Welcome back to the Scott Pilgrim Book Club. We’re psyching ourselves up for Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (due out next Tuesday) and the Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World movie (due out August 13) by discussing each volume of the series over the course of six weeks. This week, Douglas Wolk, Graeme McMillan, Mike Williams, Evan Narcisse, Christine Lim and Lev Grossman are talking about volume 3, Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness. (And read our comments on volume 1 here! And Volume 2 here!)
DOUGLAS: Good God, is this ever a densely plotted volume. I love that. This might be the funniest volume of the series, too–I have vivid memories of reading it for the first time in a pizza place somewhere and people staring at me while I cracked up over the “vegan” routine. (“If you knew the science, maybe I’d listen to a word you’re saying.”)
In fact, O’Malley keeps returning to the idea of how people become what they will themselves to become in this volume. Envy is kind of annoying, but she’s also created an identity for herself in a very deliberate way, and it’s worked (“total cost of outfit: fifty million dollars“); Scott has nowhere near that kind of intentionality, and being around her rubs that in. Todd claims to be a creature of pure will, top of his class from vegan academy and everything, but actually he’s a slave to his immediate appetites, which is his undoing. Meanwhile, Wallace basically just assumes things are going to work out his way, and gets rewarded with a psychic hookup who teaches him anti-rain tricks. And Knives, who starts to get significantly more depth this time, also gets the most crushing caption of the book: “has no idea what she wants at this particular moment.” Also, do we even know what Ramona wants yet? (Note also that Ramona clarifies “ex-boyfriends” to “exes” on the last page! That becomes significant next time, of course.)
(More on Techland: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Book Club: Volume 1)
The first couple of chapters have a very weird, choppy pace (especially with their intercut flashbacks), but the more I look at that section the more I like it–it emphasizes the “what’s going on here? what am I doing?” mood Scott’s in. There’s the stress of being physically attacked, and then there’s the stress of being in a room with your famous and talented ex-girlfriend/ex-bandmate while the conversation is taking one wrong turn after another. (I’m not sure I buy that Scott was ever in a band as successful as Kid Chameleon are alleged to have been, but let that pass.) Really, one of the things I love most about O’Malley’s comics is that he keeps making up new ground rules for his work–Scott Pilgrim changes its look significantly from volume to volume as O’Malley gets better and more intuitive about storytelling (see his notes on the contrast between the respective flow of a page from this volume and a page from volume five), but it’s got so many internal shifts in style and tone and narrative voice that that’s fine.
Without having seen any more of the movie than there’s been in the trailers, I can tell you that its version of the Honest Ed’s sequence occurs in winter. This is because when I was in Toronto last year, the real Honest Ed’s was surrounded with fake snow so they could film that scene. (Incidentally, it’s right down the street from The Beguiling, an excellent comic book store with several ties to the Scott Pilgrim series.)
I also enjoy re-encountering the bits of the trailer that are straight out of the books–this time my favorite is Todd being forced to overexplain his threat to an oblivious Scott. Although the splendid “extra life” gag seems to have inspired my favorite original-to-the-movie joke that’s in the trailer: “What are you doing?” “I’m getting a life.”
A couple more music notes: “It’s Only Divine Right” is an amazing song by the New Pornographers; “Frail & Bedazzled,” like the book’s title, is a Smashing Pumpkins reference.
(More on Techland: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Book Club: Volume 2)
CHRISTINE: Was Scott’s life played out like a video game before he met Ramona or only after? When he defeated Matt Patel in Vol. 1 and received coins, Scott said, “Sweet! Coins!,” I thought his response expressed glee, but not surprise. I thought Scott was accustomed to beating up bad guys and making bank. However, in Vol. 3, Scott didn’t recognize the save point and extra life, which suggests that it is his first time playing this game of life. After Scott (presumably) defeats Gideon in Vol. 6, is the game over? Will Scott just live happily ever after with Ramona, but without the 8-bit adventure?
MIKE: I get the impression that these video game events were not happening to Scott pre-Ramona. Or, if they were, they just weren’t happening that often. I feel like he’s played so many hours of video games that when these events do happen (save points, coins, extra lives) he immediately knows what they are, as any avid gamer would. So it’s certainly rare but not hard for him to grok.
DOUGLAS: Well, he also saved Kim Pine in a battle in high school. I sort of have the sense that this is just how his (precious little) life works; if you try to make it all make real-world sense, it doesn’t, but the same thing applies to games.
GRAEME: Proof that I am slow: it took me until LAST WEEK to finally get the “precious little life” pun.
LEV: Wait, I don’t think I get it.
GRAEME: “Precious Little Life” as in “His little life is precious/special/he’s self-important and places overimportance on himself” and “Precious Little Life” as in, “He has precious little” of a real life.
LEV: I get it now.
