Review: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Color Edition)

(Photo: OniPress.com)

The Scott Pilgrim saga is one of my all-time favorite series. Writer/illustrator Bryan Lee O'Malley (Lost at Sea) gives readers a six-volume epic about post-adolescent love and life in a video game-ified version of Toronto that is the perfect balance of fantasy and reality. If an Empire Records DVD and a Street Fighter arcade box moved to Canada and had a baby, it would be Scott Pilgrim.

OniPress originally published the books in 5.5" x 8" black and white editions, which was reflective of its manga-inspired style. In March, it was officially announced that deluxe, 6" x 9" full color hardback editions of the book would begin rolling out in August. And here we are.

I just finished my color copy of Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, and I'm very pleased. The story, of course, remains the same, and the remastered lettering is as clear and easy to read as ever. It's the art the really benefits in this edition. The bump in the book's size gives the panels a little more breathing room, which only adds to the immersive effect of the color.

Oh man, guys. The color.

Now, I'm not knocking black and white at all. At no point in my original reading did I stop and think, "This is awesome, but I find the lack of color disturbing." It's also worth noting that the first chunk of volume 4 was printed in color, along with some shorts and other materials, so not everything had been left to the imagination up until this point.

But the color. Is. Awesome.

A lazy or ill-conceived color job can totally destroy the integrity of a piece, but colorist Nathan Fairbairn (Batman Incorporated, Swamp Thing) does a beautiful job here, adding a gorgeous layer of depth that lifts  each panel off the page without upsetting the tone or eclipsing the core designs.

As an added bonus, the back of the book is loaded with extras, including O'Malley's notes on the origins of the series, along with early character sketches, the original pitch, and more. I particularly enjoyed the pages where he discusses walking around Toronto to scout locations and lays the pictures he took alongside the color panels.

The book is a must-have for fans, or for anybody who really was legitimately bothered by the black and white originals (but were you, I mean really?). If you're only interested in the bonus material at the back, be aware that it only covers the first book, not the entire series. More will be released in the subsequent volumes.

Precious Little Life, Color Edition, is out now ('cause it's after August, in case you didn't realize). For an extra $15, you can get a copy of the Evil Edition, which features a Matthew Patel variant cover (the Scott portrait from the front of the regular edition is featured on the back), from the OniPress web site. Update: The OniPress site currently shows that the Evil Edition is sold out.

(Photo: OniPress.com)

If you're a hardcore fan, an extremely limited Collector's Edition was put together that includes the Evil Edition of the book, a numbered bookplate signed by Bryan Lee O'Malley, five 9x12 art prints depicting both versions of the cover and three of the volume's biggest moments, a 2" metal Scott Pilgrim 1-up coin, eleven vinyl stickers of some of O'Malley's favorite panels, a hand-crumpled setlist belonging to Trasha of Crash and the Boys, two embroidered scout badges featuring Scott and Patel, and a digital download code. 

Unfortunately, this collector's set, which was limited to 1,000 pieces and retailed for $100, is sold out. However, there are still a few floating around on eBay. Keep an eye out and you might get lucky. I love mine for the 1-up coin alone.

The color edition of volume 2, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, is scheduled to ship in early November. Check your local comic shop, book store, or Amazon for pre-order options.

Terminology Time: One-Shots and Stand-Alones

Much like any traditional book series, the stories told in most comics are not entirely self-contained. Most story arcs build upon each other, with some being a little more dependent on previously established events than others. 

There are, of course, several exceptions to this trend, the most notable of which are one-shots and stand-alones. Let's break it down.

One-Shots

A one-shot is a story that is meant to be contained within a single issue, rather than a series of comics. While it may exist within the context of an ongoing arc (for example, X-Factor Special: Layla Miller references X-Men event comic Messiah Complex), the story is self-sustaining. The beginning, middle, and end will all be found within the issue.

Basically, if you're a Whovian, it's kind of like Blink. Watching everything that came before it gives you a little bit more to work off contextually, but you could also watch it on its own and be fine.

Typically, one-shots are presented as, "specials," or are given a #1, even though there will be no succeeding issues. Some companies will even include, "one-shot," under the number. However, they will occasionally pop up within an ongoing series. For example, The Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 2, #36 was published in November, 2001 as a tribute issue in the wake of the events of September 11.

If you miss out on a one-shot, don't worry. They seldom, if ever, affect the continuity of a series.

Stand-Alones

Stand-alones are exactly what the name implies: stories that, in short, can stand alone. Sound familiar? It should, but it's worth noting that while pretty much all one-shots are stand-alones, all stand-alones are not necessarily one-shots. If you're a casual reader and don't want to invest the money in following a title, the stand-alone is your best friend.

