Scott Pilgrim

"Scott Pilgrim" is a comedy/action/romance comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, intended to eventually consist of six digest-sized black-and-white graphic novels. The first volume was released in 2004 and, as of 2007, four have been released, all published by Portland, Oregon independent comic book publisher Oni Press.

The series is about 23-year-old Canadian Scott Pilgrim, a slacker, hero, wannabe-rockstar, who is living in Toronto and playing bass in the band "Sex Bob-Omb." He falls in love with American delivery girl Ramona V. Flowers, but must defeat her seven "evil exes" in order to date her.

In 2005, Universal Pictures announced that they had optioned the property for a possible future film adaptation. [cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117923467?categoryid=13&cs=1|title="'Pilgrim's' progresses: Wright will helm O'Malley comicbook adaptation"|work=Variety|accessmonthday=July 8 |accessyear=2006] Edgar Wright is attached as director, and Michael Bacall is to write the screenplay. Michael Cera is playing the lead role. [cite web|url=http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/168823.html|title="Here's what happens"|work=Bryan Lee O' Malley|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] The film will be called "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" [cite web|url=http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/169870.html|title="Television rules the nation"|work=Bryan Lee O' Malley|accessmonthday=April 4 |accessyear=2008] .

Characters

Main characters

* Scott W. Pilgrim: 23-year-old protagonist. Bass player for the band Sex Bob-omb. Currently employed as a dish washer at The Happy Avocado vegetarian restaurant. The character's name was inspired by the song "Scott Pilgrim" from Plumtree's 1998 album "Predicts the Future". Has recently leveled up. His birthday is September 27.
* Ramona Victoria Flowers: Main love interest. Amazon.ca delivery girl. 24 years old. She reveals very little about her past in New York before she moved to Toronto. Is capable of traveling through subspace. Has seven evil exes. Changes her hairstyle a lot. Her birthday is January 1.
* Knives Chau: 17-year-old Chinese-Canadian high school girl. Scott dated her for a short while, but broke up with her when he met Ramona. Following their break up she started dating Young Neil, although she is still in love with Scott. They break up, but Knives still hangs out with the group. Employed at Second Cup (but not the same one as Stacey & Julie).
* Wallace Wells: Scott's gay former roommate (they shared a bed, although Scott is heterosexual). 26 years old. The character was inspired by O'Malley's former roommate Christopher Butcher, the co-founder of [http://www.popimage.com/ PopImage] and [http://www.previewsreview.com/ PreviewsReview] . His birthday is "sometime in July".
* Stephen Stills: Lead singer and guitarist of Sex Bob-omb. 23 years old. Named after Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Scott always refers to him by his full name. Birthday: "Last Tuesday," August. Employed at The Happy Avocado vegetarian restaurant as a cook.
* Kimberly "Kim" Pine: Drummer of Sex Bob-omb. Dated Scott in high school. Known to dislike many people (possibly everyone). 23 years old. Employed at No-Account Video.

upporting characters

* Natalie V. "Envy" Adams: Scott's ex-girlfriend. Lead singer and keyboardist for The Clash At Demonhead.
* "Young" Neil Nordegraf: Sex Bob-omb's biggest fan. Stephen Stills's roommate. 20 years old. Briefly dated Knives Chau.
* Stacey Pilgrim: Scott's younger sister. 19 years old. Sensible. Works at the same Second Cup as Julie Powers.
* Julie Powers: Stephen Stills's on and off again girlfriend. 22 years old. Known for being obnoxious. Envy's roommate in college.

