by it like everyone else seemed to be.
Now, after so many people recommending I read the books I've finally completed the entire series. And I can tell you, it's fine.
I guess I just don't get why it's so memorable for people. Maybe if I read it in my early 20s and maybe if my early 20s involved me being a slacker I would relate to it more. But here's a fact about me. I've never been that character.
When I was in my early 20s I was working for the government, had a steady paycheck way higher than most of my friends. I had my own place. I was engaged. I had a savings account and a car that was paid off.
Sure I was a college dropout and I drank way too much but I was never aimless and lazy. I've never been fired from a job and I've never let bills go unpaid. I know this experience is by no means universal but it does make it hard for me to relate to characters like Scott Pilgrim.
Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old and he's "dating" a 17 year old. Gross. Her name is Knives and she's way too naive to understand that Scott's a total loser. And he's too flaky and noncommital to let her off the hook.
He then falls in love at first sight with a more appropriately aged woman, Ramona. The rest of the series involves him battling her exes in order to win her as a sort of prize.
Now, this premise is two things. Really weird and pretty sexist.
It's set up like a video game. Even down to Scott winning bonus lives, coins, or items when he defeats a mini boss ex. Honestly, this idea is really interesting. It's unique and fun and I did enjoy it. Especially since everyone in the books just acts like it's totally normal and it's never really discussed.
However, the sexist part is a offputting. Let me say this, again, women are not prizes. They are not property to be won or fought over. Women can make their own decisions about who to date and if they don't choose you just let it go.
The series goes through 6 volumes with one big ex battle per book. The seriess could easily be halved and have the same effect. It gets repetitive and kind of boring pretty quickly. The quirkiness isn't enough to keep me engaged.
It's a simple book that goes on for too long. Parts of it are funny or cute but I found it hard to really care about the characters. Additionally, they all look the same and it gets kind of confusing who is even who if they don't mention a name.
Nostalgia is a powerful force. Many people have it in one way or another for this book. If you enjoy it, great, I'm happy you're happy. But if you're like me and had a pretty different life experience when you were young you may not have that nostalgia factor that makes this book work.
Luckily it's a quick read so if you want to give it a shot it's not a long term committment. Just the way Scott Pilgrim likes it.
I am certain many of you are Scott Pilgrim fans. It seems to be an extraordinarily popular series and movie. I saw the movie however many years ago, around when it came out. I thought it was, fine. I just wasn't blown away by it like everyone else seemed to be.
Now, after so many people recommending I read the books I've finally completed the entire series. And I can tell you, it's fine.
I guess I just don't get why it's so memorable for people. Maybe if I read it in my early 20s and maybe if my early 20s involved me being a slacker I would relate to it more. But here's a fact about me. I've never been that character.
When I was in my early 20s I was working for the government, had a steady paycheck way higher than most of my friends. I had my own place. I was engaged. I had a savings account and a car that was paid off.
Sure I was a college dropout and I drank way too much but I was never aimless and lazy. I've never been fired from a job and I've never let bills go unpaid. I know this experience is by no means universal but it does make it hard for me to relate to characters like Scott Pilgrim.
Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old and he's "dating" a 17 year old. Gross. Her name is Knives and she's way too naive to understand that Scott's a total loser. And he's too flaky and noncommital to let her off the hook.
He then falls in love at first sight with a more appropriately aged woman, Ramona. The rest of the series involves him battling her exes in order to win her as a sort of prize.
Now, this premise is two things. Really weird and pretty sexist.
It's set up like a video game. Even down to Scott winning bonus lives, coins, or items when he defeats a mini boss ex. Honestly, this idea is really interesting. It's unique and fun and I did enjoy it. Especially since everyone in the books just acts like it's totally normal and it's never really discussed.
However, the sexist part is a offputting. Let me say this, again, women are not prizes. They are not property to be won or fought over. Women can make their own decisions about who to date and if they don't choose you just let it go.
The series goes through 6 volumes with one big ex battle per book. The seriess could easily be halved and have the same effect. It gets repetitive and kind of boring pretty quickly. The quirkiness isn't enough to keep me engaged.
It's a simple book that goes on for too long. Parts of it are funny or cute but I found it hard to really care about the characters. Additionally, they all look the same and it gets kind of confusing who is even who if they don't mention a name.
