Review: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness

If you didn't know, this was the most anticipated book of the Summer, so it should be no surprise that half the people who have read it are racing to their keyboards to slam it. It's just the way things go, unfortunately. The problem was that not just were the first two books good and released closer together, they felt fresh and new. Anime viewers will recognize that the breaking-the-fourth-wall, we-know-we're-in-a-fictional-construct-with-genre-conventions thing isn't that original, but O'Malley benefited, through no fault of his own, by offering a mangaesque book for people who weren't necessarily manga readers. His art style owes a good deal to manga but is his own, and the ironic, slacker approach to genre is right in line with readers whose sensibilities already embrace talents like Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Simon Pegg.

But, you know, now we kind of get it. And once the novelty wears off, we can see that the jokes have to stay REALLY GOOD and the action sequences REALLY COOL to make up for O'Malley's perhaps intentionally slack pacing. I think the structure was a little tighter in the previous books, plus Scott was a bit more sympathetic, so with the character and story more solid, one could enjoy the goofiness and digressions with no regrets.

They're still pretty fun--I continue to enjoy the little bits where we're reminded of the videogame-like nature of the plot--but I think it's fair to say Scott is less of a presence in this outing, probably because his ex-girlfriend Envy gets much more room here alongside Ramona's ex-boyfriend and he's squeezed a bit in his own book. The flashback scenes with Scott and Envy and the gang are fun but kind of uneven. Another distraction that has been brought up elsewhere is that some of the characters look too much alike--Ramona and Knives are too similar here in certain panels, and Knives' replacement for Scott looks a lot like him. It's intentional, I know, but still kind of annoying. Add to that that hairstyles change a lot during the flashbacks and you realize how interchangeable some of O'Malley's faces are.

While it's the weakest outing of the three, the book is by no means weak. It's still funny and cool and has some delightfully odd moments and the occasional tug at the old heartstrings. There's no need to worry or jump off the bandwagon yet.