Lately, I’ve had Scott Pilgrim on the brain, as Ollie’s recently got a shipment of an impressive 20th anniversary box set, which includes hardcover editions of all 6 volumes of the comic series, as well as other goodies and surprises. Originally offered in both color and black & white editions, the formerly $200 set can be found for $50. We’re gonna completely ignore the fact that the series is 20 years old, because I have enough trouble dealing with the passage of time. Still, I kinda wanted to get my hands on one of these sets, and I started hitting the area Ollie’s stores last week. I was able to find the B&W edition, even though I sort of felt the color edition was more value for your buck. I managed to find the color edition last weekend, but reminded myself that I already own the limited edition color hardcovers, while this set was the only way to get a B&W hardcover, so I stuck with my B&W box set. It was around that time that I remembered I never watched the Netflix series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, nor did I remember anyone talking about it. So, I made that my project for the week.
First off, let’s set the table on my history with Scott Pilgrim. When I got hired at Diamond, it was just before the Small Press Expo (SPX), and my soon-to-be boss invited me to join the team at the show. I wasn’t on payroll yet, but they thought it would be a good chance to meet my vendors. In the Previews catalog, I was assigned all publishers whose names fell between E & R, which is quite the range (Although, there are about 3 times as many A publishers, as they chose a name that would get their listings placed closer to the front of the catalog). So, my biggest publishers would be IDW and Oni Press. Oni happened to be at SPX, and I was introduced to all their editors and whatnot. They were really excited about this new series that had been optioned for a movie. It didn’t really jump out at me, as it looked like manga. Now, this is when manga was HOT, but it wasn’t for me. You couldn’t bag & board it, it was in black & white, etc. At this point, three volumes were out, and they really wanted me to acquaint myself with it, because it was gonna be really big for them. And, as you have probably guessed, that series was Scott Pilgrim.
Scott Pilgrim, kicked off with Vol 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, is the PERFECT book for an aimless twenty-something, probably going through a quarterlife crisis. The titular character is a Canadian slacker who doesn’t have a job, doesn’t really own anything, and shares a bed with a roommate who’s WAY too accommodating. All he seems to care about is useless retro video game trivia, and his band, Sex Bob-Omb. He’s just sort of coasting through life, depending on the kindness of friends. He’s found himself dating a 17 year old (Scott’s 23, by the way), who seems to worship him merely because he seems “older and cool” to her. His life seems to change, however, when he meets Ramona Flowers, the cool girl who just moved to Toronto from the US. She’s got a lot of Manic Pixie Dream Girl vibes, even though the fandom fights over whether this phrase applies to her. You want a dated reference? Ramona is a Netflix delivery person (from back when Netflix mailed you the discs), and she starts appearing in Scott’s dreams because she found something like a warp zone that runs through his brain, allowing her to deliver more quickly. So, Scott sort of becomes obsessed with her, but soon learns that there’s an obstacle in the way of their happiness. Well, seven obstacles. You see, Ramona has seven Evil Exes from her past, and Scott has to defeat all of them, Video Game Boss style, before he and Ramona can be together. That’s the plot.
At the time, I totally got it. As I’ve aged, however, I just see Scott as problematic. Same with Ramona. Honestly, I was done with Ramona by around volume 5. She SUCCCCCKKKSSS. At his core, I think Scott means well enough, but he’s not really much of a prize. Meanwhile, Ramona is NOT worth all of this. The more you find out about her exes, the more you find out about her. And, in most cases, she hurt them, which is why their inability to get over her led them to join forces as the League of Evil Exes. They’re trauma bonding over some chick who likely won’t live to see 40. As you all know, the Edgar Wright-directed movie did eventually come out (Its release date was changed multiple times, which really screwed with Oni’s reprint schedule. They wanted to make sure books were available when the movie hit, but the delays caused them to have to recall stock, and sit on it, only to ship back out later), but it was far from a box office hit. It had a great, of-the-moment cast, including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Chris Evans. I always felt that it had the potential to be a surprise hit, but it was actually more “niche” than folks wanted to acknowledge. Plus, there were a ton of screenings, so I’d argue the core audience had already seen it for free before the official release, which cut into the box office. I mean, the movie’s fine, but it’s nothing spectacular.
