Tuesday
Aug032010
Review: Scott Pilgrim the Book
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 Filed in Discussions ;)
After almost 10 years the Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O’Malley finally comes to a conclusion. This week the Dollar Bin puts together a group compliled of those who have been waiting for years to those have been waiting hours to finally discover Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. Let’s see what they had to say.
Runtime: 52 minute 51 seconds
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Reader Comments (7)
Since when did I become one of the older guys of the podcast? A man turns 35 and he's over the hill. If that's the case then I think some respect and reverence is due for Terence and myself.
I forced myself to read the first couple of trades of Scott Pilgrim and I really can't bring myself to read any more. Maybe I am getting old but to me the whole book seemed as if it was standing in the center of the room jumping up and down waving it's arms and demanding that you acknowledge how cool and quirky it is. "Look at all of the cool pop references I have!" "Look at all of my quirky characters!" "Look at all the awesome things I have thrown in here for no particular reason!" "Can't you see how cool and quirky I am?!"
With that said the movie does look interesting and I will see it. I know, that doesn't seem to make sense does it? It does, there are a lot of books and stories and source material that work better in one medium than another. There is no way in hell i'd read a 300 page romance book but i'll watch When Harry Met Sally with the wife. And while the tone of Scott Pilgrim doesn't work in a written medium for me I can appreciate how it might could work on the big screen.
And why is it I get the feeling that Ted and I will be on opposing sides once again?
I corrected myself in saying "old school guys" not "old guys." I did this because Tee is the same age as I am. But then on the other hand I did claim you were 60.
I was hoping you guys would do a Scott Pilgrim Show, so I was happy to see this in my Itunes. The arc of my relationship with the books was similar to Adam's, I read the first book and hated the character of Scott, I've known far too many free loader hipsters to think he was charming. I had a hard time figuring out the tone for most of the first book too, it wasn't until the 8 year old drummer that I think the tone of the book clicked in my head. I think it took me until the second book, I think, to decide I think we are supposed to kind of hate Scott. It wasn't until book 3, that I was hooked. I also think Envy is the best character in the series, what a gloriously fantastic bitch!
I found what Joel said about the book kind of interesting, because that's pretty much how I feel about hipsters in general, trying a little too hard to prove how cool and "with it" they are with their bands and thrift store clothes . I wonder if that isn't part of the point? I kind of see the books like that movie Trekkies, sort of a "look at these freaks, isn't kind of charming how crazy they are". I also think it might help that my boss is a Canadian hipster, complete with the constantly chaning boy/girlfriend, apartment, interests, haircolor. I always hear the cadence of her voice while reading SP. In fact, I think most characters in the book remind me of some hipster I know, they are all great archetypes. Definately kind of one dimensional, but I think it works for the book.
I don't know how many of you get the channel Current TV, but there is a show on it called "I Heart Hipsters" which is an interesting look at hipsters. Sometimes Shawn and I like to play "Hippy or Hipster." Its a lot of fun in Asheville.
Oh, and one other thing. I had no idea Bob-omb was an actual thing. I guess I never played enough Mario to know that. It's clear now, but I don't think it detracted from the book at all.
Well if Joel is 60 I must be 100! And yes this old schooler read and thoroughly enjoyed Scott Pilgrim! I have all six books. Tee finally talked me into reading it, so I checked out the first two books from the library. Book one didn't really grab me, but I had two and they're quick reads,so I gave it a 2nd chance. Needless to say I got hooked and checked out volume three and four. I actually bought volume five the week it came out. And I bought six last week.
I avoided this until I finally got a chance to read vol 6. While it was entertaining, I thought it was a safe way to end the series. Not that I'm complaining, just surprised it was so cookie cutter. I'm interested in seeing just how different the movie is...
Good show. I've never given Scott Pilgrim a try but your discussion makes me want to. Although I've got to say that I've heard other commentaries on the series that make me doubt that I'll enjoy it. The way Scott (the character) has been described, by a number of people, makes him sound like nails on a chalk board. What intrigues me about the series is what I've heard about how the story is told.