Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

Scott Pilgrim #1

by Bryan Lee O'Malley

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Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet.

He’s twenty-three years old, he’s in a rock band, he’s ‘between jobs’, and he’s dating a cute high-school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott’s awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona’s seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is ‘Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life’.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Manga, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

157 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 18, 2004

About the author

Bryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. His first original graphic novel was Lost at Sea (2003), and he is best-known for the six-volume Scott Pilgrim series (2004 to 2010). All of his Scott Pilgrim graphic novels were published by Portland, Oregon-based Oni Press. In July 2014 his graphic novel Seconds was released by Ballantine Books. He is also a songwriter and musician (as Kupek and formerly in several short-lived Toronto bands).
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man this is fantastic. How had I not read it before?! I rewatched the movie last night (for like the 10th time) and reading it made me want to just have it on all the time. It’s such a great VIBE. I’m going to have to read the rest of the series for sure!!!

[Jesse (JesseTheReader)]

I knew this was going to be one that I loved! SO MUCH FUN I NEED THE REST OF THE SERIES. I feel like this series is just going to be the perfect MOOD BOOSTER for me. Feeling down? SCOTT PILGRIM WILL LIFT YOU UP.

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

I saw the movie adaptation a couple of years ago and, ever since then, I've wanted to start the graphic novels. I'm so happy that I finally did, because this definitely didn't disappoint! I liked it even more than the movie because the art is used in such a clever way, so different than any other graphic novel I've read before (I've only read Maus and Fun Home, but those were for school.) The humor was great as well and I already ordered the next volume so I can read it soon!

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Game on!


This is the first book (in a series of six) of “Scott Pilgrim” saga.


Creative Team:

Creator, writer and illustrator: Bryan Lee O’Malley


AM I DREAMING?

Um… am I dreaming? -- -- I’ll leave you alone forever now.

Thanks.

My first contact with Scott Pilgrim’s world was through the movie adaptation, that I wouldn’t watch (at least not so soon as I did) if Mary Elizabeth Winstead (which I love) wouldn’t be in the cast.

And I would lost a lot! Since that movie rules!

So bizarre, clever, exciting and funny! Am I dreaming? This movie was just right for me!

I was watching it again last week (I have it in DVD and Bluray, and yes I am keeping both editions since the DVD has a magenta background in its cover, and the Bluray has a blue background in its cover, and if you know the most basic things about Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character) you well know that this is just wonderful and yes, I’d need a future format edition in a green background, dang it!).

So, I was watching once again the movie, and again I was thinking that I should read the original Canadian mangas (or are they comics? Whatever, dudes) and…

…in the following weekend I went to the XVII International Book Fair (a yearly book event in my country (Costa Rica)) and in a stand, there was a set with all 6 books (actually there were two sets, but it sounds more epic saying that there was just one set!) (and even with a special discount due the fair), am I dreaming? There it was just the right set of books waiting for me…

…take my money and give me that set!!!

And finally I am reading the epic saga.

By the way, I am sure, some of you, are wondering, and the movie adaptation covers the six books in the series, so nope, it’s not like the first book is the movie, and you’d read other adventures in the other five books. Nope. The six books in the Canadian manga series are what you get in the movie (of course, you may expect some deeper detailing here and there, and different approaches to the scenes).


PILGRIM’S PATH

What kind of tea do you want?

There’s more than one kind of tea?

The world of Scott Pilgrim (story’s main character) is a wacky one where silly things like physics’ laws aren’t quite existing so you can have the maximum level of fun there…

…So, this is a looney world when dream state highways can be a casual talk, 23-years old boys don’t know the basics of internet and e-mail (trust me, that’s not normal), and losing fighting dudes can turn into coins…

…yes, you heard me. Deal it. Chew it. Move on.

Scott Pilgrim is a 23 years old dude, he lives in Toronto, Canada, he’s between jobs and current bass player in a band, the Sex Bob-Omb (desperately trying to get a discographic contract). Scott has a roommate, Wallace Wells, gay, and Scott’s voice of conscience. Scott’s younger sister is Stacey Pilgrim and she’s the other voice of conscience for Scott. Yep. You betcha that Scott needs all voices of conscience available.

By the way, the Sex Bob-Omb are: Stephen Stills (the talent, guitar player and leader of the band), Kim Pine (drums) and (Young) Neil Nordegraf (biggest Sex Bob-Omb’s fan (until Knives Chau (keep reading) comes in)).