Nostalgia is a powerful force. Many people have it in one way or another for this book. If you enjoy it, great, I'm happy you're happy. But if you're like me and had a pretty different life experience when you were young you may not have that nostalgia factor that makes this book work.
Luckily it's a quick read so if you want to give it a shot it's not a long term committment. Just the way Scott Pilgrim likes it.
June 9, 2013
Epic and unexpected, that's the only words to define that serie!
Scott is that awkward and silly kid we can at some point all relate too but when he meets Ramona his whole life turns into some kind of battle to win the right to be with her.
...
Litterally a fight, against her seven evil boyfriends.
...
You might think that it's just too much or whatsoever but you'll be the first ones to complain about boring love stories and trust me, if there is one thing this one is not it's boring!
In a kind of video game style, Scott have to go over his fears and insecurities to give himself a chance with the one he have a crush on. I think that behind its jokes, battles, love and life stories that serie really shows great values. Nothing is won in advance, if you want something you have to fight for it every day even if it's hard and you seems to go for it as a loser.
Every character is very special with a totally different personality and fabulous lines.
My heart belongs forever to Scott's gay roomate, Wallace Wells which must be one of the most hilarious characters ever created. All of them are amazing and worth giving a try to this books!
The movie "Scott Pilgrim vs the world" by the genius Edgar Wright adaptation of this serie is also very well made and honest towards it!
Forever a 5 starts comic!
Scott is that awkward and silly kid we can at some point all relate too but when he meets Ramona his whole life turns into some kind of battle to win the right to be with her.
...
Litterally a fight, against her seven evil boyfriends.
...
You might think that it's just too much or whatsoever but you'll be the first ones to complain about boring love stories and trust me, if there is one thing this one is not it's boring!
In a kind of video game style, Scott have to go over his fears and insecurities to give himself a chance with the one he have a crush on. I think that behind its jokes, battles, love and life stories that serie really shows great values. Nothing is won in advance, if you want something you have to fight for it every day even if it's hard and you seems to go for it as a loser.
Every character is very special with a totally different personality and fabulous lines.
My heart belongs forever to Scott's gay roomate, Wallace Wells which must be one of the most hilarious characters ever created. All of them are amazing and worth giving a try to this books!
The movie "Scott Pilgrim vs the world" by the genius Edgar Wright adaptation of this serie is also very well made and honest towards it!
Forever a 5 starts comic!
September 17, 2020
I really loved this series. It was just so fun and cozy and the characters were so perfect.
Bryan Lee O'Malley has created such a cool and interesting world that's delivered with such subtle casualty it's almost making fun of itself. Like people coming back to life because they had a one up is a normal thing in this world and people react to it like we do to seeing someone make a phone call, its crazy and it's genius. It's what makes the series so special; the fact that the crazy world, and the fourth wall breaks, and the video gamey fantasy elements are treated casually it keeps the main focus on the relationships. Every relationship is important and gets a moment and I loved that. The character growth is subtle but clear, you can feel their emotions on a pretty deep level sometimes. It definitely needed some runway before it got incredible but it knew what it wanted to be and it became exactly that. The artwork is super nice and engaging too and I really loved the colors but there were some parts where I could tell O'Malley was playing off it being in black and white, and also 6 volumes. Which is why I'm kind of bummed that my first time reading this series wasnt the original format but I dont think that reduced my overall enjoyment of the series. When I inevitably reread it though it will be the original versions.
Bryan Lee O'Malley has created such a cool and interesting world that's delivered with such subtle casualty it's almost making fun of itself. Like people coming back to life because they had a one up is a normal thing in this world and people react to it like we do to seeing someone make a phone call, its crazy and it's genius. It's what makes the series so special; the fact that the crazy world, and the fourth wall breaks, and the video gamey fantasy elements are treated casually it keeps the main focus on the relationships. Every relationship is important and gets a moment and I loved that. The character growth is subtle but clear, you can feel their emotions on a pretty deep level sometimes. It definitely needed some runway before it got incredible but it knew what it wanted to be and it became exactly that. The artwork is super nice and engaging too and I really loved the colors but there were some parts where I could tell O'Malley was playing off it being in black and white, and also 6 volumes. Which is why I'm kind of bummed that my first time reading this series wasnt the original format but I dont think that reduced my overall enjoyment of the series. When I inevitably reread it though it will be the original versions.
