The Bookworm: Scott Pilgrim, Volumes 3, 4, 5, and 6

Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness (Volume 3) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 192 pages. Oni Press. 2006.

Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together (Volume 4) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 216 pages. Oni Press. 2007.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (Volume 5) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 184 pages. Oni Press. 2009.

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (Volume 6) by Bryan Lee O’Malley. 248 pages. Oni Press. 2010.

I can’t even get near him! I need some kind of…like…last minute, poorly set-up deus ex machina!!

So says Scott Pilgrim toward the end of the third volume of graphic novels covering his life and adventures battling Ramona Flowers’s evil ex-boyfriends. He is battling her third evil ex-boyfriend, who has incredible powers because he is a vegan. Then, out of nowhere…deus ex machina.

B.O. kindly lent me the remaining four volumes of the Scott Pilgrim series, which concluded when Volume 6 was released last July, likely in tandem with the on-screen adaptation. (I am now interested in seeing it for comparison against the books. I have no doubt, especially with Michael Cera in the lead, it will be a huge letdown the way all book-based movies are.) I have to say, I feel pretty lucky having had the opportunity to read the whole collection at once instead of eagerly awaiting the publication of the next edition for each of the past seven years. No volume was released in 2008, though, so I can only imagine the hair pulling strain Scott Pilgrim fans went through during that publication gap. That is one thing I do not think my generation has a whole lot of (besides me, of course): patience.

I picked up the storyline where I left off at the end of Volume 2 in August. Scott Pilgram’s life is a kind of Millennial soap opera of friends, acquaintances, and former girlfriends. Pilgram is a veritable man-whore who has former loves around every corner; it is amazing how much the guy has gotten around and how few people actually confess to care for him. It is also amazing how much his girlfriends have gotten around and all the changing they have done for the sake of relationships and image. If these books can serve as a critique of Millennial lifestyles and culture (Publishers Weekly said it was “[a] great oddball tale that captures the energy of a generation”), its most obvious criticism would be penchants for the exploitation of others for emotional fulfillment and shameless image and character changes for clique membership. However, all the characters are indie rock hipsters, so these traits seem exaggerated given the circumstances. And this is also literature. There has to be drama.

Scott Pilgrim, for the most part, is also an oblivious egoist. At the end of the series, he realizes how much of an asshole he has been and how his actions have affected his friends. Ramona Flowers also comes to a similar realization — that she does not want to be with anyone, or even have the same hair style, for too long because she fears being stuck — and this may also be good criticism leveled against Millennials: we have serious problems with personal identity and commitment.

ANYWAY. The stories were enjoyable to read and the drawings and graphics were incredible. O’Malley has a gift, though I still think the whole anime/manga genre suffers from too little visual originality; there seems to be a set style everything conforms to. However, it is apparently rooted in Japanese culture, so I can deal with it.

Once again, I will admit the female characters were damn sexy. I especially developed a crush on Kim Pine, the freckled drummer for Scott’s band. Not only did she have style and sex appeal (for me, at least), but also wits, smarts, and an authentic personality; she was the only one in Scott Pilgrim’s group of friends who seemed to know and be comfortable with herself. Very sexy.