And at the beginning of the story, Scott just started to date a high schooler: Knives Chau, 17 years old, Chinese and in a Catholic school (yes, with uniform), so yeah, Scott has no shame, but technically that’s not the problem, nope, life gets really complicated when Scott meets…

…Ramona Flowers.

Ramona Flowers, none disclosured age (in this first book) but clearly twenty-something, American, recently she moved to Canada, and she’s the only delivery girl in Toronto’s downtown area for Amazon.ca. She wears cool outfits and has magenta colored hair (later she’d changing the color to blue and later to green) and she travels in rollerblades. Gorgeous. Smart. Cool. Perfect. (It helps that beyond the basic manga appearance, I keep thinking in Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s version). Oh, and she’s the best living blanket ever in the history of mangas (and movies by the way). Oooh, yeah.

But if you think that complications are due Scott is so lame to start dating Ramona without officially breaking up with Knives, nope, that’s not it…

…Oh, don’t get me wrong, double dating (especially if one of them is an underage girl) is still a very douchebag thing to do (I like Scott, but men shouldn’t do that to women (and viceversa)), but, nope, that’s not the new complication factor introduced in Scott Pilgrim’s life…


ENTER THE LEAGUE

You dated seven evil dudes?

Not all at once!

Everybody has a past. It’s impossible that you meet new people in your life without being certain that that new people have a past.

Scott has a past (that we all get to know in the following books in the series).

And Ramona has a past too.

The problem with Ramona’s past is that it (literally) follows her and interferes with any chance for her of newer romantic relationships.

The League of Seven Evil Ex-boyfriends is a non-profit organization, homebased in America (but currently expanding to Canadian territory) with a single marketing goal: To destroy any newer boyfriend in Ramona Flowers’ life.

Oh, and if you think that that was bad enough, nope, that’s not the worst part…

…wait for it…

…keep waiting a little longer…

…the seven members of the League of Seven Evil Ex-boyfriends have super powers…

…yes, you heard (well, read actually) right…

…super powers!

I told you that physics’ laws left the building for good!

In this first book, you’ll meet Matthew Pattel, with mystical powers and decided to fight against Scott Pilgrim. But, even for an evil ex-boyfriend, Pattel is quite fair and he sent two letters, one per e-mail and one per snail mail (yes, people still do that! That’s not something up in this wacky world), too bad that Scott found boring to read anything, even if they’re death threat warnings!

So…

Open your eyes up… Maybe you’ll see… Scott Pilgrim’s world!!!

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at page 54.


(This was exactly what I was feeling while reading Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.)

I actually tried watching the movie a while back, but it made me really, really uncomfortable. And the same happened while reading the graphic novel.

I wanted to read it because I really liked Seconds, but I guess I somehow forgot that the movie was based off of a graphic novel. And I hadn’t made the connection between the two until I started reading and feeling really (and I mean really) uneasy.

I was uncomfortable with the fact that Scott Pilgrim, a 23 year old, was dating a high schooler. I just personally can’t stand by that (even if he is incredibly immature).



I mean, just looking at him waiting for Knives to finish her day at school made me want to throw up a little.



Never has a book made me this physically uncomfortable. Wow.



I was so close to giving up after this section and I kept thinking, "I don’t hate myself this much, I can put it down."

Maybe it’s a personal thing, but I just can’t get over how uncomfortable my reading experience was.

Example number 20 of Scott's immaturity:


Really, ‘no girls allowed’??? How old are you???

I was holding on for it to get better, but then stuff like this gets thrown in, and I’m just not about that life.


There wasn't even one likeable character. ONE.

I’m truly perplexed at how different Seconds is compared to this catastrophe. Even the humor is on extremely different levels. I just don't get how the same person wrote this.



*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*


This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I FREAKING LOVED THIS.
The art was used SO cleverly which my graphic design mind loved and is probably one of the reasons I liked it so much.
I've seen the movie so I had a little more to go off of when reading this, but I was surprised to find I loved it maybe more than the movie?
It's so quirky and wonderful and just so much good stuff wrapped into one thing.
SO GOOD.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Scott Pilgrim is dating a high schooler!” - so begins one of the finest comics sagas of all time.

I’ve read Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim before, seen the (extremely faithful) Edgar Wright movie adaptation, and have just re-read it (this time in colour), and the comic still blows me away with its quality. Reading the same story the third time around and it’s not boring in the least. It even somehow feels fresh despite having been published in 2004!

