Scott Pilgrim, Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

To be honest, reading the first five volumes of this book in about a month and then having to wait over a year to see the end is sort of an awkward way to take in the story. It might just be my own perception, but it felt like this final part flowed as its own story the worst of any of the chapters, and definitely seems like it would work best at the end of a long marathon read of the whole series. I'll probably do that at some point, but for now I'll just accept that it was a satisfactory ending to the story rather than an amazing one.

The problem I guess is that it feels really segmented and choppy, which was intentional due to the state Scott is in for most of the book. He's sort of a wreck, and the story portrays this as a series of moments rather than a more continuous narrative. It leaves any individual page in the volume seeming totally fine and up to the usual standards, the flow just seems a bit off compared to earlier parts. And so much time is dedicated to the final confrontation that there really isn't enough room left for the expected amount of character work. O'Malley does a good job of trying to at least give closure to as many relationship threads as possible, the effort just comes off a bit rushed.

The final battle itself was similar to the end as a whole, enjoyable if not spectacular. The action itself was pretty good, and the continued use of video game ideas as visualizations of character development continued to be clever. But it was a bit bogged down in its attempts to explain what was really going on with the different characters in the last year, and that bit doesn't work that well. People were explaining things, but a lot of the explanations didn't make sense or seemed to lack details that would really fit them in place. There were a couple interesting revelations, but I don't think I quite got out of it what I was supposed to. I thought the epilogue and ending themselves were pretty good, it sort of could have gone in a number of ways but I think the right one was picked. In the end, it wasn't the amazing finale I hoped for, but it did do what it had to finish one of the more original stories I've ever read.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the Universe

Just as the story seems to be reaching its emotional peak, I'm stuck waiting a year for the final volume with everyone else. The last book ended on a positive note, but that seems to be a temporary high as things continue to go downhill this time. It's not really out and out tragic, it's just realistic in its depiction of how things can get screwed up pretty easily. It's not even anything Scott's doing wrong at the time, just stuff coming up and the realization that maybe things aren't as perfect as they'd like. The humor and fights against crazy evil people, this time including their robotic creations, are still entertaining, but they take a backseat to the character stuff that is really driving the story now. Um... I don't have a ton more to say. I really like this comic. I was a nervous wreck most of the time I was reading it. There's really no reason not to check it out yourself unless you have a violent allergic reaction to unusual art styles. It's gonna be a while, but the last volume has all the ingredients to be great.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

It might be hard to keep the events of volume four in their own context after I immediately read the fifth upon finishing, but I'll try anyway. You could see the tone of the story shifting a bit the last time around, and that continues in earnest here as it's no longer a silly, carefree book with crazy fights and an absurd situation. It still retains those elements but it's really more about how Scott finally starts to grow up thanks to his time with Ramona. As they get closer, things become more worrisome as questions of their long-term compatibility and possible lingering affections for people from both their pasts arise. It ultimately ends on a happy and triumphant note, but overall I found myself worried most of the time, a feeling that only continues in part five. Despite the mood shift, if anything it makes the book stronger, and it's a sign of a really good story when I suddenly realize how much I actually care about these characters after just a few hundred pages. Every fan of comics should read Scott Pilgrim.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness

Part three of the story was just as funny and engrossing as the first two. More of the characters' backgrounds are revealed, and the tone is overall a little sadder (apt title!) as things don't go well for some people. The video game characteristics of the world are still present, and it's becoming more of a fact of life than a joke, as by this point it pretty much is one, just in graphic novel form. Scott's not quite the character I thought he was in the beginning. He totally kicked the first evil ex-boyfriend's ass, but since then he's struggled to really get the upper hand and in general is kind of a dope, if a lovable one. I like that the main characters aren't perfect at anything, although at this point I'm really wondering how he's going to handle the rest of his battles, and whatever is really the truth about Ramona and Gideon has me very curious. I've got the next two volumes right here, so I'm going to stop writing about this one and read them.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 2: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World

The second part of Bryan Lee O'Malley's funny and charming Scott Pilgrim series didn't grab me as immediately as the first, but it was just as consistently enjoyable throughout. It's a bit longer, and delves more into the back story of the various characters and shows that Scott isn't the only one capable of kicking some ass. One of the most interesting things about volume two to me was the evolution of Knives, the girl Scott was dating when he met Ramona, the girl whose ex-boyfriends he's battling for her. She's sympathetic as an unfortunate casualty of Scott's affections, but she becomes more and more clearly obsessed and basically goes nuts before too long, providing for some pretty entertaining scenes without removing what made her likable. The book's still really about Scott and Ramona though, and the continued development of their relationship was quite good.

It's really funny to see more and more how the world of Scott Pilgrim is basically taking place inside a video game. There's a bunch of idiosyncratic things going on, especially when someone gets defeated and explodes into loose change and sometimes a random item, which Scott may or may not have the right skill proficiency to use. It's clear how much of a dork O'Malley is, with games constantly getting name dropped, including the names of most of the characters' bands that get mentioned. This volume also shows a different side of Scott, as he's capable of tricking people into defeating themselves if he feels overmatched and not just winning by brute force. It's not that easy to explain what makes Scott Pilgrim work so well, it just sort of does. There's apparently some sort redesign happening that's making the third volume difficult to find in comic shops, but I'll still be trying to read it as soon as possible.

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

On the same forum where people constantly discussed Persona 3, Scott Pilgrim was frequently brought up as an example of how comics can be awesome. So a few days ago I bought the first book (It's released in thick little volumes like manga) from the nearby comic shop and managed to read about half on the bus ride back from work, quickly finishing after I got home. Damn, that board's got good taste.

It's hard to describe what's so great about the book, at least in this early going. Five of the six planned volumes have been released, so I feel like I came on at a good point. Basically, Scott is very likable guy, kinda nerdy (X-Men patch on his jacket) but also not (in a crappy band, doesn't understand the Internet). Also, he's pretty good at fighting. That becomes important pretty quickly. Anyway, he's living his life when a strange girl starts appearing both in real life and in his dreams, and eventually he convinces her to go out with him. But before long the main thrust of the plot is revealed - in order to stay with her, he has to defeat all her evil ex-boyfriends.

A lot of strange elements of the story like that are never really explained in detail, at least early on, and are just taken as read, which I enjoy quite a bit. It doesn't have to make complete sense, it's just fun to read. O'Malley does some creative things with the medium, sticking little jokes in the narration bits to go along with the great dialogue between the impressive cast of memorable characters. It's sort of a conundrum, because it's so clever and quick to read that you just devour it and are left wanting more. The art style is a bit odd at first, but you quickly get used to it and it totally works for the setting. I'm pretty sure I'll be blazing through the rest of the books before too long.