So, seeing as how I eventually soured on the comic series, and I didn’t love the movie, why would I want to go through all that again, just in another format? Still, I felt I had to work my way through this, so I fired up Netflix this week, and watched Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Let me say this: This is the format in which this story ALWAYS should have been told. I always had issues with the comic because it was black & white, but it felt like that was done for stylistic, and possibly budgetary reasons, though certain parts of the story required color. There’s a running gag where Ramona changes her hair color, but you can only tell by a character saying “You changed your hair.” Here, not only can you see the changed hair color, but the ritual of her changing it is used as a plot device to denote the passage of time. Also, there’s a character, called Young Neil, who looks exactly like Scott, so the color editions and this series are the only places where it’s clear you’re reading Neil and not Scott.
The best part of Takes Off, however, is that it’s not a direct adaptation. In fact, not even close to it. It’s probably best thought of as a “companion piece” to the story told in the comics and movie. Like, you could probably enjoy it without prior knowledge of the franchise, but I doubt it. It reminded me of Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, which was a “movie” that was comprised of deleted scenes and extra footage that didn’t make the cut for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. You see, there was a entire plot point that was dropped, involving Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler and a bank robbery. This was cobbled together into a “film”, which was offered as a bonus disc if you bought Anchorman from Best Buy. The events take place concurrently with the main Anchorman film, so it’s not considered a sequel or prequel. Similarly, this series is something of a branching timeline from the proper Scott Pilgrim story, as Scott is seemingly killed in his first battle against one of the Evil Exes, Matthew Patel. This happens in, like, episode 2, so the rest of the series is basically Ramona, by way of Peacock’s Poker Face, trying to solve the whodunnit? of what happened to Scott. Best of all, it made me actually LIKE Ramona.
This series is for SP fans who wanted to spend more time with the other characters in the universe, as they are truly given their chance to shine. Young Neil, formerly a background character, figures pretty heavily into the plot. Scott’s teenage girlfriend, Knives Chau, actually becomes part of the group, as opposed to being the sad little girl that they laugh at behind her back. You really come to love Chris Evans’s Lucas Lee, and you can tell he’s having a lot of fun voicing the character (I forgot to mention that the cast from the live action film returned to voice their characters here). It’s Scott Pilgrim without Scott Pilgrim, which could be why the fans may not have loved it. However, it also kinda shows just how insignificant Scott was to his own story. Sure, he was the common link between all these characters, but you sort of don’t *miss* him.
When I said this series was the perfect format for the franchise, it’s because this “anime” presentation really captured the desired frenetic pace the series was always trying to reach. When I read the series, I thought it was leaning heavily on video game tropes. If a character “died”, they were replaced by coins and power ups. These carried over to the movie, but didn’t really work for me there, either. Here, however, in animation, they really pulled off the crazy anime-esque action you knew that Bryan Lee O’Malley had in his head when scripting the story. You begin to realize the OGN manga trim size was intentional because this was, for all practical purposes, American Manga. So, as an extension, this streaming series was Anime by way of American Manga. This feels like the culmination of what he always wanted Scott Pilgrim to be – if not in story, at least in production value.
I say it’s a branching timeline because the story does eventually circle back to the events we recognize from the comic, albeit truncated. While there was certainly opportunity to tell more stories – had the series been a hit – it has a satisfying ending, and doesn’t leave you on an unnecessary cliffhanger. I thoroughly enjoyed the series, and it’s a pretty quick watch at eight 30-ish minute episodes. Now that I’ve got that behind me, maybe I’ll crack open these anniversary books and see if they hit differently now.
Speaking of streaming series, Hasbro basically applied an AI filter to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and they’re uploading the episodes to the Power Rangers Official YouTube account, as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Re-Ignition. Basically, Hasbro licensed the toys out to Playmates, and realized they needed some sort of media to make folks care. This isn’t the first time “upgrades” have been applied to the original series, as 2010’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers “Re-Version” added Batman ’66 comic book effects to the fight scenes. Only 32 episodes of the original 59 were touched, and this was also an attempt to have “new” content to sell toys. At least the 2010 changes were obvious. These days, we’re constantly being shown footage of some vintage show being “enhanced” by AI, and you usually end up with a frightening result, like what has happened with the enhanced episodes of A Different World. With Re-Ignition, however, I don’t really see much difference.
