Fresh from the finale of his award-winning graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim is taking the world by storm in Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, directed by Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz‘s Edgar Wright. But can Bryan Lee O’Malley’s vision of a world where romance and drama are inextricably linked to video games and over-the-top action work on the silver screen as well as it does in the pages of a comic?
The short answer is: Yes!
The long answer is: Yes, but it’s a fairly different experience (as almost any adaptation is.) Continue reading →
Time to switch things up! Since this is the final installment of the excellent six-part slice-of-life-romantic-comedy/over-the-top-video-game-action (holy-crap-that’s-a-lot-of-hyphens) graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim, much of the usual introductory fare is unnecessary. Instead of structuring my reviews as I normally do, I will invert the pyramid and start with my final summary:
For those who have been reading and enjoying the Scott Pilgrim series up to this point, rest assured: Volume 6 brings the story to an action-packed, emotionally satisfying conclusion.
For those who have been reading the Scott Pilgrim series and aren’t sure they like where the later volumes were heading, there’s a very good chance that Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour has brought back everything you loved about the early volumes and will make you a fan again.
For those who haven’t been reading the Scott Pilgrim series at all, it should be rather obvious that the last volume is hardly the place to start. Go out and pick up Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, resting comfortably in the knowledge that the whole story is a well-crafted arc and the big ending doesn’t fall flat.
Today is the first Saturday in May, and that means it’s the most wonderful time of the year for comic book fans old and new: Free Comic Book Day!!!
How can you say no to that face?
For those of you unfamiliar with this most spectacular retail holiday, today is the day when comic shops around the world make a number of comic books freely available to anyone and everyone who visits their store(s). It’s a great way to get exposed to books that you never would have read before (or at all, if you’re not a regular comic reader.) There’s no catch, there’s no hidden cost, and there’s no reason not to swing by your local comic shop and check them out! And while you’re there, you can take a look at some of the comics that inspired the latest crop of blockbuster movies like Kick-Ass, The Losers, Iron Man 2, and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim.
What’s that, you say? “I don’t know where my local comic shop is,”? Not to worry, the folks behind Free Comic Book Day have you covered. Just visit freecomicbookday.com and punch in your zip code to see all of the participating shops near you. Still not convinced that FCBD is worth your time? Well, maybe film (and comic) legend Kevin Smith might be able to sway you. Check it out:
Well, that’s all I have to say about that. Time to go get some free comics of my own!
Today I’ve got another interesting assembly of media items for you: A neo-classic fairy tale, a comic odyssey into very weird territory, some side projects from favorite artists of mine, and a whole slew of Mega Man-related media. Let’s dig in!
This is the first episode of OBS to reflect the broad, sweeping changes I have enacted. Huzzah!
Today I’ve got some excellent independent downloadable games, a great piece of computer hardware, an album by a nonexistent band, an hilarious audio/video podcast, and one of the best X-Men story arcs ever to be written (among other things.)
Steampunk can be a difficult subgenre to wrap one’s head around. But since the mainstream world seems to be embracing it with movies like Sherlock Holmes and video games like Epic Mickey, I figured I would take a look at the things in my collection that might be representative of the genre. We’ve got Steampunk books, movies, music, video games, anime and comics to get through, so it’s time to fire up the boilers! Full steam ahead!
WARNING: If you don’t like overwhelmingly positive reviews filled with glowing praise, stop reading right now. Additionally, if you don’t like incredibly wonderful stories that are emotionally moving and chock-a-block with symbolism, Seaguy is a comic to avoid.
Did you ever get the feeling that everything worth doing has already been done? That there are no more adventures to be had in this factory-farmed, mass-produced, flat-cultured world? Well, that’s how the titular hero feels every day in Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s Seaguy. Continue reading →
Power Up, an original graphic novel by Doug Tennapel
The premise of Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel’s latest graphic novel, Power Up, is not unlike the Fantasti-defeat-Dr. Doom-ray. It’s so obvious and clever that it’s a wonder no one has tackled it before: Wouldn’t it be great if real life worked like video games, where you could have cool abilities like stop-time and extra lives? (EDIT: I guess you could say that the Scott Pilgrim series does this to an extent, but O’Malley tries to make the video game elements seem second-nature to the characters.) TenNapel takes this premise and blends in elements from a few classic wish-fulfillment stories like It’s A Wonderful Life and The Monkey’s Paw, then brands it distinctly with his own unique blend of humor and heart to create a compelling cautionary tale warning of the dangers of obsession and of getting everything you always wanted.
Yikes! has it been three weeks already? Well, with three weeks of comics to discuss I’ll have to trim down my reviews of each one. I present to you now the Wednesday Winners Lightning Round, wherein I quickly talk about one thing I did or did not like about each comic (a format borrowed from the Warren Ellis forums) for those in-stores 5/28, 6/3 and 6/10/09 :
If you’ve been reading the big comic news websites (as I have), you’ve probably heard tons of praise heaped upon a miniseries from Image Comics called I Kill Giants, written by Joe Kelly and illustrated by JM Ken Niimura. After reading the collected trade paperback this weekend, I can honestly tell you that this book deserves every single word of praise it has been given and then some. It is a truly spectacular work of sequential art fiction, one that transcends its genres (fantasy/drama/YA) and even its medium to stand on its own as an incredible story about youth, friendship, family, grief and (of course) giant-killing.
WIT WAR 