Geek Kingdom: Scott Pilgrim
by Liam Lavoie
Embedded Files
My name is Liam Lavoie, and I’m here to bring you another issue of…
GEEK KINGDOM!
GEEK KINGDOM!
WARNING!
This issue of Geek Kingdom will be talking about a game that contains potentially triggering subject matter, such as murder, suicide, mental health conditions used for comedy, and grim, dark themes. Reader discretion is advised.
Imagine this; you just fell in love with the person of your dreams at a party, and fate is on your side, for they have fallen in love with you as well! Unfortunately there is one little, itsy-bitsy condition before you can date them. You have to defeat their seven evil ex-lovers in fights to the death. Oh, and one of them’s a half ninja. For most, this would be their cue to flee the country and change their identity. However, this simple fact won’t stop Scott Pilgrim, twenty-something loser and the protagonist of today’s comic review, aptly titled… Scott Pilgrim. How egocentric, Scott.
If your life had a face, I would punch it.
As the intro suggests, Scott Pilgrim is a six-part comic series about a self absorbed loser from Toronto who becomes enamoured with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers. Yet just as the two fall in love, Scott is faced with the revelation that her seven exes have banded together to control her love life, killing anyone they deem unworthy of dating her. Though Scott doesn’t care much about this, whether it be passion for Ramona or a lack of brain cells, he presses on to fight for her love. Along the way he’ll try and make his band world famous, get a job, and, hopefully, learn to be less of a selfish jerk! Will he succeed and finally get together with Ramona, or will he get beaten up like a sad little coward? Probably the latter, but who cares! The comic has Honest Ed’s! Honest Ed’s!
The Animation
One of, if not the most important aspects of a comic is the art. And Scottt Pilgrim manages to deliver so much eye candy that it feels like you just dove into a swimming pool filled with nothing but sugar. Each panel is packed with a goofy charm that isn’t seen very often in the comic landscape, with characters sharing extremely exaggerated faces that are sure to cause even the most cold-hearted person to fall onto the floor laughing. When the comic gets into the fight scenes, the panels are genuinely impressive pieces of work that are incredibly fluid and dynamic, with characters flowing in a cartoon-y manner that feels like a mix between western comics and Japanese manga.
The L-Word? You mean...lesbian?
Despite seeming like a fun, lighthearted romp that indulges in corny jokes and pop culture references, Scott Pilgrim is actually an incredibly nuanced and well told story. Within a span of six volumes, several characters are fleshed out in captivating ways, getting their own character arcs, side plots, or flashbacks. Scott himself grows immensely throughout the story, becoming less of a self-obsessed jerk who cares only about himself, and into someone who cares deeply for those around him rather than his desires. A welcome surprise is the decent LGBTQ+ representation; Wallace and Stephen are gay, Ramona is bisexual, and Roxy Richter is a lesbian. It’s not as good as the representation we get today, but for a series that lasted from 2004 to 2010 it was one of the few comics that actually had any representation at the time.
The verdict…
Scott Pilgrim is one of the greatest and most influential comic series to be released in the 21st century, thanks to its quirky cast, zany humour, gorgeous artwork and a genuinely amazing story about learning to move past your mistakes to become a better person. That’s why Geek Kingdom awards Scott Pilgrim with a…
9/10!
Thank you so much for reading this review! I highly, highly recommend you check out the comics. Trust me, you won’t regret it! I’m Liam Lavoie, and thank you for reading…
GEEK KINGDOM!
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