Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life Vol. 1 Hardcover by Bryan Lee O’Malley
It’s about time we highlight Scott Pilgrim in this column. Simply because it’s one of the best comic book series ever written. Throughout the series, Bryan Lee O’Malley has found a way to mix romance, heartbreak, music, video games, and superheros all into one package, all with lightning speed pace. For what it is, Scott Pilgrim has made a remarkable impact on pop culture, and you can actually see a lot of O’Malley’s influence on several of today’s comic writers. The movie oozed originality and became an instant cult favorite. So it only makes sense that a series that was published in such a modest format (smaller sized paperback, all in black and white) would get a deluxe treatment: oversized, hardcover, colored, and with bonus supplemental material.
Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life starts everything off by introducing us to Scott Pilgrim, an immature 23 year old Torontonian, who plays a mean bass and is dating a high schooler named Knives Chau. He meets Ramona Flowers (the girl of his dreams) and his life is turned upside down as he has to fight her seven evil ex-boyfriends (they are NOT described as “exes” in this book) if he wants to keep dating her. Scott chooses to do so and faces the first one in this book, but with the impending battles coming up, Scott gets the lingering sensation that he might have bitten off more than he can chew. Who is this Gideon character?
The series is wonderfully illustrated in O’Malley’s simplistic anime-influenced style, and is full of personality. From the little description bars, the band shirts, or the outrageous facial expressions, it’s clear that O’Malley is having fun, and we can’t help but be immediately immersed.
As far as the deluxe edition goes, and no disrespect to O’Malley, but the coloration of the series has brought the series to life in ways I never thought imaginable. Colorist Nathan Fairbairn finds the perfect tone for the series. Also included are O’Malley’s notes on the character design and inspiration for them with very many interesting elements (Young Neil and Steven Stills are inspired by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, GET IT?), and the original pitch to Oni Press for what the series would be like. Again, not an overwhelming amount of supplements, but just right for fans of the series. Very well done, guys.
In all seriousness, I cannot recommend this series highly enough to anyone and everyone. Hang on, we’re in for a great ride, and with with the deluxe treatment from Oni Press, Scott Pilgrim is finally getting some respect.
Get it here!