July 20, 2012
Much better than the film (where spastic Scott is replaced by generic Michael Cera and Ramona becomes a cardboard cutout), the Scott Pilgrim series was generally enjoyable and rather clever. I hold a particular fondness for the twins/robots, Julie, and the wonderful line near the end that reads something like, "His brain doesn't need any more damage from you!" "Wait, more damage?"
That said, there are a couple things to note. First, the characters are very two-dimensional, except maybe Scott and Ramona (and that's still a big maybe). Second, the art, while sometimes incredibly clever and entertaining (Memory Cam!) is often disconnected from the content. For example, Scott only has 3 or 4 facial expressions.
Finally, I think it's better to read the comic (sorry, graphic novel?) after watching the film for two reasons:
1) The art seems to pop more when the movie's entertaining visuals are available to fill in the gaps.
2) There are a few aspects of the movie that are better than the comic, but the comic is longer and more detailed. This ordering creates less disappointment.
All told, worth the read, but please don't believe the hype that this is the "voice of our generation". Something will be, but it's not Scott Pilgrim.
That said, there are a couple things to note. First, the characters are very two-dimensional, except maybe Scott and Ramona (and that's still a big maybe). Second, the art, while sometimes incredibly clever and entertaining (Memory Cam!) is often disconnected from the content. For example, Scott only has 3 or 4 facial expressions.
Finally, I think it's better to read the comic (sorry, graphic novel?) after watching the film for two reasons:
1) The art seems to pop more when the movie's entertaining visuals are available to fill in the gaps.
2) There are a few aspects of the movie that are better than the comic, but the comic is longer and more detailed. This ordering creates less disappointment.
All told, worth the read, but please don't believe the hype that this is the "voice of our generation". Something will be, but it's not Scott Pilgrim.
June 1, 2012
I don't get it. A lot of folks talk about how lovable these books are and OHOHOHOHOH AMAZING GRAPHIC NOVELS YES, but I don't see it. It's boring, predictable, filled with un-relatable characters, and just sort of trite.
I wasn't nerdy enough to think it was amazing every time he used OOOOOO VIDEO GAME FONT and said LEVEL UP.
I'm too... not an emotional moron, for lack of a better term, to find any of the characters (with the exception of some minors) relatable or likable in any way. If the grand reveal and entire point of six volumes is to get to OH MY GOD I DID BAD THINGS IN THE PAST BUT NOW I CAN ACCEPT THEM AND MOVE ON IN THIS FANTASTIC NEW RELATIONSHIP, you're not very difficult to surprise.
Overall, they're just sort of "okay" to me. You're not missing much by not reading them. You're not gaining much by reading them.
All that being said, why am I giving them three stars? I feel like I'm talking myself down to two. BUT two seems too low, even if three seems too high. I enjoyed the style, and there were fun parts (mostly in books 1-3, after which it's a downhill journey), so it's not all bad. I hope that O'Malley's other work is better.
I wasn't nerdy enough to think it was amazing every time he used OOOOOO VIDEO GAME FONT and said LEVEL UP.
I'm too... not an emotional moron, for lack of a better term, to find any of the characters (with the exception of some minors) relatable or likable in any way. If the grand reveal and entire point of six volumes is to get to OH MY GOD I DID BAD THINGS IN THE PAST BUT NOW I CAN ACCEPT THEM AND MOVE ON IN THIS FANTASTIC NEW RELATIONSHIP, you're not very difficult to surprise.
Overall, they're just sort of "okay" to me. You're not missing much by not reading them. You're not gaining much by reading them.
All that being said, why am I giving them three stars? I feel like I'm talking myself down to two. BUT two seems too low, even if three seems too high. I enjoyed the style, and there were fun parts (mostly in books 1-3, after which it's a downhill journey), so it's not all bad. I hope that O'Malley's other work is better.
March 9, 2016
I read each book individually (rather than the bundle) but wanted to do a single review for all of them.
What a treat. Scott Pilgrim is filled with lovable but terrible people, plenty of wit, and quotable dialogue throughout. The best part, though is how O'Malley really uses the graphic novel format to great effect.
Nearly every panel has things in it to get a chuckle from the reader. His detail is meticulous and there are often jokes and humor stuffed into panels that are easily missed on a quick read through. O'Malley is totally comfortable hiding jokes that he knows 95% of his readers won't see.