On paper the story seems like no great shakes: 23 year old Scott is dating 17 year old Knives Chau, the aforementioned high schooler, (nothing funny, just holding hands), and then he meets Ramona Flowers, his literal dream girl whom he falls hard for. Just one catch: he’s gotta fight her 7 evil exes. And of course break up with poor unsuspecting Knives!

It’s comedy romance mixed in with a Shonen Jump-style fight manga but the comic transcends the sum of its parts. O’Malley’s dialogue perfectly captures how young people in their late teens/early twenties talk albeit making them all very entertaining conversationalists. I’m sure it helped that he was in his early twenties when he wrote/drew this, but even then there’s a skill here with the writing and art that belies his (then) age.

There’s very witty and warm-hearted humour that utilises the visual comics format well too - adding captions in a scene to emphasise how poor Scott is when in his and Wallace’s flat. The script is funny and fun and real and fantastical all at the same time - brilliant! Their names don’t bother me, nor the fact that the characters are all hipsters, that’s how good this comic is!

It’s hard to describe how little seems to happen and yet it feels like so much is happening. The opening sequence is: 1) Scott and his friends in the kitchen talking, 2) Scott and Knives’ (intentionally) mundane meet-cute, 3) Wallace Wells (Scott’s gay flatmate) is introduced, 4) Scott introduces Knives to his band Sex Bob-Omb and they play a song. That’s it. Hardly anything really and YET - there’s so much energy, vibrancy, and urgency in these pages that’s indicative of the rest of the book (and series). It crackles with originality.

O’Malley creates great characters and a helluva good story - Scott proving his love for Ramona in a way suited to his character and exciting to read too - but more than that, he captures the experience of being young and in love. That’s special. That’s something I’ve yet to come across in any other comic and that’s how you know you’re in the presence of a truly unique and obscenely talented voice.

There’s not a single thing I could say I dislike about this book. Every scene brings it - not an ounce of fat is there to be found here! There are so many great moments, from Scott stalking Ramona at the party, to their first kiss, the battle of the bands against Crash and the Boys, the first evil ex, Matthew Patel, and their epic, synchronised fight. Ramona talking about using a shortcut through Scott’s mind to explain why he’s been dreaming about her is utterly bizarre but also fit perfectly into the tone of the book.

O’Malley tosses in an occasional pop culture reference but it never overwhelms the story (Ernest Cline, take note!). Nathan Fairbairn’s colours are nice but the story was just as powerful in the original black and white so whichever version you read, the comic is still awesome.

There are other creators who excel in both roles of writer and artist and have created startlingly original works - Frank Miller’s Sin City, David Lapham’s Stray Bullets, Eric Powell’s The Goon, Jeff Smith’s Bone, Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, and Gilbert Hernandez’s Palomar stories - and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim easily joins these elite ranks.

Scott Pilgrim is about as flawless a comic as I can recommend to anyone. Whether you read comics or don’t, it’s absolutely worth reading. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life doesn’t age and wins over everyone who reads it - an instant classic and one of the best examples of the comics art form!

[Traci Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated what to rate this graphic novel. On the one hand, the characters are thoroughly unlikable. Scott Pilgrim is a vapid, useless lump of a man who is dating a high schooler because that's the level of his maturity/emotional intelligence. Ramona Flowers is standoffish and rude because it makes her look "cool". The only redeeming character was Wallace, the gay roommate. On the other hand, once introductions got over, during the last scene of the book (the concert and Scott's fight with the first evil ex-boyfriend) I really started to like this quirky, little story. The art is definitely not a factor -- the drawings are little more than scribbles on the page and I daresay I could probably do just as well. I will probably continue reading to find out what happens. And when the movie comes out, I'll probably see it... I now believe that Michael Cera was brilliant casting for Scott Pilgrim's character, because I hate Michael Cera with a passion, too. Perhaps one of Ramona's evil ex boyfriends will triumph? One can only hope.

