There aren't many comics that pack gaming, relationships, action, romance and all-round silliness in 200-odd pages. Scott Pilgrim is one of the very few and is truly a gem. Bryan Lee O'Halley's Scott Pilgrim is not your average 23-year-old. He's in a rock band, he's ‘between jobs' and he's a total hit with the ladies. Things are pretty smooth until the point where he starts having recurring dreams about a girl he's never met. And when the girl, Ramona, does show up one fine day at a party, Scott's life is turned up-side down. The series is all about Scott defeating Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends in order to earn the right to date her. Throw in tons of references to pop-culture, a sizeable amount of video game-speak, the usual guy-girl relationship situations and that should set you up for six volumes of pure, idiotic, fast-paced fun.
The first volume acts as an introduction to Scott's life and the people he's surrounded by. Scott lives somewhere in Canada with his ‘cool, gay' roommate Wallace Wells. He plays the bass guitar in a band known as ‘Sex bob-omb'. Scott is currently dating a high schooler, Knives Chau, much to the annoyance of his friends, and is seemingly on course to settling into a nice, fun life. Enter Ramona, Scott's weird dreams, her evil ex-boyfriends and the obvious chaos this must bring along and we have an incredible setting for the series .The second volume deals with Scott coming to terms with his relationship with Ramona and Knives. He decides to dump Knives and move onto a more sincere life with Ramona. Predictably, Knives doesn't like that one bit. And there's also the fact that Ramona's second evil boyfriend is waiting for that customary showdown. The third volume takes a break from the adolescent silliness of the previous titles and takes a turn for a more sombre and serious setting as Scott's ex, Envy, is brought into the picture. This book revisits his former life with Envy, the fact that he hasn't really gotten over her and the impending showdown with the third evil boyfriend, who incidentally, happens to be Envy's present. While the aforementioned people make up the ‘core' group, the comic does a fantastic job of making sure the support characters get as much recognition and effort put into bringing them to life as the title-crew and this ensures that a vibrant and diverse universe is created for the Scott Pilgrim franchise.
I wouldn't comment much on art-style as it is obviously a matter of choice and perspective. But for the record, the style in Scott Pilgrim is a delightful mix of Japanese Manga and American cartoons. There's not much attention to detail and this subtle attempt is visually pleasing and charming.
Portrayal of women
Scott Pilgrim is a must read for men. that being said, women would do well to steer clear of this. For all it's awesomeness, this series projects women as manipulative, dark and the more unforgiving of the sexes. This series is an all-in-all fan service to what men enjoy the most. It is also my responsibility to mention that this comic is definitely NOT for younger children and is best enjoyed by mature adult.Finally, this entire universe is so sarcastic, cheesy and amazingly in-your-face that these characteristics are exactly what set it apart from the crowd and gives it a status of its own. Scott Pilgrim and his adventures should not be missed.
Sharan is a III Year B.E student at RMK College of Engineering and Technology.
Title:Scott Pilgrim
Author:Bryan Lee O'Halley
Publisher:Bryan Lee O' Malley
Price:£7.99 Each