CHRISTINE: Vol. 3 had some of my favorite scenes/quotes of the series, including Todd’s “Tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday” bit, “She punched the highlights out of your hair” and “DRAMATIC MUSIC IS PLAYING RIGHT NOW.” This volume also introduces some new genres by opening and closing with rockumentary-style montages and including Envy’s crayon-drawn fairy tale sequence.
O’Malley pushes the limits of inclusion, making the series an ever-growing mix of genres and styles. At the same time, he’s hyperexclusive when it comes to introducing some characters or important details about characters. I don’t find Stacey to be a particularly interesting character, let alone an interesting younger sister, but when I first read Vol. 3, I thought, “when do we get to meet Scott’s younger brother, Lawrence?”
In Vol. 2, Lawrence lets Lisa Miller into the Pilgrim residence. Later, Mrs. Pilgrim later calls him to the dinner table, but we don’t get to meet him. Too engaged in other plotlines, I wasn’t hungry for any more details about Lawrence. In Vol. 3, it is revealed that Lawrence also welcomed Wallace Wells into his home and Scott borrowed his younger brother’s bass guitar indefinitely. O’Malley seems to make a point of mentioning Lawrence and an equal and opposite point of not showing Lawrence. What a tease!
(More on Techland: Scott Pilgrim in All His Pixelated Glory)
Why, if at all, is it important that Scott have a younger brother? Why is his face held back until Vol. 5, and will he have a more significant role in Vol. 6 the way Gideon, who is mentioned many times but hardly seen, presumably will? I kind of hope he is Gideon’s right-hand man and we’ll think Lawrence is such a bad guy, but he’ll turn out to have a heart of gold. Scott Pilgrim : Lawrence Pilgrim :: Megaman : Protoman?
Lucas Lee hints at Ramona’s duplicity in Vol. 2: “There’s a lot of things that Ramona doesn’t mention, Pilgrim.” Envy Adams fleshes out the mystery a bit more, “I hear what they’re saying about you, Ramona. Building up your own legend a bit?”
I literally gasped when I read this. I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising that a ninja delivery girl, about whom everything is unknown, has a potentially fudged past. Ramona has lied about her relationship history. She claimed, “I didn’t even string [Lucas Lee] along or cheat on him with any cocky pretty boys.” Actually, she did. What else has she lied about? Or what has she lied about by way of omission? Also, she’s an American—in Canada. If that doesn’t raise a red flag, I don’t know what does.
I wish the fatter vegan police offer wore a Subway (sandwich shop) t-shirt as suggested by O’Malley’s friend on one of the back pages. Subway shirts are boss. No they’re not.
MIKE: On characters in this volume, why do we meet so many friends of friends and roommates, etc.? Is it just so O’Malley doesn’t have to draw so many stick figures in the crowded club scenes? He makes a point to quickly introduce these people with captions, but doesn’t make the same effort in flashback sequences and other sudden scene transitions. I guess I’ve been enjoying being spoonfed plot and symbolism by pop culture for too long. Maybe I’ll go watch Primer again and concentrate on something.
(More on Techland: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Fashion Tips)
LEV: OK, so I’m the asshole Scott Pilgrim n00b. Not only had I never read him before, I HAVEN’T EVEN READ VOLS 1 and 2.
That’s in case you’re wondering why my ‘take’ is so ‘fresh.’
Whatever, I just had a baby.
Anyway, obvs this book is fucking hilarious, even to me, who doesn’t know the backstory. Though I do know the premise, having dutifully studied ALL the movie trailers. A few notes:
— I have no idea what happened at Honest Ed’s. This sequence reminded me of the feeling I get when people in anime start sweating and biting their lips and going NGGGGGGGG!!! and you have no idea why.
— There’s no point in trying to list all the brilliant moments. Like Scott getting Todd’s name wrong. (“Dude is — Todd Rundgren psychic! Vegan psychic!”) And Scott going through a whole scene where he talks Knives out of her crush on him, then her exit line is: “I TOTALLY LOVE YOU” (w/ big smile and peace sign!).
And probably my single favorite moment, when Todd says: “The de-veganizing ray! I can dodge this!” Then in the next panel he is totally getting rayed. “But he couldn’t.”
Plus anytime anybody ever says “chode,” it’s funny.
— I think it’s interesting that the characters are free to refer to the fact that they’re in a comic book, but somehow it doesn’t create that annoying sense of “”””””post-modern”””””” thin-ness. You care just as much.
Annoying n00b devil’s advocate things:
— Everybody looks the same. Seriously, I can’t even tell Scott and Ramona apart half the time.
— Scott and Ramona. I know this is just because I’m coming in in the middle, but it’s kinda hard to tell why they like each other. Or even if they do. Where’s the tension?