Edited to add: Three years later, I decided to revisit this review, as it has occasionally garnered some comments from people annoyed at my audacity to hold an opinion. I'm not going to change my rating because my opinion stands firm. I really *didn't* care greatly for the first volume of Scott Pilgrim. But I also went on to read all the subsequent volumes...and fell in love with the series, the characters (maybe not Scott... I still kind of dislike him...), and yes, even the artwork. I even enjoyed the movie (except for Michael Cera... I still hate him, too). So anyone thinking about starting this series? DO... and keep going, even if the first one doesn't dazzle you like it didn't dazzle me.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slacker, loser 23 year old Scott Pilgrim sponges off of his assertively gay room mate; is not really over his Ex, but dates a high-school girl to satisfy his ego?; is in a band; when love at first sight strikes him when he first espies and then dreams of American, and Amazon courier, Ramona. A weird, but ultimately interesting and to an extent almost satisfying Canadian slacker romantic and almost dark, comedy that will have strong appeal to people that grew up with or near similar youth communities (which I didn't :)). The monochrome art works; as do the dynamic 'battles'; and some of the humour is on the button. 6 out of 12

[Mrinmayi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I make memes OBSESSIVELY only during TWO situations
a)I LOVED the book
b) I HATED the book
This book is option b





When Mrin realized that the MC {23yrs old} is dating a high schooler {17yrs old}


This comic made me feel many things..which does not usually happen
But it made me feel mostly BAD things..namely disgust & anger
THE MC WAS A Paedophile HORRIBLE
I just wanted to keep his high school girlfriend AWAY from him
Look I have read many books with unlikeable characters & have ended up LIKING them BUT paedophile is where I draw the line
I don't want to follow him as a character
What is worse is that he excuses his behavior by saying that there is nothing "physical" between them
THAT DOES NOT EXCUSE YOU HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER YOU STALE SPAGHETTI NOODLE!!
And if that was not enough he CHEATS on her!!!
I just don't understand why de did not break up with her
I just wanted to throw up whenever he was even NEAR her



Oh...and lets not forget I found this book racist...
The MC's OTHER Gf(Romona) had an Ex who was Indian
And this was her reason for dating him...

"Matthew Patel was the only non-white , non jock kid in the school"
Are we supposed to find this funny??!!
Look I hate when POC characters are stereotyped
I don't know for sure what the author wanted to portray through this line
BUT I was offended
Hate it when Indian characters are portrayed as just being the "love interest" or "the guy who did not get the girl"
Maybe I am overreacting but I am done with Books & movies portraying Indians as "EXOTIC"
Do you even know how offensive it is??
It is NOT a compliment
When people judge you just because of your looks

I will not be continuing with this series
P.S.: If this book was a satire & it was meant to be something else do tell me
Maybe I am stupid to not understand this comic
In that case, do let me know what the author wanted to portray through this character

My conclusion:

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buying all of them, what can I say?!

[Meredith Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Pilgrim is so how I see the world. I’m sure it’s because of the years of doing almost nothing but playing Mario Bros in my childhood, but the levels and energy bars and coins, etc. as applied to mundane life things are so perfect to me. Also, the characters. Oh, the characters. Scott Pilgrim is such a rad character because he is so douchey, but still somewhat sympathetic, and everyone spends the whole story pointing out his doucheyness. I just really love a story that calls a douche a douche.

This volume only gets so far as Scott fighting Ramona’s first evil ex. Scott is a little more boyish in this and a little less emo than Michael Cera, and I think both versions are pretty fun. For the most part, the movie follows this volume exactly, though the movie adds a few things that I think are hilarious – like Scott and Knives at the arcade, Scott’s story about Pac Man, and the way Scott describes Ramona’s hair. Maybe the arcade stuff happens later, but I could see how that would be easier to pull off on film than in a graphic novel.



I’ve been reading a lot of graphic novels lately, mostly because people have given me a lot of them for some reason. This is one of my favorites because I think it is so clever. I don’t know if I would like it as much if I hadn’t seen the movie, but it’s hard to say. I think one of the things that I find sort of subtly hilarious in this story is how these insane male wish-fulfillment dreams will get fulfilled in the story, and Scott only reacts in a somewhat douchey way, but nobody freaks out. Like, battle of the bands is literally a Street Fighter-style cage match in which the music turns into monsters that fight each other, and Scott returns to the old, “Well, I knew I rocked, but I was not aware that we rocked collectively,” attitude. So brilliant. Is this because I have a little brother? And Scott reminds me of my little brother? Is that why I think this is so funny? Because all of Scott's conversations with his sister are so hilarious to me.

Digression: I saw the movie two or three times in the theater. One of the times was when I dragged my brother to see it, and he fully appreciated its genius, as I knew he would. Both (all?) times I saw it, the theater showed a preview for that movie Devil, and as the preview was showing people (including me) were like, "WTH??? What is this movie about? Oh my god, this looks so ridiculous," and then it would show M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN across the screen, and the whole theater would go, "Ohhhhhhhahahahaha!" American zeitgeist.