* The League Of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends
*# Matthew Patel: Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend. Indian. Has mystical powers and can summon Demon Hipster Girls at will.
*# Lucas Lee: Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend, a pro skateboarder turned movie star.
*# Todd Ingram: Ramona's third evil ex-boyfriend. Bass player for The Clash At Demonhead. Has special vegan psychic powers (although is secretly consuming non-vegan foods). Dating Envy, but cheating on her with Lynette.
*# Roxanne Richter: Ramona's fourth evil ex, her college roommate. Half-ninja. An accomplished fine artist. Taught Ramona much of what she knows. Has a tattoo of Kobe.
*#
*# The Twins: Little is known about The Twins, other than they are the next evil exes Scott is set to face. There is contention as to whether both Twins count as a single ex, although it would solve the problem of having one ex fought (and presumably defeated) per volume (there are fewer planned volumes then there are known exes.)
*#
*# Gideon: Apparently Ramona's boyfriend previous to Scott, in New York; has been mentioned several times. Referred to by Lucas Lee as responsible for the organization of the League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends.

Minor characters

* Lynette Guycott: Drummer for The Clash At Demonhead, has a biomechanical arm. Named after Plumtree's drummer Lynette Gillis and Tom Guycot from the video game of the same name.
* Hollie: Kim's 25-year-old co-worker and current roommate. Is nice.
* Joseph: Hollie and Kim's 24-year-old, soft-spoken gay roommate. Has a crush on Todd Ingram. Finds Stephen Stills attractive. Currently helping Sex Bob-Omb record their album. Apparently insensitive.
* Luke "Crash" Wilson: Singer and guitarist for Crash And The Boys, another local band.
* Joel MacMillan: Bass player for Crash And The Boys.
* Trisha "Trasha" Ha: Drummer for Crash And The Boys. 8 years old. Was apparently "discovered" playing DrumMania at the Pacific Mall arcade. She is also noted by Stephen Stills that "She has so much ADD it's not even funny."
* "Other Scott": A friend of Wallace's.
* Michael Comeau: A friend of Scott's who knows everybody (including you). Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's friend of the same name, a Toronto graphic artist. He has a ring which also knows everybody, which he claims to have obtained from the future.
* Sandra: Former classmate of Scott's. 24 years old.
* Monique: Another ex-classmate of Scott's. 23 years old.
* Jimmy: A friend of Stacey's.
* Sara: One of Kim Pine's former roommates. Apparently unpleasant.
* Lauren: High school friend of Kim.
* Simon Lee: A figure from Scott's and Kim's past, who dated Kim and/or kidnapped her, depending on whose version you believe.
* Tamara Chen: Knives's 17-year-old best friend.
* Lisa Miller: An old high school friend of Scott and Kim's; now an actress moving to California.
* Lawrence Pilgrim: Scott's younger brother. He has only been heard and mentioned, never seen. According to a flashback in Volume 3, Scott has indefinitely borrowed Lawrence's bass guitar.
*Stephanie "Steph" Nordegraf: Young Neils older sister. Played bongos and viola in Scott's previous band Kid Chameleon.
* Cole: Briefly touched upon in a flashback in Volume 3. Envy invited Cole to join Scott's previous band, Kid Chameleon, replacing Scott on the drums.
*Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim: Scott's parents. Only actually seen in flashbacks, they seem to have a tendency for embarrassing Scott, even when only on the phone. Currently traveling Europe. O'Malley has suggested that the character "Vincent" in the short comic [http://www.radiomaru.com/comics/short/monica/ "Monica Beetle"] (which originally appeared in the "Project: Superior" anthology) might be Scott Pilgrim's dad having "Pilgrim"-esque adventures in 1974.
*Jason Kim: A friend of Kim's who owns a car. Scott never remembers who he is.
*Mr. Chau: Knives's father. Has a collection of antique samurai swords.
*Mobile: Wallace's (so far unseen) boyfriend. Has been dating Wallace since Volume 3. Shares an apartment with Wallace as of Volume 4. Apparently psychic.