I always tell folks that the problem with MMPR was that it already looked dated in 1993. I’m not sure if it’s because Saban actually started developing it in the 80s, as Bioman, and he just didn’t bother updating the fashion and set design or what. At the end of the day, it’s not like there’s quality film to really work with. It was old and grainy then, and it’s older and grainier now. There are no masters anywhere, because Saban was cheap, and he was probably taping over old episodes like the BBC used to do with Doctor Who. Back when the franchise was on Netflix, the MMPR seasons still looked like VHS rips. I tricked my girls into watching “Day of the Dumpster” with me on the YouTube page a few days ago, and I can’t say I see much difference from the Netflix version.
My biggest compliment is that I had forgotten just how efficient of a pilot that episode was. We get introductions, exposition, powers, zords – all in a tight 22 minutes. NO fat on that thing! They don’t make TV like that anymore, especially since streaming has made storytelling decompressed like comics now. The same way comics are being “written for the trade” (meaning a one-issue story is being stretched to 6 issues, because the publisher can make more money selling a bunch of $20 collections on Amazon than by selling 1 issue for $3.99), TV nowadays is just segmented storytelling, with every episode woven together to tell an overall story. No more filler episodes. No more “We’re locked in a freezer, so here’s a clip show filled with flashbacks” episodes. You could miss an episode of MMPR, and it still made sense as long as that episode wasn’t one of the five parts of the “Green With Evil” miniseries. Can’t do that with today’s shows.
Anyway, if you’ve been curious about early 90s Power Rangers, the YouTube page is a great resource, and I just might end up watching all of the Re-Ignition eps, simply because it’s easier than breaking out my DVDs. They also have this feature they call a “Mini Movie”, where they edited all of the key points of a given season together so you don’t have to watch every episode. The concept sounds so much better than the actual execution. I decided to watch the Power Rangers In Space one, as that’s one of my favorite seasons. The clip was roughly 38 minutes long, and it did hit the major beats, but it was not edited to make much sense. It needed a framing device, or someone to truly *edit* it instead of just lining up clips in a sequence. There was no flow between the clips, so it just jumped around a lot. Still, I love the finale “Countdown to Destruction”, and it was nice to jump right to the good stuff, without having to sit through that Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation crossover (Yup, this was that season…).
Run The Numbers
On the comic front, I read Archie: The Decision #1, which was somewhat disappointing. Don’t get me wrong – I love Tom King AND Dan Parent, but this felt like a fluff project to give them a chance to work together. In the backmatter, we find out that Archie was an important franchise in King’s formative years, and he even owns the original art to some of his favorite strips. This would have made for a good anniversary release, but the story sort of reveals that it’s the franchise’s 84th anniversary, which isn’t really a big deal. They couldn’t have held it til 85 (This was released last fall)? Anyway, Archie decides he’s going to finally choose between Betty and Veronica, and he decides to leave it up to a coin flip. The problem, however, is the coin gets knocked out of the window, leading Archie and Jughead to chase it through Riverdale, to see on which side it lands. Along the way, the news of the flip travels like a game of “Telephone”, and we get appearances from pretty much all of the major characters of the franchise. It was billed as a 32-page adventure, but I read it digitally, and it didn’t feel that long at all. To pad it out, there are pages in the back where both King and Parent list their top 10 favorite Archie comics. It was a fun read, but nothing to write home about.
The next read was something of a surprise, as I never had any intention of reading it, and just happened to stumble upon it as a Hoopla Bonus Borrow: volume 1 of Iyanu: Child of Wonder. Now, I’ve talked mad shit about this franchise because it recently debuted as an animated series on Cartoon Network. It’s not getting a big push, as it’s a black character, and it always looked like “You got Africans in my The Last Airbender“, which isn’t far from the truth, but it’s still pretty interesting.
Published by Dark Horse, the series follows Iyanu, who is an outcast from society, and being raised in the forest by an infamous witch. We go on to discover that Iyanu has powers that seem to be in tune with nature, but also fluctuate based on civil unrest, climate problems, etc. We learn that, in the story’s history, there was a great evil that went on to infect all the surrounding animals. So, not only can the people not eat the meat, but they also can’t leave the gated cities for fear of being devoured by the possessed beasts. The witch who raised Iyanu has an ancient process that “cleanses” the infected animals, driving the demons from them. Then, those animals can be eaten. By the rich. When the story starts, the old king has died under mysterious circumstances, and his nephew has been installed as the new leader. So, on one level, you’ve got House of Cards-level political intrigue, as everyone on the council is stabbing everyone else in the back, while you’ve got Iyanu, who knows nothing of her past – nor the origin of her powers – who might be the salvation of everyone involved.