I don’t really think graphic novels are my thing. Maybe Persepolis is my thing, but in general I find them kind of boring. This wasn’t boring, but I don’t know if that was in large part because I knew what jokes were coming up.

I love Kim a lot. I must watch this movie again soon.
_______________________
I received a copy of this from Netgalley.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the slow trudge through Shelley's 'The Last Man', I decided to switch to some lighter fare. It's about time I got back to my comic book to-read pile, anyways. So I pulled out Scott Pilgrim.

I've heard a lot about the book in comic book circles, and it's been overwhelmingly positive. Despite this, I've been somewhat wary of the 'trendy hipster' label it's been saddled with, but that gets thrown around too much, and I figured beyond the trendy elements, I'd get snatched up by something deeper in the story or characterization, something to intrigue and beguile.

So far, no such luck. It's reminiscent of 'Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist', a movie I tired of about halfway through. Both of them are trying to be cutesy, quirky, ironic, and referential, but it's all very deliberate. I never felt there was a quick, complex mind at the helm, and with modern, referential humor, it's all about the delivery and the originality.

Perhaps by this point, that type of humor has simply become structured and predictable, entering the mainstream and losing it's punch, like Jerry Seinfeld talking about airline food. Both Nick and Nora's and Scott Pilgrim were by-the-book quirky.

Both also had somewhat unsettling homophobic overtones, playing off gay characters and same-sex romance for jokes. It's nice to have more openly gay characters in YA media, but not as thin, walking punchlines. It was much worse in 'Infinite Playlist', but there was still a persistent undercurrent of homosocial discomfort.

The book was also very reminiscent of FLCL, from the mysterious, begoggled, badass delivery girl arriving to complicate the (sex) life of our oblivious jerk protagonist to the naive, sweet girl caught up in it all. Then the overt homages to manga and videogames start to trickle in, infesting the seemingly normal world of the comic with magic, fights, and all the rest.

Yet unlike FLCL, this was not a rollicking, take-no-prisoners, psychedelic reimagining of a genre, it was just a dull story about annoying people occasionally perked up by in-joke fight scenes. The musical obsession was another shared thread, right down to the same characteristic Rickenbacker. It's not quite a parody, not quite an homage, and by refusing to take a stand, ends up with little to stand on.

Then again, when "do you remember that family guy bit . . ." passes for a joke and "do you remember NES? Me too!" passes for a story, you can't expect much from the writing.

The characters were the sort of dull, naive, self-absorbed people that I spent high school and college avoiding, right down to the fratboy favorite lipstick lesbian poster on the wall and an undying reverence for whatever bands Pitchfork told you to listen to this week. They're the sorts of people who would gush "my tastes are eclectic" followed by "music is my lifesblood" without a hint of irony.

Scott himself is a mess, and yet without being either sympathetic or complex. He's definitely got that Holden Caulfield "woe-is-me, it's not my fault I'm an asshole" vibe. I was hoping this volume was just setting up something more interesting for the future issues--I understand it can take an author a little while to get their feet under them--but having read through volume six, it's mostly setup with little payoff. It does get gradually better, especially after O'Malley hires on some other artists, but not enough to make reading it worthwhile.

The art was so-so: not bad enough to distract, not good enough to stand out. I'm all for independent B&W comics, from Jhonen to Miller, Sim, Eastman and Laird, Clowes, Hernandez, Kurtzman, Crumb, and Cho but if this is all we get, I'm less than impressed.

My Suggested Reading In Comics

[jv poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Pilgrim doesn't have girl troubles. So long as you don't consider having to fight and defeat each and every evil ex-boyfriend of the latest girl to catch his eye. And that's not even the weirdest thing about her.

This first foray into Scott's life amused & delighted me and I don't think I would have checked it out if I hadn't seen it on so many Want to Read shelves

[Jim Ef · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.2/10
This starts like a romance-comedy and then out of nowhere ...BOOM a fighting scene!! After that things just get crazier.

The story is about Scott, a 23 year old boy who’s a little immature. He shares a small house with a guy named Wallace. Well, Wallace does most of the sharing to be honest. Scott is dating a girl (Knives) and things seem to go well for them. Till one day..
Scott sees the girl of his dreams, the actual girl of his dreams. He dreamed her and then saw her in real life. Naturally he wants to meet her. So Scott meets Ramona and they seem like a great match. So they live happily ever after. Or they will after Scott finds the courage to break up with Knives and defeat in battle Ramonas' exes. Seven of them, each sronger than the previous.