It gives the books a fantastic amount of casual re-reading potential. On my third read through I was still finding new things to laugh at that I'd glossed over or missed out on before.
An absolute favorite of mine any time I need a quick does of wit and humor.
What a treat. Scott Pilgrim is filled with lovable but terrible people, plenty of wit, and quotable dialogue throughout. The best part, though is how O'Malley really uses the graphic novel format to great effect.
Nearly every panel has things in it to get a chuckle from the reader. His detail is meticulous and there are often jokes and humor stuffed into panels that are easily missed on a quick read through. O'Malley is totally comfortable hiding jokes that he knows 95% of his readers won't see.
It gives the books a fantastic amount of casual re-reading potential. On my third read through I was still finding new things to laugh at that I'd glossed over or missed out on before.
An absolute favorite of mine any time I need a quick does of wit and humor.
December 25, 2010
Started checking these out from the library as it was cheaper than going back to see the movie a second time. My commitment to reading the whole series grew with each book, and by far my favorite section is the summer between evil-ex-fights in book 4. The latter books, in which it comes to light what a complete schmuck Scott really is and how, despite being 'the greatest fighter in the province', he is completely reliant on everyone around him for everything else -- well, it's the sort of group dynamic complexity that was only hinted at in the movie but really makes the reading experience much richer (and for some of us, makes it a story that hits a lot closer to home.)
This is the first GN series I've really enjoyed from start to finish in years. Kudos, snaps, lesbians.
This is the first GN series I've really enjoyed from start to finish in years. Kudos, snaps, lesbians.
March 17, 2022
A hilarious, action-filled graphic novel series that will keep you intrigued from start to finish! I watched the movie first and was introduced to the comics. I wanted to switch things up and read something fun, and I got exactly that! The characters are not only unique but also relatable. And I couldn’t get enough of Scott and Ramona 🥺 my favourite power couple ❤️🔥
Being born and raised in Toronto, it was so cool to see how Lee O’Malley incorporated the city into his books. From the classic Honest Ed’s, Casa Loma, Lee’s Palace, Sneaky Dee’s… the list goes on!
This is definitely a series I’d recommend to anyone.
Being born and raised in Toronto, it was so cool to see how Lee O’Malley incorporated the city into his books. From the classic Honest Ed’s, Casa Loma, Lee’s Palace, Sneaky Dee’s… the list goes on!
This is definitely a series I’d recommend to anyone.
February 10, 2015
Actually rather good once you get past the part that's been covered by the movie (which is still good, but a bit repetitive as the adaptation is rather true to the comic). Never really clear about what's the evil ex-boyfriends' goals and all that. I think I actually preferred Knives in the movie, she seems rather unnecessary once the first volume is done. The ending is a bit saccharine. Scott's a bit more assholeish in there and, honestly, I didn't really notice him changing that much, but heck, who cares, it's still funny.
April 19, 2011
I adored the Scott Pilgrim movie, so I just had to read the novels. I love how well the characters translated on screen, (except that they made Ramona a huge bitch when she's really not) and then you read the books and it's not like they are any different, but there's so much more to them. You really do get to know them better, as if they're becoming your friends. And plus, I'm an indie geek who likes video games, so these novels were pretty much made for me.
September 29, 2011
This series is so much fun. Quirky, charming, and funny, with action and excitement. Loved the characters. The illustrations are great--simple looking, but so clearly depicting various nuances of emotion (and humor). There are plenty of in-jokes and references for gamers, but I myself have never played video games and still loved this series.
December 21, 2010
We are Sex Bob-omb! Scott Pilgrim Rocks! Action, Rock & Roll, and Scott dating Ramona Flowers...... heck I would fight seven evil ex-boyfriends just to read this series.
March 21, 2011
I would not be able to write a review better than Joss Whedon's - "Scott Pilgrim is the best book ever. It is the chronicle of out time. With Kung Fu, so, yea: perfect"
June 30, 2019
Read the Graphic Novel, watch the movie, or play the video game. Doesn't matter what you do they are all a solid A+
May 13, 2019
Fun, hilarious, colorful, and some of the best character development I've ever seen.
