ComicClub: Scott Pilgrim Vol 2 & Batman:The Killing Joke

Alright, let's do this. Everyone who is interested, we'll be reading Scott Pilgrim: Book 1 to start this off. From there we can either continue the series or mix in a different series to keep Pilgrim from getting stale. The great thing about this is how little time it takes to read a comic book, not like those pretentious books without pictures. I'd hope that we can get some good commentaries on art work, themes, character developments, etc. Despite what my parents believe comics have considerable depth...so let's delve.

This will be a SPOILER minefield. Happy Reading!

 

i was interested till you said scott pilgrim. so.... no.

 

I was interested until Koala said he was interested.

But he's no longer interested so I'm in!

 

It was fun. The art style was okay. The cast has exaggerated eyes, and it fits because they're almost all pretty excitable and young, but it still reminds me of some old Tex Avery eye gag.
I'm glad it's in black and white. Mixing digital scans with hand drawn art looks interesting, but I'd probably hate that if it weren't done in black and white (luckily not a problem here).
It had its manga moments, but only moments because too much manga can become too much manga..
manga
manga!
MANGA!


Is the story relatable? eh.. naw. Or not yet? Relatable like a Toyota Tundra commercial? sure.
I haven't seen the movie. I'm not interested. But still, who cares? The comic stands on its own.

yeah it was cool. Funny. Wallace is the best character so far.

 

Finished the series, but am definitely interested. Will be commenting as this goes on.

I really liked it. It really appealed to me as a gamer who grew up/lives in Toronto. I really liked the art, as well as the light-heartedness of it all. Wallace is definitely one of the best characters, and stays that way throughout (I also like Stephen Stills).

A great read, and if you enjoyed it the series won't let you down (the end might, but that's for later on).

 

next book should be batman: dark victory. the sequel to the long Halloween and it's better developed.

 

To used and Koala, we will definitely hit up other series along the way. I would like this to be a little more directed though so we'll stick with this for a week or less and move on to another one. Sound good? It's a work in progress, we'll organize as we go.

 

Bret, you should change the title of the thread each time there's a new comic book or series. That way people know when to come in and out.

 

I don't know what it says about Scott Pilgrim: Book 1 when the most memorable part coming away has to be Scott slipping on an icy sidewalk.
Either way it's all good because I'm taking it as having been a great scene.

 

So, originally I didn’t even pick Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life up because of the fact that it looked like a manga (let’s hear it for judging a book by its cover). Manga is just one of those things I’ve yet to breach (nor will I probably ever). That being said, once I was finally convinced to take a gander, I loved it. Most comic books are based around mystery, adventure, fights or the fact that people shoot impractical things from impractical body parts. But with SPPLL, I at least got something that I hadn’t encountered in many other graphic novels. Beginning to end, it was designed to make me chuckle.

I love how it’s just so casual, y’know? Very quickly through characters like Wallace and Stills, you feel like you’re being introduced into the circle of friends. Not to mention those nice little introduction boxes. And yes, let’s not joke around; Wallace is the best part of the series for me. On top of that, your adolescence is made into basically an in-joke with references to things like Mario 2, Mr. Silly, and the X-Men. It's impossible to not find something you can relate to.

Although it's pretty shallow at this point it sets up the rest of the series. The one core thing that I totally connect with is how an issue caused by ex can pop up in a relationship. And the idea that Scott can physically beat them up instead of overcoming the issue with his girlfriend through more mundane things like serious talk and relationship building...I wish it was that simple.

Little things I liked: “Guess who’s drunk tonight?â€

 

The book is jumble of pop culture and nerdy references with some great dialogue and a over the top, all over the place, story-- And that's why it is awesome.

The characters are really something. Scott Pilgrim has nothing going for him, and by all means, can eaisly be considered a free loading creep, but the author somehow made him so goddam love-able.

I dunno. i loved the shit of it.

 

I scoured the Bellevue Barnes and Noble today and could not find any Scott Pilgrim books except for the 6th one. ugh. maybe i'll see if I can make it in for the next round.

 

Read Volume's 4 and 6. They go more into the subspace highway.

Agreed. This was the moment the comic jumped the shark.

I've been a fan of Oni Press in the past. Blue Monday and Clerks were about fictional characters living in a believable world (although in Blue Monday the character Bleu does have a very overactive imagination).

So when I first read Scott Pilgrim volume 1, I thought it would be in a similar category: Scott is an average early 20s Canadian slacker in a local band. He's going through a quaterlife crisis which I can understand. He's got relationship issues with his friends, girlfriends and family. They brush aside the subspace highway issue and you continue on because everything else is normal.

And then *BAM* a huge fight number with everyone getting on stage and defeating Matthew Patel. It is a grandiose scene that feels uncomfortable at first because its so out of nowhere. And then things nonchalantly revert to the norm and you move on with it.

I recommend reading the first volume a few times because you are following a path right until the fight and then the comic takes a more fantastical approach to everything else, especially all the subsequent fights, although none are as grand and impressive as the first and the last.

 

^^ Yeah, about that fight. I kept waiting for the punchline frame. Like, soon, they'll show what really happened; this must be Scott's imagination at work or something. But no.

aw well

 

I think your analysis of how the characters are introduced is extremely on the money Bret. It really is very casual, and that's how it should be. The characters are very dry and seem unrelatable, but in reality that's usually how you are introduced to a group of people. You have a brief hello, and you carry on as if you've been friends for years.

As odd as it will sound, I don't care much for the fight scenes. Sure they're fun and campy, but I care a lot more about all the little references and the overall mood of the novel. It really made it seem real, even though the actual story is far from reality.

 

Thanks, Rakon. It's not that the characters are not funny to me. It's that they are basically a little more funny than my friends and I are when we get together. Also, I love the panels where Scott is stalking Ramona.

BOLD!!! Okay, I have yet to find a copy of Batman: Dark Victory. I need another suggestion. I figure we can handle Scott Pilgrim: Vol. 2 and another "graphic novel" since we're all big boys. Let's do something Batman though to stick with Koala's suggestion (Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? or Hush Money (great scene with the Joker)). I don't know I picked the first series it's your turn.