[Will M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't so bad, but that cover sucks.

I'm not that fond of reading contemporary novels, and it's no different with graphic novels. This had a simple plot, and nothing made it amazing for me. The artwork was decent, but I've seen way better. People have been recommending this everywhere, so I decided to finally give it a try. It's honestly not that bad, it would appeal more to the contemporary readers. I'm still interested to continue on with the series though. There's this mysterious thing about a certain character which I'm not going to name to avoid possible spoilers.

3/5 stars. Not something I would recommend normally, but go ahead and give it a try. You'll most probably enjoy this more than I did.

[R.K. Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

So spoilers ahead
I’m so happy to finally be reading the comic! I love the movie—it’s in my top 5 all time and after the first volume I’m amazed by how accurate the film’s adaptation was—I was able to quote the lines before I read them.

Volume 1 introduces us to Scott, his band, his sister, his roommate, knives and Ramona

He defeats his first of her seven evil exes and they become an official couple.

The dorky charisma of the characters made it impossible not to smile all the way through it and the dialogue was so real!

I can’t wait to continue this series

[Mario the lone bookwolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if 7 ex lovers weren´t already hard enough, there´s reality too

I liked the craziness of this concept that made me leave my comfort zone
This truly isn´t my average reading material, because there are relationship main plot lines, but the combination of a slacker lifestyle, some grains of magic, and the fun it seemed to promise showed that it´s important to sometimes be brave. And it was totally worth it.

Demon hipster chicks
It´s this level of absurdity that keeps the series running. One can´t await the next hilarious idea of who might be the next combattant and what abilities she/he might have. By

Switching between reality, 2 women, some magic, and the quests
O Malley creates a quick, fun, and easy to read trip through an alternative lifestyle called just giving a damn thing about nothing. That´s the really important message for all the kids, teens, and young adults out there: Just keep procrastinating, slacking, and drifting through life like a leaf in the warmest, most comforting wind, and always remember. Ambition is evil.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

(DISTANCE SHOT. MANNY is typing on his laptop)

MANNY: (typing) It's EXACTLY the same as the first half of the movie Scott Pilgrim Versus The World. Just uncannily like. Except that it isn't as well-drawn or funny.

(NEW ANGLE. More typing)

MANNY: (typing) To be honest, I feel a little ripped-off. I know that's completely illogical since the book came first, and I should be, you know, like praising its originality and wit, without which the movie would never have been. But all the same.

(CLOSE-UP. MANNY turns to camera)

MANNY: Hey, here's an odd thing: I suddenly like the movie a lot more. How did that happen?

(EXTREME CLOSE-UP. MANNY, huge eyes open wide in bewilderment)

MANNY: Am I dreaming?

[Carlos De Eguiluz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Estrellas.

Divertida y extrañamente graciosa. Una perfecta novela gráfica con personajes bien definidos que sabe darle su debida importancia a cada uno de los mismos.

Debo aceptar que me mostraba un tanto escéptico sobre leer ahora, o seguir posponiendo la historia, pero me alegro de haberla escudriñado al fin. No me arrepiento para nada.

Espero que los siguientes tomos me mantengan así de entretenido.

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twentysomethings in an entertaining dance of romance, awkwardness, hyper self-deprecation, and quirky humor, with light elements of comic super heroism. Glad I finally got around to this.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on the WondrousBooks blog.

I watched the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World movie years ago and it was real love. For a while it topped the “Jeannette’s Favourite Movies” list. (Even as I’m writing this, I have a strong urge to re-watch it.)

Therefore, it’s probably completely understandable that I absolutely loved this book. It was fan-tastic! And obviously while they were making the movie, they paid huge attention to detail, because even though I had forgotten some moments and scenes, it was so easy to re-imagine everything in color and with the actual actors, simply because every scene was executed precisely as it was drawn.

The story is obviously hilariously awesome, all of the characters are such weirdos, it’s so good. I loved the dry humor and the sarcastic remarks to a degree in which I felt like all of the characters are my soulmates at one point or another.
To be honest, out of all of them, Scott is not my favourite by far. However that might be part of the point. As well as having the readers love Ramona. Because that I did. She’s so cool. I totally feel like a Ramona sometimes, she’s the relatable hipster girl we were or tried to be in high school. (Though I don’t approve of her choice of boyfriends. Somehow.)