Bands

(The names of all the bands in "Scott Pilgrim" have thus far been references to video games.)
* Sex Bob-omb: Scott's band with Stephen Stills (vocals and guitar) and Kim Pine (drums). Refers to Bob-omb, a character from the "Super Mario" series.
* The Clash At Demonhead: The band of Scott's ex-girlfriend Envy. Refers to the NES game "Clash at Demonhead", as well as obviously recalling punk band The Clash.
* Sonic & Knuckles: Scott's first band, in high school with Kim Pine and Lisa Miller. Named after the Sega Genesis game "Sonic & Knuckles".
* Crash And The Boys: Another local band. Refers to an NES game, ', localized from the Japanese "Nekketsu Koha Kunio-kun" series. Later call themselves The Boys And Crash"' (in Volume 3).
* Kid Chameleon: Scott's university band with Stephen Stills, Envy, and Neil's sister Stephanie, among others. Named after the Sega Genesis game "Kid Chameleon".

Locations

All of the events of the books take place (for the most part), in the city of Toronto, Ontario. There are several actual locations which are referenced, some simply as subtle allusions, others which directly affect the plot.

Book 1

*Toronto Public Library - Wychwood Branch: Located on Bathurst Street, a rather nice somewhat historical library, opened in 1916.
*The Rockit: This was a small venue for local bands in Toronto.
*Pacific Mall: An Asian mall just outside the Toronto municipal limits.

Book 2

*Sonic Boom: A large independent record shop, somewhat known for buying and selling second hand CDs.
*No Account Video: This is in reference to an independent video store located in Toronto, Suspect Video. There are two locations, but the one in the book is located at Markham Street and Bloor Street, which is close to The Beguiling, a comic book store were O'Malley used to work. The real name of the video store was not used because they refused to let O'Malley take reference photos inside the premisesFact|date=March 2008,.
*Casa Loma: A local historic building, and tourist attraction. Both the building itself, as well as the rather large staircase leading up to it from Spadina Avenue are featured.
*Toronto Reference Library: A distinctive 6-floor reference library.
*Lee's Palace: A night club in Toronto, featuring local and international bands.

Book 3
*Honest Ed's: A very, very large discount store opened by Ed Mirvish, a local businessman and theater mogul.
*Yonge-Dundas Square: A large public square in downtown Toronto.

Book 4
*The Beaches: An area in the east end of Toronto, known for its lovely beaches.
*Dufferin Mall: A shopping mall located on Dufferin Street.
*Sneaky Dee's: A Tex-Mex cuisine bar and venue.
*Nipissing University: A small liberal arts university located in North Bay, Ontario.

Film adaptation

The film adaptation of the series, entitled "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (previously known as "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" and, erroneously, "Scott Pilgrim's Little Life" [cite web|url=http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/168823.html|title="Here's what happens"|work=Bryan Lee O'Malley|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] ) is to be directed by Edgar Wright and written by Michael Bacall [cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967391.html?categoryid=2607&cs=1|title="Michael Bacall - 10 Screenwriters to Watch"|work=Matthew Ross|accessmonthday=April 4 |accessyear=2008] , and will be distributed by Universal Pictures in the US. The titular character of Scott Pilgrim will be played by Michael Cera [cite web|url=http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/168823.html|title="Here's what happens"|work=Bryan Lee O' Malley|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] , with Ramona Flowers being played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead [cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3iddf6bb69274592b70ef8a3c006e3681f |title="Mary Elizabeth Winstead joins 'Pilgrim'"|work=Boris Kytt|accessmonthday=May 16 |accessyear=2008] . Filming is due to start in the fall [cite web|url=http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=22284|title="Michael Cera Talks Scott Pilgrim"|work=Chris Hewitt|accessmonthday=April 4 |accessyear=2008] .