April 11, 2023
2023 RE-READ
Skota Pilgrima sam prvi put čitao dok je strip još uvek izlazio, u vremenu u kome sam bio vršnjak većine likova. Tokom narednih skoro deceniju i po, pročitao sam ga još nekoliko puta, s tim što je poslednji put bio pre dobrih pet godina. Sada kada sam maltene na pragu 40. godine života (a i u svetlu nedavne Netflixove najave animirane adaptacije stripa), rešio sam da još jednom vidim kako je priča ostarila - a i ja u odnosu na nju.
TL;DR: Skot Pilgrim je i dalje jedan od mojih najdražih stripova svih vremena.
Plašio sam se da će moja reakcija na emotivne i međuljudske peripetije 20-i-sitno-godišnjaka biti nešto nalik "old man yells at cloud" mimu i da ću se naći zgrožen njihovim rezonovanjem i postupcima, ali SREĆOM ispostavilo se da nije bilo razloga za strah. Štaviše - budući da sam svakako celog života bio veliki ljubitelj dobre coming of age priče - sada, malo starijim i mudrijim očima, u ovom stripu vidim jednu od boljih. Naravno, ovde nije reč o "poslednje leto detinjstva" tropu već o ljudima koji su na nekom rubu odraslosti, čak i oni sami osećaju da bi već trebalo da su je dostigli, ali ne osećaju da zaista jesu i da imaju sve psihološke i emotivne veštine i alate potrebne da bi sebe videli kao odrasle osobe. Dublju analizu načina na koji se sami likovi suočavaju sa sobom i svojim nedostacima (kao i partnerskim "prtljagom") bih ostavio za neki drugi put, a sad bih se osvrnuo na nešto što mi je tokom ovog čitanja malo sjajnije sinulo pred očima. Naime...
Konačno sam shvatio zašto mi je Skot Pilgrim toliko drag. Ova spoznaja je, verujem, delimično izazvana i vremenskim otklonom od njegovog izdavanja, a ujedno i perioda u kome sam ga čitao. Elem, SP je savršena vremenska kapsula i mog odrastanja. Iako se ne pronalazim u samom protagonisti, galerija protohipstera u ovom svetu i način na koji gledaju na prijateljstva, muziku, život i video igre je nešto što apsolutno vibrira na istoj ravni sa mojim malim mehurom sveta u vremenu kada sam imao dvadesetak godina. Drugim rečima, da, moja ljubav prema SP je umotana u toplo ćebe nostalgije, iako to nije sve što ga čini tako dragim. JRPG mehanike, muzički opskuriteti, on-the-nose prizivanje geeky 90's momenata koje još uvek nije prešlo u beskrajnu referencijalnu tiradu post-MCU ere, ali iznad svega način na koji likovi ODLUČE da naprave korak ka tome da budu bolji.
Što se mene tiče, Skot Pilgrim je stripski barjak jedne kulturne niše milenijalaca, i nikad nisam bio siguran kakav utisak ostavlja na ljude koji generacijski ili interesovanjima nisu deo tog dragocenog malog sveta (i potpuno sam okej ako vas zbog toga ne radi), ali za mene će uvek ostati u fioci sa apsolutno najdražim komadima devete umetnosti.
Skota Pilgrima sam prvi put čitao dok je strip još uvek izlazio, u vremenu u kome sam bio vršnjak većine likova. Tokom narednih skoro deceniju i po, pročitao sam ga još nekoliko puta, s tim što je poslednji put bio pre dobrih pet godina. Sada kada sam maltene na pragu 40. godine života (a i u svetlu nedavne Netflixove najave animirane adaptacije stripa), rešio sam da još jednom vidim kako je priča ostarila - a i ja u odnosu na nju.
TL;DR: Skot Pilgrim je i dalje jedan od mojih najdražih stripova svih vremena.
Plašio sam se da će moja reakcija na emotivne i međuljudske peripetije 20-i-sitno-godišnjaka biti nešto nalik "old man yells at cloud" mimu i da ću se naći zgrožen njihovim rezonovanjem i postupcima, ali SREĆOM ispostavilo se da nije bilo razloga za strah. Štaviše - budući da sam svakako celog života bio veliki ljubitelj dobre coming of age priče - sada, malo starijim i mudrijim očima, u ovom stripu vidim jednu od boljih. Naravno, ovde nije reč o "poslednje leto detinjstva" tropu već o ljudima koji su na nekom rubu odraslosti, čak i oni sami osećaju da bi već trebalo da su je dostigli, ali ne osećaju da zaista jesu i da imaju sve psihološke i emotivne veštine i alate potrebne da bi sebe videli kao odrasle osobe. Dublju analizu načina na koji se sami likovi suočavaju sa sobom i svojim nedostacima (kao i partnerskim "prtljagom") bih ostavio za neki drugi put, a sad bih se osvrnuo na nešto što mi je tokom ovog čitanja malo sjajnije sinulo pred očima. Naime...
