A Capricious Pilgrimage: A Review of Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley

by Slai Washko

I was skeptical. I immediately delighted in the unconstrained and fun illustration style, but I feared relating in all the wrong ways having been a Chinese Catholic-schoolgirl who dated older men, like Scott’s ingenue-interest Knives Chau. (Though, “Hooray!” for Asian representation in a comic.)

However, being a songstress instead of a groupie freed me to appreciate this whimsical adventure of improvident youth. My adult veneer and my precocious inner child are having serious debates over this tale. The grown-up version wants Scott to get a real job and an apartment with at least his own room and to stop stringing along a puppy-loving idolizing high-schooler while pursuing a fishnet wearing rollerblade messenger with “evil” ex-boyfriends, but then there wouldn’t be much of story. The non-conformist, uniqueness-celebrating, do-what-you-have-to-do-to-be-happy-and-get-by part of me just enjoys the hell out of Scott and all the characters in his allegory, though I wonder less what life would have been like if I hadn’t decided to work full-time since I was 17 and have markedly achievable goals.

My favorite part of Scott’s world is his scaling system, the introduction of which is: “SCOTT PILGRIM; 23 YEARS OLD; RATING: AWESOME.” It is a simple and to-the- point critique of himself and his surroundings that delineates a nature that is bound to get him into trouble. I look forward to reading the other volumes, but am tentative about how much I want to read before the movie comes out. So whether you’re 20-something and want to dive into some entertaining 20-something angst and rock or you’re if feeling nostalgic, you’ll likely find inked doppelgangers of yourself or people you know. It’s worth a read.

Cheers! Yay!

Slai

P.S. This is the most hyphens I’ve ever used in one article.