Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

I'm pretty much proudly Canadian, especially when it comes to our imaginative culture. There might be a big expectation for Canada of just being nice and a lot of times, being second (re: 5th) best when compared to world rankings. I admit we do have our own problems and we are in no position to greatly boast about our geopolitical position in the world...but when it does come to something great in comedy and the arts, I'm all over that shit.

I'm proud of shows that are so great that they transcend the typical idea of what Canadian content usually is; most of which seems to consist of either Canadian docudramas or Nativeploitation films. Perhaps a result of Canadian collective guilt. So basically said, I like stuff that has a universal feeling with a slight Canadian flare. But not so Canadian you basically drown in the references. So when I read Scott Pilgrim, it pretty much plucked my patriotism string.

What is it about? It's about a guy (in Canada of all places!) who has to fight 7 evil ex boyfriends in order to solidify the relationship with his current girlfriend. Most of these fights seem to end up as typical video game warfare. Well it's basically what you'd get if you mixed the graphic novel Blankets with Penny-Arcade. It actually features a lot of aspects I like about television, movies and books. The first one being most of the characters, if not just the main one, are assholes. This isn't to say that I like characters who are completely reprehensible such as Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets. But ones who have a smidgen of being humble within their character. Basically an ass who's a good loser.

Another aspect I like is how the world is created and the weirdness that appears is basically accepted. I always find that some aspects in other shows or works introduce something in a plausible way at sacrafice for pace. But being able to create a world without having the need to explain but just...show that it exists I find to be a great talent. I guess it depends on the person's ability to suspend belief or disbelief, but I consider it a product of good writing and execution if someone is able to slide in something different without the audience missing a beat as opposed to holding their hand and forcing them to understand.

With tons of video game references, relationship angst up the ying yay and enough weirdness to keep it well into comic territory, it's a great series that I suggest anyone to read, especially fans of games games and more motherfucking games.