Konačno sam shvatio zašto mi je Skot Pilgrim toliko drag. Ova spoznaja je, verujem, delimično izazvana i vremenskim otklonom od njegovog izdavanja, a ujedno i perioda u kome sam ga čitao. Elem, SP je savršena vremenska kapsula i mog odrastanja. Iako se ne pronalazim u samom protagonisti, galerija protohipstera u ovom svetu i način na koji gledaju na prijateljstva, muziku, život i video igre je nešto što apsolutno vibrira na istoj ravni sa mojim malim mehurom sveta u vremenu kada sam imao dvadesetak godina. Drugim rečima, da, moja ljubav prema SP je umotana u toplo ćebe nostalgije, iako to nije sve što ga čini tako dragim. JRPG mehanike, muzički opskuriteti, on-the-nose prizivanje geeky 90's momenata koje još uvek nije prešlo u beskrajnu referencijalnu tiradu post-MCU ere, ali iznad svega način na koji likovi ODLUČE da naprave korak ka tome da budu bolji.
Što se mene tiče, Skot Pilgrim je stripski barjak jedne kulturne niše milenijalaca, i nikad nisam bio siguran kakav utisak ostavlja na ljude koji generacijski ili interesovanjima nisu deo tog dragocenog malog sveta (i potpuno sam okej ako vas zbog toga ne radi), ali za mene će uvek ostati u fioci sa apsolutno najdražim komadima devete umetnosti.
Read
December 1, 2023Figured it was time I give this a read, because 1) I like comics and 2) this one has had an undeniable impact on The Culture.
I was prepared not to like it, but I was charmed! Really. Every time Scott Pilgrim gets brought up in the current Conversation there always has to be a drawn-out conversation about whether it is okay to Like the Scott Pilgrim franchise/concept/character. I mean, he's dating a high schooler! Does The Narrative Condemn The Main Character's Actions, and other circuitous conversations I've had about like fifty different books!
Scott is clearly a flawed yet endearing guy who is sort of freeloading through life, completely unable to take responsibility for his actions. It is a twentysomething coming-of-age story wherein he mans up. And levels up! Hah! This is funny, because video games. The narrative is clearly poking fun at Scott. Other characters textually, canonically, think he's a loser, and that he needs to stop leading on that poor high schooler.
Also, the text was poking fun at its own premise. There's the shounen-anime setup wherein our bumbling, eponymous loser must defeat enemies in order to get the girl. I expected to be underwhelmed with however this comic decided to handle such an obviously problematic setup. But, hello? The whole point of the story was that it was critiquing its own conceit. Scott's character growth is what saves him at the end. The video game thing is meta and fun and well-done.
He and Ramona work together more than I thought they would. I have a problem with a lot of "manic pixie dream girl" content where I'm like, well I'm quirky and thoughtful and unique and very pretty, just like this girl, and now way in hell would I date THIS guy! I didn't feel like that here. Ramona was very human: dorky and insecure and dealing with her own issues in a way that didn't feel especially romanticized or sexed-up. Or maybe my standards are just low.
The Toronto hipster social scene was very charming, too. I have a soft spot for comics that portray a social scene or a friend group. Whenever there was a liner page with a map with a bunch of arrows showing what relationships all the characters had to each other, I was like, "No way! That's just like MY nebulous social web! That's the graphic I have to draw in my head when I run into people I know on a night out!" It's fun and silly and made me want to draw little comics where I'm a videogame protagonist.
All in all, this was a fun time. I feel bad for Bryan Lee O'Malley for having to live in the shadow of the behemoth that is the general public's media literacy or whatever. Wait, ARE there people who uncritically swallowed the "defeat enough enemies and that pretty girl will like you" narrative? Was this really a thing? I honestly have trouble believing it.
