Â
By Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)
ISBN: 1-9326-6412-2
A second volume of Scott Pilgrim so soon? Ultra-cool. For those of you not in the know, Scott is just this guy who is eking out a generally stress-free existence in modern Toronto, not working, hanging out, sleeping late, and dating two girls. He’s in a band, but they pretty much suck.
Did I say stress-free? Not so much this time as his gay room-mate orders him to sort himself out and dump the under-age girlfriend, Asian-American teen-ninja, Knives Chau, and concentrate on just Ramona Flowers. This latter chick Scott truly loves, and anyway, he’s already sworn to fight all her evil ex-boyfriends, the aptly titled “League of Ramona’s Evil Ex-Boyfriendsâ€.
Of course, love and two-timing is never simple, as Knives decides that she’s not quite ready to be dumped, so she gets a new look and decides to use her ninja powers to battle Ramona. We’re treated to a more vulnerable Scott Pilgrim here as he writes Ramona a thrash love song, is nearly defeated by her second E.E-B. – skate-boarding movie star Lucas Lee – has to cook a meal and even make some decisions!
Tip in a brief look at his awesome origin, and you have a wonderful slice of sheer captivating entertainment, that is by turn, warm, funny, surreal and un-putdownable.
There are an abundance of teen oriented comic books on the stands at the moment, but this is the only one that has managed to co-opt the pulp science-fiction aspiration of instilling a Sense of Wonder into every moment, and this whimsical approach is the perfect antidote to all that angst, testosterone and fashionista marketing.
You really should treat yourself to one of the first classics comic books of the 21st century. Go buy it now.
â„¢ & © 2005 Bryan Lee O’Malley. All Rights Reserved.