Created by Roye Okupe and Brandon Easton, the story is greatly influenced by Yoruba culture, which I found to be its most interesting aspect. It’s really tropey, in that there’s a mysteriously powered “chosen one” child, she’s on a journey where she will undoubtedly gather trusted allies along the way, yadda yadda. You’ve read all this before, but it’s usually starring a white girl, who’s still gorgeous despite a childhood of slaving away in the radiation mines or whatever. I really enjoyed it, and want to read more. Plus, I’m now inspired to check out the CN series, as well.
My next entry is currently my favorite read of the year: Helen of Wyndhorn, by Tom King (him again?!) and Bilquis Evely, also published by Dark Horse . This team already worked together on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, so they already know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This is another one that caught me by surprise, as I had bought the first issue, but only because it was a speculation thing, where I thought it might be worth something down the road. Otherwise, it seemed heavy on fantasy, which is simply not my genre. Still, I was looking for something to read, and came across it on Hoopla, deciding to give it a shot.
I LOVED THIS BOOK. It’s familiar, yet shocking, and I couldn’t put it down. Helen is a 16 year old who has spent her life moving town to town with her father, who was a penniless writer. Sure, he was a successful, putting out a series of popular fantasy novels, but everything he made he drank. So, Helen had to grow up fast, and didn’t really enjoy a “typical” childhood. When the series starts, her father has committed suicide, and Helen’s wealthy grandfather has hired a woman to retrieve Helen, and become her governess. They return to Wyndhorn, the New England estate of the grandfather, where strange things start to occur. Over time, Helen begins to realize that her father’s novels weren’t exactly fiction, because her grandfather was actually a fabled warrior who had learned to travel between our world and The Other Place. Helen makes it her mission to train and become a warrior formidable enough to eventually accompany him on adventures to that magical place.
The story itself, is told via journal entries and letters written by the governess, while the overall framing device follows the passage of stories over time. For example, in the first issue, we are introduced to the former governess as she’s being interviewed by a writer for a book he’s writing on Helen’s father. In a later issue, we find out the governess has passed away, and we only learn this because the writer has published his book, and a stranger informs him that he’s the nephew of the governess. Then, in a future issue, it starts with the writer’s husband getting ready to auction off his possessions, following his passing. So, there are two stories being told: That of Helen in the 1930s, and that of the Wyndhorn Legacy in the present day.
You think you know Helen, and you probably do, but King brings such empathy and vulnerability to the characters. She’s only known pain and disappointment, and the discovery of The Other Place is the first time she’s truly enjoyed life. Once it appears that might be taken away from her, she finds herself in the same position where her father had found himself at his end. Meanwhile, Evely’s art is gorgeous, and masterfully captures the wonder and fantastical nature of The Other Place. It’s only six issues, but there’s still clearly much more story that could be told. Certain things are implied, but never directly addressed. Maybe that had to do with the time in which the story was set, but we only get glimpses and anecdotes about the adventures in The Other Place. Since the story relies on the governess’s retelling of the tales Helen had told her, we have something of an unreliable narrator. The entire story is based on the excited ramblings of a drunk teenager, so it could all be lies, but Helen seems to believe it, and you can see the governess really wants to believe it. As the reader, I bought into it, but taking a step back, I can see how one might get caught up in the fantasy of it all. That’s why it’s such a great experience, as there are stories being told on many levels here. Definitely check this out if you get the chance!
Things You Might Have Missed This Week
- Despite a last-minute push from his buddy John Cena, Ron “R-Truth” Killings announced that WWE would not be renewing his contract after a lengthy run with the company.
- There was a lot of surprising Doctor Who news, as the finale aired last weekend, marking the departure of the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), but also a featuring the return of old series star Billie Piper? It always felt like there was a small part of the fanbase fighting for Gatwa, but I could never figure out if he didn’t catch on because he was The Queer Doctor, The Black Doctor, or The Queer Black Doctor. They really did kinda stack that deck…
- It’s a sad day for the supermarket checkout line, as In Touch, Life & Style, Closer, and First for Women magazines are shutting down, with all of their staffs being laid off.
- Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire has reportedly been cast as E.D.I.T.H. in the upcoming Vision series on Disney+.
- Margo Martindale has been cast as the warden in the Prison Break reboot pilot being produced at Hulu. I had no interest in this thing, but she’s one of those actors who tends to make everything better.
