Raucous Underground

If you’ve been anywhere but under a rock recently, you’ve probably heard of a little movie about to hit theaters called Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Again, for those who find the best housing accommodations under large chucks of earth, the film is about a 23 year old Canadian guy, Scott Pilgrim, who thinks he meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, only to find out that in order to date her properly, he must defeat the League of Ramona’s 7 Evil Ex’s. The trailers have looked flashy and certainly grabbed my attention with what looks to be some great action and an original idea, but it got me asking “Where did this come from?”

It turns out that the movie is based on a series of graphic novels. In fact, the movie covers the whole series of 6 volumes. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is actually the title of the second volume, by the way. I went and picked up the first volume, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, from my local comic shop. The story thus far seems simple, the art seems simple, and Scott Pilgrim himself is very simple, but it works. Scott is “between jobs” lives with a roommate who seems to provide for the both of them, is part of a band, and is dating a 17 year old high school student named Knives. KNIVES, as in cutting utensils!

It’s a very odd series, from my reading. The first graphic novel seems to start off a bit slowly, as I’ve hear the film does, but does seem to gain a lot of steam and pick up. If you’ve watched the trailers you might have noticed POW’s and BAM’s as well as very action-y looking starburst affects accentuating the fight scenes and those are straight out of the comic. Truth be told, the comic seems to get a bit crazy and over the top, but that’s part of the charm. Also part of the charm is that it’s full of gaming references, and the affects seen during fights are a part of that. It’s all sort of set up as though Scott Pilgrim’s life were a video game. Well, I think it looks like a fun game and we all get to see it on Friday (tomorrow!). Until then, be sure to check out Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim tonight for an animated feature, based on the art style of the comics that tells some of the story that didn’t make it into the film. Also, I’ll leave you with a trailer and a promise that I’ll talk more of Mr. Pilgrim’s adventures later.