Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Being relatable is useful, sure - but have you ever considered just how many of the great protagonists are actually assholes?

I'm only half-joking. Think of Hamlet, Holden Caulfield, Sherlock Holmes - and that's just touching on the Hs. Even in comics, who are the characters you remember? For me, what comes to mind quickly are Joe Matt in his own comics, Vladek Spiegelman, Rorschach, Hopey. And none of those are people who would be easy to live with, or be friends with.

So when I say that Scott Pilgrim is shallow, conflict-avoidant, deeply immature and vastly more of a jerk than he's usually credited with...well, I'm saying he's one of the greats, I guess. 

I'm re-reading Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim books for no good reason - which is the only appropriate reason to tackle the adventures of this world-class slacker. See my post from April for the first book, Precious Little Life, and now I'm back with Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, the second book and title source for the 2010 movie.

I'm impressed at how self-assured O'Malley was how quickly: World is well-structured, diving in immediately with a flashback and moving forward both the immediate plot (time for evil ex #2!) and the longer-term arc of the series. This is the book where we really first see The Clash at Demonhead, which includes both Scott's ex Envy Adams and Ramona's ex Todd Ingram. The longest fight scene here isn't the one of Scott and Evil Ex #2 - O'Malley was already switching things up and playing against expectations this early in the series.

Another small touch I noticed and really appreciated: O'Malley does little "character cards" when people are introduced, somewhat consistently. But it's only the first time; you don't need to introduce the same person repeatedly. Except for Knives Chau, who is introduced a good half-dozen times in this book, always as "Knives Chau, 17 Years Old."

Because: Yeah, that's the point. In a cast of young people with poor impulse control, grandiose dreams, and vague plans, Knives is even younger and vaguer and more impulsive than all those twenty-three-year-olds who think they're older and sophisticated.

(Spoiler: every single member of the cast of Scott Pilgrim is baby-young. Like toddlers just wandering around Toronto. It's actually adorable.)

Otherwise, World is a fine example of how to transition from a book to a series - Life could have stood on its own, if it had to. (Any good first book must.) World, on the other hand, extends Life, adding more details, and sets up immediately for the next book and more vaguely for the entire back half of the series. The dialogue is zippy, the gigantic eyes are weirdly compelling, and the quirky worldbuilding (including a great River City Ransom homage that, even this time, I thought would turn into a dream sequence - no, not at all, that's how this world rolls) is specific and grounded in its nuttiness.

I was wondering if Scott Pilgrim was starting to get dated - too much an artifact of its era, too specific - but slackers are eternal, and it looks like video games will be as well. Twenty years on, it's still vital and true.