- Castmember Yulissa Escobar was kicked off Love Island USA after racist social media posts began to surface. On a podcast, she had used the N-word, but I’m gonna argue that she didn’t use the Hard R. I mean, there is a discussion to be had over whether the Hispanic community can even use that word, but she wasn’t launching it at someone, like some typical Karen. She was just using it in the place of “man”…
- Samuel L. Jackson is reportedly in talks to headline a spinoff of Tulsa King, called NOLA King, on Paramount+
- Finally, in some sad news, King of the Hill voice actor Jonathan Joss was the victim of a fatal shooting at a property he had owned with his husband. A social media post by said husband detailed harassment and threats that the couple had endured over the years, which resulted in their house being burned down. While it would suggest that this was a hate crime, the San Antonio Police Department is pushing back against these claims.
I’m told that, in some countries, folk can buy used women’s underwear from vending machines. I’m told that. Never really understood it, but “different strokes” and all that. So, I guess that’s why I shouldn’t be too surprised that Dr Squatch is about to sell a limited edition bar soap that allegedly contains Sydney Sweeney’s bath water.
I haven’t really made up my mind on Sweeney yet. Every few years, Hollywood chooses a star they feel deserves a “push”, even if they’re not really catching on with the general public. Looking over the past few decades, there was Taylor Kitsch, Jai Courtney, Taylor Lautner. I should probably point out there they’ve had a horrible track record with this, as you can see from that list. These guys tend to be attractive, but lack “leading man energy”. For a more recent example, I’d throw Glen Powell on that pile. He seems nice enough, but I don’t look at him and see “STAR!” At best, he’s the good-looking guy in the small town who just achieved his high school dream of opening a sports bar, where he foolishly employs all his buddies. After all, it ain’t “work” if you’re having fun!
Anyway, there aren’t as many women on this list, mainly due to sexism and “the male gaze”. You see, there’s something of a cheat code, where a woman can just do nudity to make a splash, yet it very rarely works out well for them. Shannon Elizabeth’s career had a Grand Opening AND Grand Closing simply by appearing as the nude exchange student in American Pie. Alexandra Daddario at first seemed like she was gonna break the curse, as she got quite a few opportunities following her debut getting nude with Woody Harrelson in True Detective, but now she headlines some show about witches on a network I can’t remember. So, when Sweeney pretty much became known as “the girl with her tits out” on Euphoria, I thought her career was D.O.A. I mean, it’s kind of a big deal to be considered the most salacious aspect of an already salacious series. Still, she’s got a great PR team, because they’ve really tried hard to position her as some sort of “mogul”. There are a bunch of articles about how she’s formed a production company, called Fifty-Fifty Films, and is buying scripts. They act like she’s very choosy with her roles, and that she was instrumental in casting Glenn Powell in their romcom Anyone But You. Basically, they want you to know she’s more than just her breasts. And then she goes and signs a deal like this one.
Dr Squatch is a subscription service that’s basically a Soap of the Month club. I’ve got a friend who loves the stuff. He got me a Wolverine bar, which I refuse to use because I don’t wanna ruin the box. Anyway, this is just the kind of gimmick that an online service needs, and it’s especially designed to bring all the pervs to the yard. In fact, it’s a No Lose situation, in that the soap could smell like dung, but the gimmick of her bath water being mixed in is apparently just what the doctor ordered. When interviewed about the online reaction, Sweeney claims it was her idea that she pitched to the company. So, again, we have the narrative that she’s in complete control. And maybe she is. That said, though, is this that much better than that chick who was farting into jars and selling them online? We’re not saying this is a special soap recipe concocted by Sydney and her team. No, a bath is simply a stew of the day’s juices. And THAT is what’s being put in this soap. I think I’ll pass.
Anyway, there’s a countdown clock on the Dr Squatch site, reminiscent of those countdowns early internet pervs used to have for the day Britney Spears was set to turn 18 (Remember that?). The soap is set to go on sale in about 2 hours from now, and it will surely sell out. Priced at $8, only 5,000 bars have been made, and customers are limited to one bar each. We’re only talking about $40,000 here, so no one is in this for the money. This is just low stakes publicity. Still, some reseller out there has surely amassed some sort of digital street team (or bots. The kids use bots now) to grab as many as possible. So, look for these to start popping up on the summer convention circuit, with a 5x markup. ‘Cause that’s just how these things work. Anyway, I may not be sold on the gimmick, or Sweeney herself, but I think Sydney Sweeney had the West Week Ever.
