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Sunday 27 September 2015

Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley Review (Scott Pilgrim #3)


Scott and his band Sex Bob-Omb square off against the more successful The Clash at Demonhead fronted by his ex, Envy Adams, and featuring the band's bass player/next Evil Ex-Boyfriend of Ramona’s, Todd. But Todd has powers - vegan powers! - and Scott’s old feels for Envy flare up again. 

I didn’t love this third volume as much as the last two though I remember adoring it the first time I read it. Maybe because I remembered this volume more, it didn’t surprise me as much? But I think it was because Envy Adams is a big part of this book and I don’t think she’s that great a character. 

She treats everyone very poorly, she’s snooty, arrogant, and wholly unlikeable, in the same way Meryl Streep was in The Devil Wears Prada. It’s a pretty one-dimensional kinda character that isn’t very interesting to read about. She’s bitchy, got it, and? But that’s it. 

We get her and Scott’s long drawn out relationship and it’s very blah. She’s dumps Scott, which we already knew, takes the band he started and makes it successful, which we already knew, and it takes him a while to get over her, which we already knew. Feels kinda pointless to me! 

Not to say it’s a bad volume either. I liked that for the first time in the series Scott behaves like a normal person as he sees Knives feeling down in the dumps and decides to talk to her and bring her back up. Scott and Todd’s first “fight” in Honest Ed’s is wonderfully bizarre and I like that The Boys and Crash reappear. 

Todd’s backstory is bonkers too - that moon thing - underlining the dramatic highs young love can bring out in people, and there are more over-the-top action scenes. The vegan police bit wasn’t as funny the second time around - it’s still a decent bit though. 

There’s also a reprint of a Free Comic Book Day issue that has Scott fight several clones of teen girl ninjas on the way to watch a movie. Seeing Wallace get frustrated as Scott dithers over which soft drink to buy was great. And there are some shorts featuring Kim Pine’s woes living with some women she does not care for - if there’s one thing any book needs, it’s more Kim Pine! 

At any rate, the good definitely outweighs the bad in Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness, though I’m glad to see the back of Envy Adams. Onwards to the next Evil Ex-Boyfriend!

Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

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