* not with ink

This weekend I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. The World . I liked it. Here's the promised conclusion to my thoughts. Side notes: I am terrible at comparing books & movies...I know you're only half-allowed to, but I always go the whole way. And I always prefer the books (although I have read neither The Notebook nor Devil Wears Prada ). I don't think I've ever seen a movie on opening night before. I'm not sure if it was just the type of audience, or generally an opening night audience, but I found it a bit overwhelming...there was an eagerness about the film that made me tone down my own enthusiasm - I need to get over this independent streak that refuses to share my excitement with the masses. Sneaky Dee's doesn't make the film. I think that was the biggest disappointment for me, because it seems like such a pivotal location in the books. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the Toronto smorgasbord of settings. Seeing the movie with no previous book knowledge ...

Last week, I wrote, Scott Pilgrim lives in my world . I also said that I had low expectations and that the only thing realistic about the graphic novels was the setting. I am changing my tune. The more I read, the more I like. And the more I read, the more I wish we could all deal with our relationship drama/baggage with some cartoon-style super-hero knock-out fights. It just seems so straight forward. Last night, I was walking to Union Station, and a girl passed me on rollerblades. She had a messenger bag, and her hair was two-toned. I almost called out after her, "Ramona!?" Scott Pilgrim is in my head. Never before have I made plans to read an entire comic book (graphic novel) series. Never before have I made plans to see a movie that corresponds with a comic book series. Never before have I downloaded all the free trailers to a movie from iTunes. I thought about this last night - What comic books did I read as a kid? What comic book movies have I seen? These are the list...

I am a wannabe hipster. I've known this for weeks now, if not months. But it was confirmed today when I picked up Vol. 1 of the Scott Pilgrim comic book series . Or, as we sophisticated hipsters like to say, graphic novel series . Despite my general dislike for anime characters with eyes the size of pies, the belief that comics are for kids ( Persepolis is an exception), and the apathy of my generation (as personified in Scott Pilgrim's life), I got a little sucked in. Here's the thing: Scott Pilgrim lives in my neighbourhood. He shops at the Goodwill store I bought dishes at. He walks past the Pizza Pizza I walk past. He visits my branch of the Toronto Public Library. He's in a believable space. My space. So now I have high hopes* for this 23 year-old bass-playing, video-game-loving, unemployed comic book character. I hope that he goes for it, jumps the obstacles standing between his current reality and "true love," and that they live happily ever aft...