I was prepared not to like it, but I was charmed! Really. Every time Scott Pilgrim gets brought up in the current Conversation there always has to be a drawn-out conversation about whether it is okay to Like the Scott Pilgrim franchise/concept/character. I mean, he's dating a high schooler! Does The Narrative Condemn The Main Character's Actions, and other circuitous conversations I've had about like fifty different books!
Scott is clearly a flawed yet endearing guy who is sort of freeloading through life, completely unable to take responsibility for his actions. It is a twentysomething coming-of-age story wherein he mans up. And levels up! Hah! This is funny, because video games. The narrative is clearly poking fun at Scott. Other characters textually, canonically, think he's a loser, and that he needs to stop leading on that poor high schooler.
Also, the text was poking fun at its own premise. There's the shounen-anime setup wherein our bumbling, eponymous loser must defeat enemies in order to get the girl. I expected to be underwhelmed with however this comic decided to handle such an obviously problematic setup. But, hello? The whole point of the story was that it was critiquing its own conceit. Scott's character growth is what saves him at the end. The video game thing is meta and fun and well-done.
He and Ramona work together more than I thought they would. I have a problem with a lot of "manic pixie dream girl" content where I'm like, well I'm quirky and thoughtful and unique and very pretty, just like this girl, and now way in hell would I date THIS guy! I didn't feel like that here. Ramona was very human: dorky and insecure and dealing with her own issues in a way that didn't feel especially romanticized or sexed-up. Or maybe my standards are just low.
The Toronto hipster social scene was very charming, too. I have a soft spot for comics that portray a social scene or a friend group. Whenever there was a liner page with a map with a bunch of arrows showing what relationships all the characters had to each other, I was like, "No way! That's just like MY nebulous social web! That's the graphic I have to draw in my head when I run into people I know on a night out!" It's fun and silly and made me want to draw little comics where I'm a videogame protagonist.
All in all, this was a fun time. I feel bad for Bryan Lee O'Malley for having to live in the shadow of the behemoth that is the general public's media literacy or whatever. Wait, ARE there people who uncritically swallowed the "defeat enough enemies and that pretty girl will like you" narrative? Was this really a thing? I honestly have trouble believing it.
July 16, 2022
Local indie bands, \ a backdrop of the city. \ Subspace lesbian.
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Scott Pilgrim Comic Book Review and Summary
…
“Uh... No. The other L-word.”
Scott Pilgrim met the literal girl of his dreams at the public library... with his current girlfriend.
Stories by Bryan Lee O'Malley ooze style which, throughout this series, aids one in learning to love unlikable characters who keep making mistakes. What is cool is how O’Malley’s pop-culture inspiration bleeds through the setting and his characters, such as the many fictional bands. The side-cast is well used and developed while experiencing and dealing with change in contrasting ways to Scott’s going from sleeping all day to holding a job.
Plus, everybody likes (to hate) each other, so they act awkward and cute in ways that make these six books fun to read in silly yet dramatic ways.
![]()
“Happy birthday, baby.”
It felt great to review this series, not only because its setting is Toronto Ontario and characters ride the TTC, not just because of the recent resurgence of the fandom thanks to the movie's anniversary, the game's rerelease and the upcoming Netflix series, and not only because of the stories my best friends and I have relating to Scott and Ramona; it felt great because of how this comic book saga had brought me and April together in an Indigo Chapters’ Starbucks of a Walmart strip mall in the neighbouring suburbs where we grew up, and how it still continues to bring us closer to this day.
“But if you keep forgetting your mistakes, you’ll just keep making them again!”
Scott Pilgrim’s awesome; he ignores his problems because he has no problems, all he needs to do is beat Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes and everything will be okay... Right? This mindset led to Scott splitting his psyche and forming a Nega-version of himself, which forced him to learn about accepting his mistakes instead of ignoring them, about moving on and about deciding to try again instead of giving up. The story explores this via Gideon Graves’ emotional manipulation through the League, him abusing the lonely with technology reminiscent of social media, and the social-taboo legalities of Scott dating a seventeen-year-old Canadian while struggling to cope with past relationships.
“Is this something they don’t teach in Canadian schools?”
The twist on Ramona leaving Scott for Gideon was great because of the expectations set by the movie. Character interactions are more fleshed out in the comic, feeling a lot more natural and less awkward; while that may seem like a given, it is because of the development of the subspace concept in later volumes rather than a difference in medium. Gideon had made the glow to wage emotional warfare, while Ramona was using the glow to travel through subspace, through Scott’s head, and had found a way to just vanish into subspace using the glow; subspace was the “way of getting inside my head... literally.”
