Comic Format: Scott Pilgrim

 

Scott Pilgrim is a series of graphic novels by Brian Lee O’Malley, detailing the action-packed life of none other than Scott Pilgrim, a young man with a penchant for bad life choices and even worse relationship choices. His current predicament is falling hopelessly in love with Ramona Flowers, and thus having to fight her seven evil exes to win her affection. What follows is 8 volumes of sucker punches, guitar battles, and bizarre characters. But these aren’t the only thing that make Scott Pilgrim stand out; one of its biggest strengths is its choice of storytelling. You see, Scott’s world runs on video game logic. Menus with character statistics pop up every time a new character is It’s an unusual format that provides a new, interesting way to relay information to the viewer, not to mention crack a few jokes.

 

The use of video game displays in a comic format is something I’ve been fascinated by for a long time, and feels like an excellent way to convey the Shoaling and Scavengers narrative, as the world was already built with video games in mind.