An introduction to...Scott Pilgrim

If you look around this page you should see a picture of one Mr Scott Pilgrim. Yes, the one in the blue coat with big eyes. He's 23, lives in Toronto, is between jobs and plays in a rock band called Sex Bob-omb.
It also could be said that he's also something of an idiot, though we won't hold that against him. He's also the eponymous star of a series of Manga-sized B&W graphic novels written and drawn by Bryan Lee O'Malley and published by Oni Press.

Welcome to his the world.So all-in-all, everything's going well for Scott, what with all of the above and the fact he's just dating a 17-year-old high-schooler when we first meet him. But it's not long before he starts having his dreams invaded by a rollerblading delivery girl. When she starts turning up in reality, Scott's smitten. Her name's Ramona Flowers, a delivery girl for Amazon.ca. It's not long before a budding romance develops, but if he wants to date her, Scott'll have to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Who's to know? Maybe this is a common thing over in Canada. Well, that's the plot out of the way. Here's why you should be reading these books. Their funny. No really, they are. The humour comes from the strong characters and convincing dialogue. And while everything's drawn in a simple, cartoony style Mr O'Malley manages to wring a great deal of character and emotion from so few lines. Everyone is easily distinguishable and you care about every one of these guys and gals. It's fair to say that these books are a little out-there, a mix of relatively real life and superhero/computer game fantasies. But no matter how weird or surreal things gets, it all seems the most natural thing in the world with the books following their own mad internal game-logic.

What I love espically though are the little details. The fact boxes that introduce the characters, the songs (with chords and lyrics so you can play along), the OTT titles. There's even a step-by-step recipe for Vegan Sheperd's Pie.

The series is still in it's early stages so there's still time to catch up, with Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life and Volume 2: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World having been released, and Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness due for release this February.

Also, a movie adaptation based on the first volume and to be directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) has been announced, though it isn't clear if and when it is to be released/filmed.If you're interested in learning more, just head on over to www.scottpilgrim.com
Author: Gareth Hacking

Manchester iJourno Group