O’Malley, Bryan Lee. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. Portland, OR: Oni, 2004.
Precious Little Life is the first in series of critically-acclaimed graphic novels by writer-artist Bryan Lee O’Malley. This comic, like the others in the series, is a paperback book rather than a magazine.
Scott is 23 going on 17. He is immature, dating a high schooler, unemployed, and mooching off his roommate. He is even in a band, Sex Bob-omb. (When I was young, bands were cool and dangerous. Now they can be full of video game-playing, comics-reading nerds like Scott Pilgrim.) He runs from trouble. He is a jerk to nearly everyone he knows. Fortunately for him, they seem to care about him anyway and stand up to help him.
Scott’s immaturity is epitomized by his dating a high-school girl, Knives Chau, who hasn’t even kissed a boy. His friends and sister confront him, but he justifies himself. He seems satisfied with a simple, no-pressure relationship with a girl whose world of school and conservative, Chinese family is even smaller than his own.
His satisfaction with Knives disappears when he meets and falls in love with Ramona Flowers, a woman his own age who has a lot more going on. This is complicated by the fact that Knives is falling in love with him, or at least the adventure and independence he represents to her. In attempting a retreat to a simpler time (he even takes Knives by his childhood home, though is family moved out), he unwittingly open’s her eyes to a new world where she can try things she never imagined doing before.
That is only the beginning of the complications. To date Ramona, he must defeat her seven evil exes. Fortunately, Scott is a good fighter, having learned from video games (his defeated opponents disappear in a “pop” leaving a little pile of coins behind). In this volume, the first evil ex makes his appearance.
The fight may be the main fantasy element of the book, but fantastic things begin with Ramona, who skates through Scott’s dreams to deliver packages because a subspace highway runs through his head—and there isn’t much traffic there. An opposing band knocks out the crowd with lightning and Kirby crackle. Scott’s Toronto is a little bit magical.
One can probably read this book as a stand-alone story. However, it is definitely the start of a series. If you can’t leave something at “to be continued,” you may want to skim the series to see if you’re willing to commit. Alternatively, the movie adaption presents the main story line for the whole series.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Film)
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sex Bob-omb. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Sex Bob-omb. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley
This fifth installment of the Scott Pilgrim
series of graphic
novels by Bryan
Lee O’Malley seems to me to be the Kim Pine story.
Kim is Scott’s ex-girlfriend and bandmate. She has enough troubles of her own
with a bad roommate, cheating boyfriend, and a sense of losing her edge as Sex
Bob-omb makes and album instead of playing musing.
In spite of this, Kim musters the selfless courage to help Scott and Ramona
get over their baggage and try to make their relationship work. She draws out
the best of friends often seem to be not worth the trouble, especially Scott.
She supports and encourages both, and helps them to connect when they can’t
seem to do it on their own.
Scott is being a jerk, as usually, through much of the book. He is
incredibly forgetful. I suspect it is a kind of Peter Pan syndrome. On his 24th
birthday, Scott vows to stop aging. He seems to have trouble forming new
memories. For all the progress he made in previous books, he is still resisting
the transition to adulthood.
Even with the focus on Kim, the story of the evil exes continues. Scott
defeats the Katayanagi twins, though in a different manner than the movie. This
is another scene of Kim’s selfless friendship.
Of all the books, this one has the sense of being “in between.” It is
in between the build and the climax to be expected in the final book. I think
O’Malley made a good choice in bringing in Kim so much in this volume. He was
able to move the story of Scott and Ramona along while also giving some space
to look around and not rush to the end. Scott is too messed up to make it on
his own, so it is nice to see one of them get some attention.
Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Monday, September 1, 2014
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
is the fourth volume of a six-volume work by Bryan
Lee O’Malley. In reviewing other volumes of the series, I’ve mentioned that
the story is a pilgrimage.
In this volume, things start moving.
Nothing signals a figurative move like an actual move. Scott’s
friend and bandmate, Kim, moves from
her apartment into a house with some friends. One of these friends has sound
editing equipment, so Scott’s band, Sex Bob-omb,
moves from playing clubs to recording an album. Eventually, Scott is forced to
move because the lease is up on the apartment he shares with Wallace.
The important moves in the series, though, are Scott’s stumbling from
an extended adolescence
toward adulthood.
His internal challenges are represented by external challenges. In order to
have a place to go when he leaves the apartment he shares with Wallace, he
proposes to move in with Ramona.
One can imagine how disastrous this might be in the state of their relationship
at the start of the book; Scott must make an emotional move to Ramona and responsibility
first.
This emotional move is achieved in several stages. Scott practices self-control
by resisting the temptation for an easy, breezy summer fling with a woman he
knew from school who has a crush on him. He takes on responsibility by getting
his first job
as a dishwasher at age 23.
His other conflicts are represented or resolved in combat. It wouldn’t
be Scott Pilgrim without cool fight scenes. His relationship with Ramona is
haunted by his not actually broken off relationship with Knives.
Knives’ vengeful father hunts down and attacks Scott. In addition, another of
Ramona’s evil exes arrives. It’s neat that he survives combat with Mr. Chau and
defeats Roxie. The powerful actions he takes are to confess his love to Ramona,
accept the baggage of her past, and treat Mr. Chau (an through him Knive’s)
with respect.
Self-control, responsibility, love, acceptance,
and respect are a decent set of virtues for a
young man to practice. Scott is not perfect, but his journey isn’t to
perfection, it’s to maturity.
Bryan Lee O’Malley also wrote
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
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