In almost all cases, stand-alones have absolutely no affect on the continuity of an ongoing series, even if mutual characters are used. For example, Alan Moore's stand-alone Batman graphic novel The Killing Joke provides an origin story for the Joker, a character whose origins are famously murky (a fact that was played up most effectively on the big screen in The Dark Knight). Though elements of that origin were absorbed into continuity, it did not technically become a part of the established canon. Rather, it was used purely for the purposes of the story Moore was telling.

Again, the rules here are not absolute. In The Killing Joke, the character of Barbara Gordon suffers a profound trauma that would become a part of the DC universe's canon. It was a controversial move, in part because the event took place in a stand-alone and in part because it was widely regarded as anti-feminist, but that's a discussion for another day.

First Look at Hugh Jackman in, "The Wolverine."

This morning, a first look at Hugh Jackman in, "The Wolverine," was posted to Twitter by Ryan Penagos (@AgentM), the Executive Editorial Director at the Marvel Digital Media Group and Marvel.com.

Jackman will once again be reprising the role that helped make him a household name. "The Wolverine," currently slated for a July 2013 release, will be the sixth installment of 20th Century Fox's successful film franchise based off of Marvel's X-Men. A cameo in last year's X-Men: First Class made Jackman the only actor to have appeared in each film (though the character of Charles Xavier has also been in each, he was portrayed by James McAvoy in First Class, not Sir Patrick Stewart).

(Photo: Property of 20th Century Fox)

So You Want to Start Reading: Captain America

Welcome to the first installment of  So You Want to Start Reading, a regular feature that will hopefully help you indulge your comic book curiosity and figure out how and where to jump into a title.

By the way, just to make this clear: I receive absolutely no compensation from any comic book publisher, writer, illustrator, editor, intern, etc. for featuring books. If I recommend something, it's strictly because I like it. I'm not a promoter, just a fan. The end.

I'm going to start you off with one of my favorites: Marvel's Captain America. The first Cap comic was published in 1941, and stories about the star-spangled super soldier have been released on and off ever since. But fear not, True Believer: you don't have to read 7 decades worth of comic books to understand what's going on right now.

A lot of comic book characters have been around for a long time. To keep it that way, and to keep their stories fresh, publishers often reboot and/or retcon their books. Sometimes, when one of these things happens or even occasionally when a new writer steps in, a new volume will be created. Basically, this just means that the numbering reverts to 1 and you get to start fresh (with established canon in mind, of course).

The easiest way to pick up Captain America is to start with Ed Brubaker's run on the book, which spans all of volume 5 and into volume 6. Brubaker is often credited with reestablishing Cap's popularity, and his influence is seen heavily in both of the appearances the character has made on the big screen.

The most cost effective method of reading would be to pick up the issues in trade - that is, collected in a paperback or hardcover edition, like a graphic novel. You can find these pretty much everywhere, from libraries to bookstores to Amazon. I encourage you to track down your local comic shop. It's always great to support them, and a lot of shops have awesome sales pretty regularly. Just visit comicshoplocator.com and plug in your zip code.

Here's a list of Brubaker's Cap titles, in trade, in order. For those of you who are looking to start collecting, I've included the issue numbers with each volume.

Captain America, vol. 5

Winter Soldier (#1-9, 11-14)
Note: Winter Solider was originally released in two volumes, but is now available in one paperback as Winter Solder: Ultimate Collection. The two-volume version is out of print but may still be found in some stores or libraries. If you have any doubts, just look at the cover or see if there's a number on the spine.

Captain America #10: This issue was released as a part of Marvel's House of M event. It is not vital to the continuity of the rest of the story, so you can skip it. However, if you'd like to read it, you can find it in House of M: World of M Featuring Wolverine.

Red Menace (#15-17, Captain America: 65th Anniversary Special, #18-21)
Note: Like Winter Soldier, this was originally released as two volumes in trade. Same rules apply.

Civil War: Captain America (#22-24, Winter Soldier: Winter Kills)
Note: These issues are tie-ins for Marvel's Civil War event. You may want to check that out for additional context.

The Death of Captain America, vol. 1 (#25-30)
The Death of Captain America, vol. 2 (#31-36)
The Death of Captain America, vol. 3 (#37-42)

The Man With No Face (#43-48)

Road to Reborn (#49-50, #600-601)
Note: To commemorate 600 issues of Captain America, the numbering of the individual issues reverted.

Reborn (Captain America: Reborn #1-6)
Note: This was a Captain America event, released outside the regular title but still within its continuity, hence the separate numbering.

Two Americas (#602-605, Who Will Wield the Shield?)

