Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness

With Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness (Oni, $11.95) I think I'm finally getting into the groove of Brian Lee O'Malley's video games-meet-emo world view. I laughed quite a bit, and actually looked forward to the crazy fight scenes that pop in to resolve existential and emotional conflicts. I'm a bit concerned that the plot doesn't seem to be moving forward much, but we get enough drama, back story, action and humor to carry us through this volume at least. And I still feel sorry for poor Knives Chau, whose only mistake was falling for the charming but self-centered Scott.

Okay, at this point the comic books and the movie really seem to diverge, so I'm going to try to stop talking about the movie so much. This volume contains a lot of great backstory on Scott and Envy (Natalie)'s relationship, how Scott and Wallace became friends, a little Julie history. There's also a funny bit on the unmitigated horror of giant discount stores, some nice Knives moments, a little more depth for Envy, and a lot of making fun of Todd and his "I can do whatever I want, I'm a rock star" ways.

My only complaint about this volume is that I found the depictions of Julie and Lynette really hard to tell apart. Though, looking back trhough now, it seems much more obvious. So maybe the actual problem was not enough character show more introduction for Lynette.

Still really enjoying this series. show less

http://andalittlewine.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-of-scott-pilgrim-by-bryan-lee....

There are spoilers here.

From here
Reading Bryan Lee O'Malley's six Scott Pilgrim books (Precious Little Life, vs. the World, & the Infinite Sadness, Gets It Together, vs. the Universe, Finest Hour) has been on my to-do list for a number of years, and they moved into my "read very soon" stack when I read and enjoyed Lost at Sea back in January.

Scott Pilgrim and his friends inhabit a world of magic realism, where their otherwise normal lives are occasionally interrupted by video game style fighting, 1-ups, and intrusions into their dreams. I think of it as a digital-age twist on Watchmen. Where Moore asks, "what would superheroes be like in real life," show more O'Malley pushes at "what would happen if a 23-year-old slacker handled his problems like a character from Street Fighter 2?"

I really enjoyed watching Scott struggle to grow up. He doesn't know what to do with his life, he doesn't know how to be a reliable friend, and he certainly doesn't know how to behave in a relationship. This, of course, doesn't stop him from believing that he is awesome. I especially the moment in the 6th book when he realizes that the way he remembers himself is not how others remember him, when he's forced to confront the fact that his creation myth (how he learned to fight, how he became friends with Kim by beating up a bully and rescuing her) is a lie he's told himself so many times that he believes it. Kim forces him to remember that the kid he beat up was just another nerd, and more importantly, was a person. The world is not divided into friends and enemies; that approach only works in video games and (some lesser) comic books.

O'Malley's artwork is a real treat. Simple, clean lined characters inhabit a richly detailed world. The fullness of the world was reiterated over and over again. Pop-up balloons frequently appear with notes on who's who, what items are laying in the background, what action a character is in the midst of performing. Again, this emphasized the video game spirit of the books, playing to our expectation of unlockable tools and skills, while also serving as a way to make the world more textured (and more dork-tastic).

The framing of the panels was another tastefully handled reminder of just how big Scott Pilgrim's world really is. In comics, framing works just like the framing of a shot on television; it tells us where our attention should focus. Throughout Scott Pilgrim, O'Malley's framing skewed off center, so that the characters (and sometimes even their speech bubbles) would spill off the frame and off the page. What we are given is truly a "window on the world" in the classic sense, allowing us to see but also limiting what we can see. O'Malley's deft framing was one of the first things that stood out to me in Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, and I was thrilled and rewarded to see it continued throughout the series. show less

I have such a crush on Envy Adams... well, Natalie anyway. Okay, also Envy. And if you've seen the movie, with the amazing Brie Larson as Envy, you can surely understand why, but I also loved the original version shown here. Plus, we get to know so much more about her than could ever fit in a film that incorporates this whole series.

This one has it all, another Evil-Ex, Knives' journey of self-discovery, and Ramona bonding with Wallace over their mutual hate for Envy. Oh, and Vegan Psychic Powers!! Holes in the Moon!!

Yeah, Volume 3 is a stand-out favorite for me, even though the whole series is just fantastic.

I would probably give this one 4.5 stars if I could. I think it was my favorite out of the whole series. Having Envy incorporated into the main story line made Scott a little more sympathetic and I loved her crazy outfits. Also, chick fight! Those are always fun. Vegan Todd with his super vegan powers is probably my favorite of the evil exes and the fact that they almost were both taken out by a Walmart-like shopping center due to too much stimulus.

Scott and Ramona are still pretty annoying, but I think that's the point. They're whiny slackers that aren't meant to be that sympathetic in the first place. That's why you have so many fun supporting characters.

Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness is the third volume in the Scott Pilgrim series and, so far, my favorite one of all! This volume finally introduces us to Envy Adams, Scott's rock star ex-girlfriend who broke his heart, and her band The Clash at Demonhead which includes Todd Ingram, Ramona's third evil ex! We have fights between Scott and Todd, Envy and Ramona (with a side of Knives Chau), and a side mini-fight between Envy and Todd. Plus, Scott's roommate, Wallace Wells gets more focus and I find him to be one of the funniest characters in the whole series! Seriously underused in the movie, in my opinion!

This volume is the first one I found to be truly cohesive from start to finish, and we really get a sense for why Scott is the show more way he is now. Envy and Todd are interesting additions to the story, and Todd is probably my favorite of the evil exes as he's such a tool and a complete moron at the same time! I'd recommend this to graphic novel and video game fans who enjoy humor and absurdity as with the other volumes! Five stars! show less

It's hard to explain just how awesome this series is or how much it makes you want to move to Canada. Well, maybe that second part is just me. Besides having the super awesome (I need another word besides awesome) characters and hilarious plot, this volume has one of Ramona's evil exes, who has vegan powers. There's a bargain store that makes people go blind with the sheer amount of deals. Ramona and one of Scott's exes have an extreme fight using a giant hammer. And Wallace Wells cemented himself as one of my favorite characters when he forced Scott to listen to the sound of sizzling bacon to prove that everything does not suck. These books need to be read... and they need to be read by you!