I’m now really looking forward to finding the other parts of the series, since I was loaned this one. Fingers crossed.
(Also, I feel like I should mention that this is the second graphic novel I’ve read in my life, after Persepolis… Well, I read a Donald Duck thing when I was a kid, but come on… And anyway, I’m starting to feel a love for graphic novels. They are just too fun .)

[Liv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s the thing about this comic: I’ve watched its movie counterpart nearly 100 times. I can quote it word for word, and I loved how it brought a comic to life on screen. But I can’t help but feel that this familiarity may have dampened my enjoyment of the comic itself.

It’s worth noting that the comic reads like a script for the movie, almost verbatim. I was hoping for more character development and depth in the comic than what I got from the film. However, seeing the same dialogue on the page only reinforced how flawed these characters truly are. I could dive deeper into why Scott comes off as lazy and unmotivated, or how Ramona is just… underwhelming, but I don’t want to bore anyone with that analysis.

On a positive note, if you can find one of the remastered colored versions of this comic, I highly recommend it. The original black and white edition feels lackluster and really tones down the overall reading experience. So if you’re going to dive in, go for the color!

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a black and white graphic novel about a self-absorbed 23 year old boy. There is a scene at the end where Scott has a big fight with an ex-boyfriend of his current crush that is epic. The series is set up to be Scott having to fight 7 evil ex-boyfriends for the hand of Ramona.

He is also dating a 17 year old high schooler who he wants to break up with. I actually enjoy this series and I don't know that I like Scott all that much. I like his gay roommate Wallace better. Wallace is an asshole and he doesn't hide it. He is honest and does try and charm you. I also like Ramona. She seems cool accept she likes Scott - big minus for her.

I thought it would be a colored graphic novel. I get bored with the black and white sometimes. The story was entertaining and I will read on. It tells a good story.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scott Pilgrim is dating a seventeen year old high schooler. He is twenty three himself and his friends think that he is only dating her to get over his last breakup over a year ago. Scott is in between jobs and he is also in a band called Bob-omb.

Scott dreams of a girl and then also happen to meet her in real life. He is smitten with her and tries to find more information about her. He finds out that her name is Ramona Flowers and she delivers for Amazon. He orders some CDs from Amazon to meet her. When his delivery comes, he asks her out and they hang out. Meanwhile, his bandmates have booked a gig to which he invites Knives as well as Ramona. He also gets an email and a letter from Matthew Patel for a fight but he ignores it. At the gig, Matthew Patel comes to fight and he finds out that Matthew Patel is Ramona's evil ex-boyfriend and in order to date Ramona, Scott has to defeat all seven of her evil ex-boyfriends.

This is a very popular series but after reading this honestly I don't get the hype. There was no plot. The illustrations even though amazing, were very confusing for me. All the characters looked very similar and I didn't know who was speaking and I had to backtrack to see who was in the scene. Scott himself was very unlikeable. He is 23 and is dating a 17 year old which is in the grey area. Even though he is dating Knives, he seeks Ramona out and then asks her out and then ends up hanging out with her. After the gig, he goes home with Ramona and poor Knives is no where to be seen. Since it is a very popular series, I will probably read the next and decide from there whether I want to continue with the series or not.

2 stars

[Mehsi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow Scott is a real dick. Having a girlfriend and then going for another girl? Seriously? I hate that kind of attitude in books/manga/graphic novels so this is -2 stars for that. -1 star for the slightly boring story.

I have been meaning to read this book/comic for some time, lots of people seem to like it and I loved Bryan Lee O'Malley's previous book named: Seconds. However this was just a disappointment.

We have a main character named Scott Pilgrim and he is pretty useless. Lives with a friend, sleeps in the same "bed", most of the stuff in said house is from the friend, and I haven't seen him do anything that might hint to work/college/or something else. It seems he sleeps, drinks, sleeps, goes out on dates with his girlfriend, sleeps, band, band and band. He seemed healthy enough to be able to work or go to college, so I am kind of wondering why he is like this.
Then we have his whole attitude of I-am-cool/awesome-and-the-rest-of-you-suck-or-aren't-that-awesome. Or his whole attitude regarding girls. He is dating a girl, a high-school girl at that (wth?, isn't this kind of illegal?) and while he is dating her, he is also falling for another girl named Ramona. Who apparently pops up for no reason in his dreams. He asks her to date and he even makes out/has sex with her while STILL in a relationship with his high-school girl. Dude, NO, just NO. You can't have both and you need to stop being such a dick. That High-school girl (btw, who the hell names their kid Knives) deserves better. A boyfriend worthy of her, not a dick who thinks he is so awesome and in the mean time fucks other girls.
Seriously I don't get why people like this kind of behaviour in books or any other media. I hate cheating, I hate dishonesty in a relationship. And like I said in the first part, I am deducting lots of points because of that.

