[Scarlet Speedster]

What, Zach Braff could say it about the Shins.

So you know how there are movies that are said to define a generation, well we don't have one. What we do have is Bryan Lee O'Malley's genius, manic tale of action/comedy/love/adventure/rock!

THE STORY OF SCOTT PILGRIM (As Told By Scott Pilgrim)
My name is Scott Pilgrim! I'm 23 and I live in Toronto with my cool gay roommate, Wallace Wells. I'm in a band called Sex Bob-omb (we're not very good though), and I'm "between jobs". Some of my friends say I'm a freeloader, but I think Wallace is just really nice! Anyway, I've been having some girl troubles lately. I kind of ended up dating this girl with, uh, seven evil ex-boyfriends, apparently? Her name is Ramona Flowers and she's from New York, which makes her super extra-cool. Anyway, her ex-boyfriends keep showing up to fight me! It's really extreme and stuff!! Girls show up from my past to make things more complicated, and it's not like having a relationship is easy to begin with! I've got baggage and stuff, okay?!

What I can manage in terms of a preview:

http://www.amazon.co...167#reader-link

and more:









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The art is unsurprisingly strong in Scott Pilgrim. At a casual glance it might be easy to categorize it as being “cartoony” but there’s a lot more going on here. From the opening page with Ramona’s head tilted down as she walks across the snowy lawn, to her wide-eyed expression of terror as she shows up unexpectedly to Scott’s front door, there’s a lot of variety and energy in the art. These aren’t loosely-drawn characters because O’Malley has no choice; it’s a very deliberate drawing style, able to bring a lot of depth of emotion onto each of their faces and bodies as they appear on the page. Additionally, O’Malley brings Toronto to life as a living, breathing location in Scott Pilgrim, with each location coming across as more than just a background, but as real neighborhoods and places that our characters are moving through. Little details like the ever-growing snow that Scott and Ramona plunge through comes across almost like part of a dream, with the sudden diving down towards the door amidst the assault of the elements on our characters. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and it gives the entire book an extra high quality level with its entire look and feel.

The series is slated to consist of 6 volumes, with 3 presently released. Vol. 4 comes out in November. If you are to try one video game, indie-rock attitude, manga influenced indie-comic this year, make it Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life. Scott Pilgrim demands it.

[Scarlet Speedster]

http://www.nytimes.c...6...=2&ref=arts

Scott Pilgrim Heads South, Bringing His Creator



By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES
Published: February 5, 2009
Superman was rocketed from the planet Krypton by his father. Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider. Scott Pilgrim was ushered into existence by the members of Imperial Otter, a Canadian alt-pop band whose songs include “Jesus Stole My Guitar.�

As origin stories go, it’s pretty low-key. Bryan Lee O’Malley, the writer and artist behind the hit independent Scott Pilgrim series, played keyboards for the Otters. When he shared with the band his first original graphic novel — “Lost at Sea,� about a girl who thinks a cat has stolen her soul — “they were underwhelmed,� he said during a telephone interview. Their reaction encouraged a change in artistic direction.

“I wanted to create something more in line with their experiences and my own,� Mr. O’Malley said. And lo, Scott Pilgrim, a 20-something slacker living in Toronto, was born.

This weekend Mr. O’Malley will be making his first appearance at the New York Comic Con, bringing Scott Pilgrim to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to mix with the corporate superheroes and anime warriors of the comic book industry. He will have in tow copies of “Scott Piligrm vs. the Universe,� the fifth of six planned volumes, which was released this week, along with special bells and whistles prepared for this Big Apple appearance, including “I Scott NY� T-shirts and a book wrap that features Scott and friends.

The Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, published by Oni Press, combines a dab of indie rock, a pinch of manga and a sprinkling of video game know-how. At its core it is about the title character’s quest to win the heart of Ramona Flowers, an American working as a delivery girl in Toronto. To achieve his goal, Scott — immature, usually broke and part of a possibly bad rock band called Sex Bob-Omb — must defeat the seven ex-boyfriends from Ramona’s mysterious past.

Mr. O’Malley’s flights of fancy can go from the unexpectedly silly (as when Scott and Ramona use her purse as a getaway portal) to the sublimely unexpected (like the former boyfriend who derives his superpowers from being vegan). Publishers Weekly has praised the new book as capturing “both the genuine intimacies and serial dishonesties of young love�; salon.com said that the series “keeps getting funnier and more incisive� and that “some members of his cast don’t have to do much more than show up to get laughs.�

While the Scott Pilgrim series would make any short list of the best comic books that are under the radar for the general public, it has developed a loyal and rabid fan base that has only grown larger — and louder — since the announcement of a live-action movie adaptation starring Michael Cera.

Mr. O’Malley, who was born in London, Ontario, and now lives in Asheville, N.C., said he was looking forward to seeing what kind of reception awaits him at Comic Con. In the meantime, having to complete Volume 5 for the convention “was a good motivator,� he said. “My publishers were really glad that I got it done on time.�

The new volume opens with a birthday party at which Scott bombastically declares, “I, Scott Pilgrim, will be the best 24-year-old ... ever!� As always, each character gets a chance to shine. In the case of Wallace Wells, Scott’s gay ex-roommate, it comes in the form of a text message he sends to Scott: “Hey budddddy! Im a drunk 4 u. (U=scott).�

At another party where Scott fights a robot, the action takes place mainly in the background of several panels — because everyone is so blasé about his eventual victory. Fate has been less kind to the Imperial Otters. “It’s pretty typical,� Mr. O’Malley said. “Our band has fallen apart and re-formed 10 times.�

It's been a while since I last plugged this series, so long in fact that two new volumes have been released.

YOU.MUST.READ.THIS.BOOK.

Seriously, I cannot recommend it enough. If you dig LICD I really think you will be absolutely enthralled by this series.