So after a long and tedious week of waking up and going to class, driving home to help my best friend out with his newborn son (Applaud here. It’s cool, I’ll wait), holding him for thirty minutes, then making the four and a half hour journey back; I read Scott Pilgrim (and played the video game… Don’t judge me).
Now this is one of those comic books that most people have never heard of until they make a movie of it and even then most don’t realize that the book came first (cough cough Green Hornet cough). I’m ashamed to say it but I was one of those people too. I guess being out of the comic gig has gotten me out of the loop. That or it’s because it’s Canadian. For the sake of my pride as a nerd and so that being a complete social outcast for the last 21 years has not been in vain, I’m going to go with answer B.
Anyways, usually I read the source material first, but as I said before the movie got to me first. Luckily it was a good movie considering they put six books worth of story into a single film, because I immediately went out to seek my own copies of the six books: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together,  Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe, and Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. It makes sense though, because all six books are just a continuation of one another, and the movie wouldn’t make sense without having one big “To Be Continued” marked at the end. But that’s not why we’re here.
Scott Pilgrim is a 23 year old Canadian that really has yet to get his life around. He’s jobless, plays the bass in his band Sex Bob-omb, and lives with his cool gay roommate. But his like changes for the better when he first meets/stalks a girl by the name of Romona Flowers (actually it pretty much stays the same but he has Ramona now).
But in order for our comical protagonist to date Ramona, he must battle and defeat her seven evil exes who wish to control her love life and break off his relationship with Knives, his 17 year old current girlfriend.
The art itself is fitting for the kind of story Scott Pilgrim is. It’s simple and the frames move at a fast pace to match that of the story. The action can be a little jumpy, having it jump from frame to frame like an ADD jackrabbit one a hot summer’s day is part of the charm. It’s so random that you can’t help but laugh at some of the lines and banter exchanged between the characters.
The one problem that occurs is that the books seem to lose some of its comedic effect as the story progresses and the plot becomes more of the focus point. It’s still hilarious each time he must fight an evil ex and hearing Ramona explain her reasoning behind each one (like Asian twins at the same time), but the pacing seems to drag. This makes the art style suddenly lose its flair a bit, but typically it can pick right up again.
The events in the story work well and flow together quite nicely. Despite the books being published a year apart, they still feel like one piece of work, which works for the die-hard comic fans and possibly against the casual readers who want a quick read.
Overall I was quite surprised how charmed I was by Scott Pilgrim. For something so under my radar, it’s refreshing to see something this good that can constantly make me laugh. Anyone looking for a good time, I recommend taking a look at Scott Pilgrim.