If that wasn't bad enough we suddenly get battle scenes in the second part???? Hold on, how did we go from: -Useless guy dates 2 girls, meanwhile has no life- to full battle mode and magics and all that? Seriously? These guys are Ramona's exes? What about the word EX do they not understand? EX-boyfriend means you aren't her boyfriend any more, and that you have no more say on with whom she goes out with. So why the battles? It is silly and it murdered the parts I liked about the book. I was so ready to drop the book when it turned out the whole second part was about him defeating Ramona's precious exes.
Also did he ever break up with Knives? I can't remember in my fury towards the crappy second part.

The art was only decent. Nothing really special.

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit after re-read: I changed my opinion about the illustrations both for Scott Pilgrim and Seconds. I liked them now and I really liked how style translated to animated show. /edit

A good start. I actually thought I might find this comic bit boring since I already watched the movie but both writing and art style are different enough to make comic completely different experience. Which one is better? I am not sure yet. I will make my judgement when when I finish series.

Also I hated O'Malley's illustrations in Seconds but it didn't bother me here for some reason even though they are nearly same. I guess they fit better in weird world of Scott PIlgrim than in more mature themed Seconds.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was different!

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life is a funny graphic novel to review, not because it was laugh out loud funny but because it was a bit 'meh'.

I have had time to reflect upon it, and having originally awarded it 4 stars, I have downgraded it to 3. There are several reasons why I have done this:

1) Despite O'Malley's cute illustrations, most of his characters look the same, and unless he drastically changes their hair, their facial features are mirrors of each other. These is incredibly confusing from a reader's perspective - half the time, I had to figure out if I was following Scott or one of his friends :/

2) I just didn't find it funny. The humour at times is kind of puerile, and I do love to entertain silliness every now and again, but I just didn't like the story.

3) I had a huge problem with the protagonist, Scott Pilgrim. He is a very unlikeable character - conceited, heartless (where Knives Chau is concerned) and very self-important. I didn't warm to him at all and I think Knives and Ramona are better off without him.

4) There was no real exposition - for example, Ramona's ex-boyfriends knew they had to fight Scott, but WHY? Where did this come from? Similarly, why did Scott just accept the fact that he had to fight her evil exes? IT MAKES NO SENSE!!! Why is Scott such a good fighter? Why don't we see him training, or provide some sort of back story to make sense of this? Everyone just seems to accept whatever is thrown at them and I really don't like that. You have to establish the setting/set-up early on and this really wasn't the case with SP.

Having read Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, I doubt I'm going to read any more. It left me feeling annoyed that the exposition wasn't there. I have tried reading O'Malley's stuff before (Lost at Sea) but again, I didn't really like that. He's a great artist, his characters are very cute, but he needs to differentiate between them. Also, I just don't really enjoy his storytelling.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe it's been ten years since Scott Pilgrim was published and at least five since I discovered Bryan Lee O'Malley's truly original concept.

I've started rereading this series earlier today and it was just as fresh as I discovered. Scott Pilgrim was this shallow guy dating high school girls and mooching off his roommate; but one could just not help root for him. Especially when he falls for the mysterious Ramona Flowers and because now he started dating her, now has to fight her seven exes.

The storytelling was truly original; reading it evoked of computer games one used to play in a gaming console. In fact, fighting Ramona's exes in succession reminded me of boss fights in Final Fantasy or any other similar role playing game. A vanquished disappearing in a pile of coins completed the video game conceit.

Video games were not the only pop culture O'Malley drew on. Comics were constantly referred and it appears that the author was great fan of the X-Men.

It will be great to read this series again. Although I may no longer the original feeling when I first discovered this book, it is close enough.

[Brian Yahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything about Scott Pilgrim is fun.

There's a feel to it. It's in the mood. The illustrations give the world this video-game vibe. And the premise seems like something out straight out of a video game.

Scott Pilgram has to defeat his love interest's seven evil-ex boyfriends. In this book, we only meet one evil-ex, but the way Scott defeats him, through song, is incredibly fun.

But even with everything the series had going for it, I'm not sure I'll continue. In the first installment, I wanted to see more depth from the characters. There's some questions left unanswered, but nothing major was revealed about any of them that really piqued my interest.