"Scott Pilgrim Comic Series" Worse Than I Remember

    Where do I even start with this comic book series? Well, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, is one of my favourite films of all time, and I actually watched that before I ever even touched this series. Even still, my love of this franchise has never really waned, I mean it's set in Toronto which means more to me than it really ever should, but that's no surprise at this point. Even still, when I read this comic book for the first time year ago, I remember it being on par, if not as good as the movie, but now looking back, it's simply not the truth. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad this source material exists, and I think it does a great job of making fleshing out this whole fantastical world. But it's also just messy, and by the time you get to the ending you really appreciate the changes they made when adapting this series to the big screen, so let's talk about it.

    I think most pertinent is to talk about the ending. I just think the ending to this series is so much less satisfying than it should be. First of all, the only real people that get a good happy ending are Scott and Ramona. I mean seriously, it is depressing what O'Malley originally did for Kim. It's basically implied she still likes Scott somewhere deep down, and ends up in a band with him. I don't know it just wasn't satisfying in any capacity. Like does Scott really make amends for what he's done? Even when it comes to Knives it's like they still seriously try to make out one last time? It just makes Scott too likeable, which isn't helped by the fact that I don't think they focus on his redemption enough.

    Basically, it's a double edged sword, just because you've fleshed out this universe doesn't mean it automatically matters, or that this new information is good. It's funny to think that Stephen Stills is on and off and on and off with Julie. Did we really need to find out he randomly became gay with the dude who was producing Sex Bob-omb's album? A band which randomly broke up by the end too. Honestly, I always thought it was weird Scott left the band in both versions I thought it'd be cool if he stuck around. Or what about Wallace having a boyfriend who has psychic powers? Now don't get me wrong I think it does a good job of making the world feel more magical, but it's really at the price of conciseness.

    While I think backstories are good, there are just a lot of characters in this universe that aren't that memorable. Like Kim's whole carousel of roommates, or Scott's parents frankly. Don't get me wrong, I think it makes Scott feel more like a video game character, and his skills seem much more believable. Honestly, one might suggest Michael Cera was almost too wimpy to play Scott, which I certainly a sentence I didn't realize I'd have to say. But Scott is almost too good. The movie does a much better job of illustrating that Scott really is a bad person, and that he should be making amends. Him finding the power of self-respect feel like a much more fitting end.

Final Score: 70/100

    While messy, you can clearly see a special little world blossoming in this comic book, and while my opinion of the ending has certainly soured a significant bit, it'd be stupid to ignore all the good that came out of this series. I'm glad that it subverts the sad, nerdy character trope. I'm glad that it never takes itself that serious. I'm glad that it has a pretty memorable cast and it's set in Toronto. But it's hard for me to appreciate everything knowing that the film pretty much takes everything from the comics, and distills it into something that feels more pure, that knows itself better, that understands what it needs and wants to do in a much shorter package. I'm not saying I want a re-write of this series, but I would consider it far from perfect.