Scott Pilgrim 6: Scott Pilgrim Spends Most of the Book Depressed and Then There's a Very Weird and Emo Final Fight, OR Just See the Movie--It's Better Than the Final Volume of the Book. ( )

Very enjoyable overall although I was never very interested in the plot (not after evil boyfriend number 3 or 4). Even in volume 6(?) where Scott has to accept all the things that he'd done wrong it felt less consequential than it should of done. And apart from that it mostly felt a bit well repetitive.

What I did really like, though, was the incorporation of gaming tropes (Level Up, New T-shirt Accessed) were genuinely innovative and felt entirely natural. Some of the meta-fiction throwaway lines are great too (Scott's mother saying "dont't you remember Scott got a 1-Up in volume 3?").The characters are well defined and quirky. And finally, O'Malley's art matches the story fantastically. From the kinetic action sequences, through the pixellated video-game graphics, to the judicious use of sudden ultrasimplistic line-art (normally to illustrate a bathetic punchline). It all communicates the plot and the emotional state of the characters really well.

Great use of the comics medium, innovatiove use of gaming tropes, nicely defined characters and heaps and heaps of fun. If the plot had been a bit more involved it would have been a little masterpiece. ( )

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour , the sixth and final volume in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, begins with Scott struggling with depression after Ramona left. He ends up crashing on Wallace’s couch, moping around all day, and tries – unsuccessfully – to initiate a series of rebound hook-ups. On the advice of his friends, he travels to the wilderness and visits Kim and her family. There, he confronts his darker impulses in the form of Nega-Scott and regains his self-confidence. Scott returns to Toronto where he goes to Gideon’s club to do battle. Meanwhile, Envy is back in town and set to open her solo act at Gideon’s club. Knives has grown up and made a plan to spend some time getting to know herself without all the relationship drama. Scott confronts Gideon at the club, doing battle with the Seventh Evil Ex and learning just how depraved Gideon is when it comes to women. The final battle takes place inside Ramona’s head, where both she and Scott work together to win the ability to decide their own future. O’Malley concludes with a series of epilogues that tie up each character’s story. Scott, Kim, and Stephen Stills form a new band but need a lot of practice. Neil and Knives are still their primary audience, but no longer fawn over them. Stephen Stills realized he was gay. Scott and Ramona decide to give things another chance free from all the earlier drama and baggage. This final volume nicely concludes the Scott Pilgrim series. As much as I enjoyed the 2010 film, there’s a lot more detail, secondary narratives, and character development across the six-volume manga and the ending is solid. ( )

something about the way this all wrapped up made this my favorite installment, but i temper my four star rating with the warning that this is only outside of the context of the movie. i really tried to read this volume with an open mind, and judge it on its own merit, as i noticeably had trouble doing that while reading the others. something about this one resonated with me, and i actually enjoyed seeing a different take on the ending/themes/even the characters.

that being said, i really do recommend the movie over the books, which is a rare thing for me to do. the biggest change, and the thing that had the biggest effect on each version, was the timeline. the movie has a much shorter timeline, so scott does things with only his feelings and instinct to tell them they are right; he has to. the books are more about personal growth, long-term change. the former is romantic, the latter allows closure, provides time to make amends. but that longer timeline is also its downfall, as the biggest problem i have with the series is how loooooonnnnngggg it takes some things to happen. it drags, while the movie version doesn't waste a second.

so, if you're curious, these are worth a read. if not, just watch the movie. ( )

Compared to the movie, this ending of the Scott Pilgrim story is vastly superior. It maintains its off-beat humor and appropriate levels of seriousness to the end - and tops it all off with a spectacular Scott vs Gideon battle royale with some wonderful plot twists and character revelations. Nice to see a series of quality end on a high note. (Side note: I read this while at Archon!) ( )