O'Malley, Bryan Lee
About the Author:
Bryan Lee O'Malley was born in 1979 and lives in Toronto, Canada.
AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:
3.5 out of 5
(6 books)
TOP PICK:
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
Scott Pilgrim And The Infinite Sadness
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Book 3. As well as having to defeat Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriend Todd, who has psychic vegan powers, Scott finds himself plagued by his own most-evil ex; rock star Envy Adams.
I felt that this book was something of a return to form after the slightly disappointing second volume but still lacks the excellence of the first book.
What I particularly liked here was that Scott and Ramona's relationship is tested by the fact that their two chief antagonists are each of their exes, who also happen to be a couple. It's a nice dynamic with lots of emotional history and, by the end of the book, a certain amount of catharsis.
And I have to give a special mention by the brilliantly funny and off-the-wall idea that vegans naturally develop superpowers. It's just the sort of weird-but-everyone-just-goes-with-it that makes the Scott Pilgrim series so inventive and entertaining (like the fact that Ramona's exes turn into piles of coins when they die).
4 out of 5
Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Book 4. Scott's life is going pretty well and months have passed since he's had to kill one of Ramona's exes. However, things begin to unravel when he is forced to get a job, is threatened with eviction and more figures from both his and Ramona's pasts turn up in their lives again.
What makes Scott an engaging protagonist is not only his comedic neuroses and anxieties, things that are very relatable, but also his progressive growth. This book, as the title suggests, involves a lot of growing-up for the 23-year-old man-child. For the first time he is forced to deal with things like the rent being due and needing to find (and hold) a job, as well as the discovery that working for a living leaves less time for your friends and for dating. But what pulls any couple through those sorts of times is, of course, the L-Word (no, not 'lesbians').
I enjoy a good coming-of-age story and am a sucker for a romantic tale, so it's nice that this book ticks both of those boxes. As well as having lesbianism in it.
4 out of 5
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Universe
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Book 5. The penultimate book of the series sees Scott fighting the robotic minions of Ramona's twin exes, the Katayanagi brothers. However, a far bigger problem is Ramona's discovery that Scott was dating her and Knives Chau simultaneously.
The last book was very much about Scott putting in the work to sort his life out and mature, but here we see him deal with the fact that sometimes not even personal growth prevents your life falling apart. As before, this is such a relatable situation that it's hard not to get invested in Scott's troubles. We've all been through a period where our love life is bad, our friends are busy with their own lives and the things we thought were reliably permanent prove to be anything but. Scott's angst is simply a magnification of something most or all of us go through.
Ultimately, whilst I can't fault O'Malley's writing and illustration, which remains of the highest quality, I didn't enjoy this book as much as others of the series. I'm absolutely willing to admit that it's because, overall, this book is a bit of a downer and I'm a sucker for a happy ending though. In fact, if anything, parts of this book feel a little too real and hit a bit too close to home for me to really enjoy it. The scene where Scott and Ramona lay in bed and Scott meekly asks "Are you breaking up with me?" really hit me hard (the specifics of my own real-life version were very different, but I very much felt Scott's pain).
3 out of 5
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Book 2. As Scott's relationship with Ramona begins to blossom he has to break the heart of Knives Chau. But both his and Ramona's pasts come back to haunt them and Scott has to face Ramona's next Evil Ex.
Here we get to learn a bit more of Scott's own backstory and the details of some of his own exes. We also see his relationship with Ramona developing, to the detriment of the increasingly unstable Knives. It's nice to get chance to fill in some of the details of the characters by exploring their pasts.
It has to be said, however, that this second volume wasn't as punchy or witty as the first. It's not bad in any way but it does feel like more of a filler story than what has come before. Wallace remains a favourite, however.
3 out of 5
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley, John Kantz & Aaron Ancheta)
The sixth and final book of the series. With Ramona having left him, Scott sinks into a deep emotional funk. However, he is forced to take a long hard look at his life and decides that he wants to fight for Ramona's love, setting off to confront her final Evil Ex-Boyfriend, Gideon Graves.
I've got to be honest, this book didn't quite stick the landing for me. I've really enjoyed Scott's saga overall but this book didn't quite feel like the perfect conclusion that I'd hoped for. I'm not exactly sure what would've been perfect for me but this, whilst still largely good, wasn't it.
Perhaps it's that none of the main characters' lives get neatly tied-up in a bow with a happy ending. Instead they simply get progress. It's a more realistic (if such a word can be used for this particular series) ending and in many ways it plays to the major themes of the series as a whole, but it just didn't quite work for me.
This is still good though, so definitely consider giving Scott's adventures a read (but, honestly, you could just watch the movie, which is great, hits all of the main notes of the books and has a more satisfying ending).
3 out of 5
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
(Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley)
Book 1. Scott Pilgrim is 23 years old, plays in a rock band and is dating a 17 year old when his life is interrupted by a mysterious girl called Ramona Flowers. After she literally skates through his dreams, Scott becomes infatuated with her but discovers that if he is to win her heart, he must first defeat her Evil Ex-Boyfriends.
I came to this book having loved Edgar Wright's movie adaptation (seriously, it's so underrated), so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie is very faithful to the book. However, that comes with its own downsides in that it's hard to read the book without picturing the likes of Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Anna Kendrick, so you don't really get the pure enjoyment of the original. I guess that's true of any book where you saw the movie first, but I found it particularly prevalent here.
But movie aside, this is a really fun, witty and clever book. I've seen people complain about this book due to Scott's toxic behaviour (not to mention his unhealthy fascination for a Catholic schoolgirl six years younger than him), but the truth is that, although he's clearly the protagonist, we're always in on the joke that Scott's a neurotic mess who makes bad life decisions all the time. That's the point of him as a character and it's what makes him actually pretty relatable.
Aesthetically, this book is gorgeous, with O'Malley paying homage to Japanese Manga whilst simultaneously showing influences from other pop culture like movies and computer games. But over and above all that is simply that the writer/artist tells a funny and engaging story in a remarkably inventive way.
4 out of 5
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