— What’s the deal with all the flashbacks and such being presented without any signposting that they’re flashbacks? Maybe I’m too old for this fluid/intercutting storytelling style.
DOUGLAS: There actually is a visual cue: in flashbacks, the gutters between panels are black!
MIKE: The Honest Ed’s scene and even the final Pilgrim/Vegan showdown near the end of the volume were a letdown for me. For the second book in a row, Ramona gets the best fight sequence. First it was her library brawl with Knives in vol. 2, and now it’s her face-off with Envy in vol. 3. (Which she technically loses, by the way.) I can’t wait to see Ramona fight in the movie. She’s really getting the best choreography right now.
Lev, I hear you about Scott and Ramona. Scott is a little too cavalier with just how infatuated with Envy he was/is. When he tells Ramona that thoughts of Envy are turning him on it might be the worst pillow talk ever uttered. It’s hard to shake the feeling that Scott’s puppy love will expire and Ramona’s past will come back in a big terrible way.
EVAN: “Maybe if you knew the science…” I repeated this line in my head (and sometimes out loud) for months. There’s a little bit of hip-hop in that line, in that “droppin’ science” kind of way, that made it really resonate for me.
This volume is where stuff gets… mature. The happy-go-lucky vibe of Precious Little Life and Vs. The World still persists, but you get the sense that it’s under threat. Some of the things that were foreshadowed start to come into focus, and characters start to run up against their limitations. I really like that Scott’s blooming self-awareness doesn’t shrink in the face of Envy’s passive-aggressive attacks (or Todd’s aggressive-aggressive ones) and that he holds strong to this new fragile relationship with Ramona even when he’s outmatched, either by his past or by Todd’s powers. Remember, this is the same Scott who whined about having to break up Knives and has generally avoided anything like a job or adult responsibility. But he’s maturing, even if it’s only in fits and starts.
Like Douglas said, the will-to-power stuff in this volume really stands out. Envy and Todd’s re-imagining of themselves stands in sharp contrast to Scott, who seems mostly to have been who he is. We don’t know how he became a good fighter or a decent bassist or any of what makes him who he is. He’s just Scott Pilgrim. But, unlike this book’s villains, when he gets a sense of how effed-up he might be at times, he’s not running away from it. (Like the moment with Knives.) Now Ramona, on the other hand…
Moments I loved:
Knives Chau. 17 years old.
The Devo-esque return of the Boys & Crash. Again, this fits into the whole idea of willing a different/better self into being. They just practiced and thought on it really tough and got better.
It was in this volume that I noticed characters asking for lemonade as a repeating beat. As someone whose favorite drink is lemonade, this pleases me to no end.
The manga tropes in the big fight scene at the end are just so well-done and a reminder of how effective that visual language is. I think it’s even more effective because O’Malley weds it to something so uniquely his own.
(More on Techland: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World International Trailer Is Seriously Rad)
GRAEME: SCOTT 3 (which I will call it, because it makes me think of the Scott Walker albums, clearly a touchstone for everything Bryan does with this series, oh God I hope no one takes me seriously on that) was easily my favorite in the series, right up until I read Vol. 6. Maybe because it’s the most empathetic I’ve felt towards Scott, what with the whole emotional breakdown because of an ex, maybe it’s because of the genius of the Vegan Psychics (And the explanation! I love that it makes a surreal sense, that non-vegans’ brains are too filled with curds and whey to access the powers), maybe it’s because it feels like the summation of a lot of what’s been going on to date and therefore gets some kind of Closure Bonus, but this book just feels more complete than what we’ve seen before, for some reason. It also, in a weird way, just feels bigger than the previous books–like there’s a richer, weirder world surrounding what we’ve seen, what with cyborg arms and psychic police and flashbacks to grand romantic gestures like punching the moon.
But even with that, it’s a more fragile book, as well; there’s a gentleness and smallness to Scott’s heartbreak in the flashback that’s well-observed and not as overdone as it could’ve felt in less subtle hands – and I love that Scott doesn’t really get the closure that he’s looking for from Envy, in the end – and a growing maturity not only in the storytelling (the art here, again, is another leap forward from the previous volume, sharper and bolder) but in Scott himself as he continues to become more self-aware (while still being entirely wrapped in his life and Ramona that he doesn’t realize, as Lev suggests, that their relationship is still filled with hope more than anything else).
I really, really love this volume. It’s the one where everything completely comes together properly for the first time, for me.
CHRISTINE: Ah, you read volume 6. I am so jealous. I pre-ordered it. Nine more days!
DOUGLAS: You just have to move to Portland. You know Oni had a copy delivered to every resident of Portland last week, right? They worked out some kind of sponsorship deal with amazon.ca.
CHRISTINE: OMG. I need to build a hot tub time machine so I can go back in time, reside in Portland and receive my copy early.