No Escape (#606-610)

The Trial of Captain America (#611-615, 615.1)

Prisoner of War (#616-619)

"Prisoner of War," was the final installment of the 5th volume. I'd strongly recommend reading Fear Itself #1-7 (also available in trade) and Fear Itself: Shattered Heroes, a Marvel event comic by Matt Fraction that A) is incredible in its own right and B) ties into the beginning of the next volume.

Captain America, vol. 6

As of right now, there is one trade for vol. 6, simply called: Captain America, vol. 1. It collects issues #1-5 of the current run. Issue #17 just hit stands yesterday.

If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them.

Happy reading!

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One Boxed Set Delayed

Marvel movie fans, if you were as stoked as I was about getting your Phase One Blu-ray set in a couple weeks, try not to Hulk out: the release has been delayed by about half a year.

The 10-disc package was to include all six Marvel Studios films - Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers - in cardboard sleeves featuring artwork that was exclusive to the set, special features, 3D versions of the latter three films, and prop replicas from each movie, all wrapped up in a replica of a S.H.I.E.L.D. briefcase with a light-up Tesseract inside. Pretty sweet. When I was at Comic-Con and saw the set on display at the Marvel booth, I may have drooled. Just a little.

Unfortunately, the briefcase used in the film was not made by the prop department, but rather a German luggage company. News broke last week that said company had filed suit against Marvel for failing to secure permission to replicate the case. Pre-orders were halted indefinitely.

Hope for a swift settlement has essentially been eliminated by parent company Disney's statement that they will not be able to make the September 25th release date and are now striving to get the set out in a new package, by Spring 2013. The statement also promised even more content than was originally advertised, presumably to make up for the delay.

For those who placed their orders through Amazon, a similar statement has been posted on the product page.

The release of The Avengers on DVD and Blu-ray has not been affected and will take place as scheduled.

A bummer, to be sure, especially since the delay will be so lengthy. However, it could be worse: you could be one of the people in charge of putting the package together.

For more information, including more complete versions of Disney and Amazon's statements, check out IGN.

Terminology Time: "Retcon"

A big part of my aim here is to help new readers get familiarized not just with comic books themselves but with the process of selecting and reading them. So, from time to time, I'll be sharing some common terms that often get thrown around in comic conversations, either because I'll be using them or just because they're good to know. If you're a seasoned reader, you can probably skip these posts.

One of the most common devices used in the comic book industry is retroactive continuity, often shortened to, "retcon." Basically, when you retcon, you introduce some kind of element into a story that alters some of the previously established facts of that story.

Let's take a piece of information that's pretty well-known, so as to avoid spoilers: Bruce Wayne's parents were gunned down in front of him when he was a child. The pain and anger of this traumatic event pushes him to become Batman. All of this was established in Detective Comics #33, was back in 1939.

But I really want Martha Wayne to be alive for a story arc, so I decide to write a flashback scene where a mad scientist breaks into the Gotham morgue on the eve of the murders, steals her body, and replaces it with an exact replica. He then revives her with Frankenstein-esque technology and brainwashes her into staying with him forever. Decades later, she finally breaks free of his control and leaves his secret lair for the first time, eventually revealing herself to her now adult son. Oh, and as a side effect of the back-from-the-dead machine, she hasn't aged.

Now, we can all agree that this would probably be a terrible story, but it would technically be a successful retcon (with a dash of deus ex machina): rather than requesting that the reader pretend that previously established events never happened by starting my story with, "Hi, I'm Bruce Wayne. When I was little, my dad was murdered but my mom and I survived," I've acknowledged what we've all accepted to be part of the character's history and altered it a little to suit the purposes of the story I want to tell. The information isn't presented as, "Hey, this thing is suddenly true," but rather, "Hey, this has always been true, you just didn't know it because of reasons."

Retconning isn't exclusive to comics - you'll find that most serialized stories employ the device (soap operas, video games franchises, even movies). However, as the comics industry is loaded with characters who have Depression-era origins, one could argue that it's been the most vital to the survival of many modern titles.

Despite this, it's often a controversial move. Many would argue that retconning is "cheating," primarily because it allows one to purge entire events from the continuity of a story, particularly if they're unpopular. For example, if my Martha-Wayne-never-died story arc failed miserably (and it would), I could retcon again by having Bruce Wayne wake up from a villain-induced coma and realize that it had all been a dream. 

Another criticism is that it lowers the stakes - can any event have a real and lasting impact if it can just be explained away?

I'd be the first person to admit that a retcon can be damaging, but there are plenty of pros too. A good retcon can really free a writer when he or she takes over a title, allowing them some breathing room within the canon, and this has often led to really groundbreaking story arcs and ideas. 

Love it or hate it, the retcon is here to stay. At least now you'll know what it means.