Review: Scott Pilgrim, vol. 2

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
by Brian Lee O'Malley
Oni Press, $11.95


I created a bit of a stir in the comics blogosphere when I reviewed the first Scott Pilgrim volume. I found the video game action sequences that popped up at the end of the book to be too much of a disconnect with the slice-of-life comic that occupied the majority of the book, so much so that I felt the ending ruined and cheapened the whole endeavor. I said so, and many of you, um, disagreed with me. A lot.

In retrospect I was probably too hard on the book, and so I approached volume 2 with a lot of interest. Now knowing what to expect from O'Malley's series, how would I react?

Quite well, actually. Knowing that O'Malley is having a bit of fun by using manga and video game tropes as a metaphor for angsty relationships works, now that I know it's coming. When a fight breaks out between Knives & Ramona in the Toronto Reference Library--well, that's just a lot of fun. Granted, I have problems relating to Scott, an early-20s slacker who has too many women interested in him, but maybe that's just me.

Artwise, O'Malley is at the top of his game. A story like this runs the risk of falling off the storytelling rails, but he keeps things exciting and dynaming while still being clear as to what is going on. (And he tosses a Neko Case poster into the background at one point, which wins him cool points with me.)

I can definitely say that vol. 2 has much of the same that made the first volume such a hit, and contains ebough variation that it doesn't seem like a retread. I'm sure that fans of the first volume have already eaten this up, and maybe O'Malley is bringing me around as well.

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)