The extras at the end of each coloured edition complete the entire package while unifying ideas with the rest of the franchise.
“Is that seriously the end of the story?”
What I think the best part about this graphic novel series is Ramona's genuine effort in loving Scott and her ability to take care of herself. Scott's own difficulty with change will continue to resonate with people who are unwilling to care for themselves, who are being cared for by others, and who are loved but who may unnecessarily dislike themselves.
Thank you for reading.
Allen W. McLean
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022...
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Scott Pilgrim Comic Book Review and Summary
…
“Uh... No. The other L-word.”
Scott Pilgrim met the literal girl of his dreams at the public library... with his current girlfriend.
Stories by Bryan Lee O'Malley ooze style which, throughout this series, aids one in learning to love unlikable characters who keep making mistakes. What is cool is how O’Malley’s pop-culture inspiration bleeds through the setting and his characters, such as the many fictional bands. The side-cast is well used and developed while experiencing and dealing with change in contrasting ways to Scott’s going from sleeping all day to holding a job.
Plus, everybody likes (to hate) each other, so they act awkward and cute in ways that make these six books fun to read in silly yet dramatic ways.
“Happy birthday, baby.”
It felt great to review this series, not only because its setting is Toronto Ontario and characters ride the TTC, not just because of the recent resurgence of the fandom thanks to the movie's anniversary, the game's rerelease and the upcoming Netflix series, and not only because of the stories my best friends and I have relating to Scott and Ramona; it felt great because of how this comic book saga had brought me and April together in an Indigo Chapters’ Starbucks of a Walmart strip mall in the neighbouring suburbs where we grew up, and how it still continues to bring us closer to this day.
“But if you keep forgetting your mistakes, you’ll just keep making them again!”
Scott Pilgrim’s awesome; he ignores his problems because he has no problems, all he needs to do is beat Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes and everything will be okay... Right? This mindset led to Scott splitting his psyche and forming a Nega-version of himself, which forced him to learn about accepting his mistakes instead of ignoring them, about moving on and about deciding to try again instead of giving up. The story explores this via Gideon Graves’ emotional manipulation through the League, him abusing the lonely with technology reminiscent of social media, and the social-taboo legalities of Scott dating a seventeen-year-old Canadian while struggling to cope with past relationships.
“Is this something they don’t teach in Canadian schools?”
The twist on Ramona leaving Scott for Gideon was great because of the expectations set by the movie. Character interactions are more fleshed out in the comic, feeling a lot more natural and less awkward; while that may seem like a given, it is because of the development of the subspace concept in later volumes rather than a difference in medium. Gideon had made the glow to wage emotional warfare, while Ramona was using the glow to travel through subspace, through Scott’s head, and had found a way to just vanish into subspace using the glow; subspace was the “way of getting inside my head... literally.”
The extras at the end of each coloured edition complete the entire package while unifying ideas with the rest of the franchise.
“Is that seriously the end of the story?”
What I think the best part about this graphic novel series is Ramona's genuine effort in loving Scott and her ability to take care of herself. Scott's own difficulty with change will continue to resonate with people who are unwilling to care for themselves, who are being cared for by others, and who are loved but who may unnecessarily dislike themselves.
Thank you for reading.
Allen W. McLean
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022...
December 17, 2023
To było bardzo ciekawe przeżycie. Najpierw oglądając świetny film na podstawie komiksu ,który (bardzo polecam obejrzeć) zachęcił mnie do przeczytania komiksu pisze to bardzo zadowolony. Sam film jak i komiks mają swoje problemy ,ale dla kogoś kto uwielbia połączenie absurdalnego czasami nawiązań do popkultury z okolic 2008 bardzo dobrze się bawiłem. Ale główny zarzut jaki mam do komiksu to fakt ,że pojawiają się tam wiele postaci i nie dużo z nich wydaje się tak bardzo wpływowych oprócz głównych bohaterów ,a bardziej jako postaci które są tam jedynie tylko po to ,żeby robić żarty . Ale to może jest jednocześnie urok samego komiksu .Trudno mi powiedzieć. Ale polecam przeczytać ,jeżeli ktoś lubi nawiązania do popkultury z okolic 2008 roku , dobre żarty i fajny romans.
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