The Bookworm: Scott Pilgrim, Volumes 1 and 2

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Volume 1) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 168 pages. Oni Press. 2004.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (Volume 2) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 200 pages. Oni Press. 2005.

Yoink.

August shaped up to be a good month for blogging after all. I was worried I wouldn’t even hit 20 posts.

It also apparently turned out to be a good month for reading since I polished off the first two volumes of the Scott Pilgrim series.

While hanging out with some of the old crew during my first weekend back, B.O. asked me if I planned to see “Scott Pilgrim.”

“See who?”

“Scott Pilgrim. Scott Pilgrim Versus The World?”

I’d never heard of either Scott Pilgrim or his movie. But B.O. wouldn’t shut up about it. He was stoked. While channel surfing later that night, we saw a commercial for the movie. He snapped his fingers and yelled, “Look! Look! That’s Scott Pilgrim.”

Michael Cera?

Shit. I got burned out of eight or nine bucks a couple years ago when I saw Year One with Zee German und seine Frau. Like hell I was going to see another Michael Cera vehicle. But B.O. was able to endure the torture as he and Sweets went to the opening night of Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.

I really had no clue what the big deal was, so B.O. lent me the first two volumes of the graphic novel series the movie is based on.

Graphic novels are all the rage right now — especially, it seems, among urban hipsters. Skylight’s adjacent art annex featured a whole rack of locally produced graphic novels; it’s only fitting since LA is bursting at the seams with innovative creativity and hipsters. However, despite all the enthusiasm and buzz surrounding graphic novels, I had yet to read one.

That’s where the first two volumes of Scott Pilgrim come in. Not only did they provide an idea of what B.O. was raving about, but also served as an introduction to the world of — what I’ll call for the sake of variety — literary cartooning.

Scott Pilgrim is the main character (duh). He is 23 and lives in Toronto. He plays in a band with a few friends, shares a studio apartment and bed with his gay roommate (though they are never shown sleeping together), and dates a 17-year-old high school girl names Knives.

That’s right: Scott Pilgrim is a pedophile. (There’s a more precise term for what he’s doing, but I can’t remember it. I’ll need to check with Bobblehead on that one. He’s a lapsed-Catholic who is well informed about church abuse and sex scandals.) I’m unsure why he’s dating a 17-year-old girl, but it’s hella awkward. It’s even unpleasant, and cruel, despite the fact he only holds her hand, listens to her talk about yearbook club, and invites her to band practices. However, Scott’s jailbait gets pushed to the side when Ramona Flowers enters the scene. And in order to date Ramona, Scott must fight and defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Why? I don’t know. That may be revealed later in the series, or perhaps in the movie, but right now it is one of many superunknowns about the storyline. Why does Scott Pilgrim have superhero fighting skills? Why are all of Ramona’s ex-boyfriend’s evil in that superhero antagonist way? How can seemingly innocent characters become supervillains, with inhuman strength and agility, at the drop of a hat? And how the hell does Scott make a living? Everyone except him has a job.

Scott Pilgrim is part novel, part good anime (as oppose to some of the shit they show on Adult Swim), and part video game. It is very Millennial — very much inspired by the things those of us born in the ‘80s became exposed and attached to while growing up. Fittingly, all the characters are Millennials. Most just graduated from college and are now navigating the hazards and wonders of the age — jobs, bars, relationships, and roommates — as best they can.

The artwork is high quality, though I think it is too anime-like to be original. Many of the characters are hard to distinguish; exacerbating the problem is the fact each subscribes to the faux-punk hipster fashion that is a hallmark of the indie music scene. The female characters are, I have to admit, pretty sexy, especially Ramona Flowers and Kim, the drummer in Scott’s band.

Overall, I enjoyed reading both and am eager to read the next editions if B.O. will let me barrow them. However, I couldn’t help feeling a little childish while reading Scott Pilgrim at College Green. I mean, the back cover features the “Teen, Age 13+” ratings logo.