Volumes

Other appearances:
*"Comics Festival" (40-page anthology including a one-page Scott Pilgrim comic; released on Free Comic Book Day 2005)
*"PENG" (72-page one-shot comic book by Corey Lewis where Scott Pilgrim appears in one panel; released in 2005)
*"Free Scott Pilgrim #1 FCBD 2006 Edition" (32-page comic book featuring an 18-page original Scott Pilgrim story; released on Free Comic Book Day 2006. This story is available for free online at [http://www.newsarama.com/Oni/FREESP/FCBDFSP.html Newsarama.com] )
*"Comics Festival 2007!" (40-page anthology including a half-page Scott Pilgrim comic and a 6-page Kim Pine comic; released on Free Comic Book Day 2007)

Critical reception

The first volume of "Scott Pilgrim" was well-received by comic book critics and had favorable reviews outside the comic book industry, in "Publishers Weekly" and on E! Online among others. Though O'Malley's simple, cartoony-looking, and manga-inspired artwork was put off as "amateurish" by some readers, critics were fascinated by they way he managed to get the characters' emotions across with so few, seemingly simple lines. They noted that O'Malley used this style by choice, and not because of a lack of talent. While there were some objections against the book's art, its humor made the book very popular and garnered it much praise, as did its "strong characterization and convincing dialogue" [cite web|url=http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/critiques/081604/scottpilgrim1.shtml|title="Critiques On Infinite Earths - SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 1: SCOTT PILGRIM'S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE"|work=The Fourth Rail|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] , depicting a large set of realistic, sympathetic characters with whom the readers could easily identify. Only the video-game-like fight sequence at the end (wherein Scott fights Matthew Patel, the first of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends, in a style reminiscent of "Street Fighter", the fights in "Ranma ½" and "River City Ransom") was not met as enthusiastically as the rest of the book by all readers and it was noted that the scene "completely abandons the tone, pace and genre of everything that comes before it". [cite web|url=http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/critiques/081604/scottpilgrim1.shtml|title="Critiques On Infinite Earths - SCOTT PILGRIM VOLUME 1: SCOTT PILGRIM'S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE"|work=The Fourth Rail|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008]

The second volume received equally good reviews, with some critics grading it "even better" than the first volume [cite web|url=http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/062005/firstissues.shtml|title="Snap Judgements - SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD"|work=The Fourth Rail|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] and continuing to praise the series' humor and how O'Malley manages to shift readers' sympathies from one character to the other by expanding the characterizations of the cast, giving new insights into the characters' pasts. Critics also noted how seemingly effortlessly O'Malley manages to mix "relatively real life and superhero power fantasies" [cite web|url=http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=34214|title=" SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD GN REVIEW"|work=Ryan Day|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] .

Publishers Weekly ranked the third volume, "Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness", as one of the best comic books of 2006 in a critics' poll. [cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6401289.html?nid=2789|title="The First Annual PW Comics Week Critic's Poll"|work=Publisher's Weekly|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008] .

Scott Pilgrim was recently ranked 85th on Wizard magazine’s list of the "200 Greatest Comic Characters of All Time" [http://www.wizarduniverse.com/mar083350.html "Wizard Magazine #200", April 2008] ] , effectively putting him in the company of such international comic book icons as Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, and the X-Men.

Awards

In 2005, O'Malley won the Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent for the first volume of "Scott Pilgrim" [http://www.time-cat.com/wrights.html] and was nominated for three Harvey Awards (Best New Talent, Best Cartoonist and Best Graphic Album of Original Work). [cite web|url=http://www.harveyawards.org/awards_2005nom.html|title="2005 Harvey Award Nominees"|work=The Harvey Awards|accessmonthday=March 22 |accessyear=2008]

In 2006, O'Malley was awarded Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist (Writer/Artist) in the Joe Shuster Awards. He was previously nominated in the same category in 2005.

O'Malley was nominated for a 2006 Eisner Award in the category Best Writer/Artist—Humor, for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World", but lost to Kyle Baker. O'Malley and "Scott Pilgrim" were also nominated for two 2006 Eagle Awards, and nominated for a second Wright Award (for "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World").

References

External links

* [http://www.scottpilgrim.com ScottPilgrim.com]
* [http://www.myspace.com/scottpilgrim Scott Pilgrim] at MySpace
* [http://www.radiomaru.com/comics/short/scott_pilgrim_promo_comic.jpg"Scott Pilgrim: Previews Promo Strip"]
*