GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Scott Pilgrim Color HC, Vol. 6: Finest Hour

Finest Indeed!

Bryan Lee O’Malley’s magnum opus, Scott Pilgrim, shows the entire comic world how independent comic can go to great lengths in good storytelling, quirky and bouncy artwork, interesting characters, and more significantly, the making of a timeless masterpiece in visual literary genre. Scott Pilgrim series is a six volume chronicle of the same name’s misadventures against seven ex-boyfriends of his on-and-off paramour, Ramona Flowers. Lighthearted, funny, at times serious, irrelevant, and unabashedly giving tribute to the popular cultures of the 1990s and the 2000s (video and arcade games; grunge, alternative and rock music; anime; funky attires; teenage rebellion—oh the memories!), Scott Pilgrim serves as one of the great reminders of what it means to be an adolescent up to a young, twenty-something adult.

Obviously inspired by anime, the entire series was drawn and colored in black-and-white (but read from left to right). But who complains, true comic readers and fans can attest this series is taken seriously by critics that it even won several critically acclaimed comic-award giving bodies, including the Eisner’s. It was even adapted to the silver screen (critically received but financially bombed in ticket sales—how sad!). Formally ended in 2010, many demanded for coloring the entire series. And oh boy O’Malley granted that wish and the comic’s independent publisher, Oni Press, released all six volumes not only in colored edition but treated in hardcover deluxe edition! Only this April 2015, Oni Press unleashed the final volume: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour.

The plot is simple, Scott Pilgrim must fight the seventh and last of Ramona’s ex-boyfriend—Gideon. The entire story reads like a typical romantic-comedy with the typical action-packed battles our Canadian protagonist endured and faced, with so many references of anything fighting arcade games (like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series). Cheesy, YES it is. But forced and boring, these are absolutely falsehoods unless one is a soulless and unemotional type of reader.

Naturally, the coloring process was executed with virtual perfection by fellow Canadian artist extraordinaire Nathan Fairbairn whose works can be found in DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image and of course, Oni Press. His primary and negative colors are generally spot-on, very vibrant as what Bryan truly envisions to this fun yet bittersweet series, and the colors even add the already superb storytelling and ambiance the series already possessed. We are glad that O’Malley chose one of the best colorists in the comic industry, and Fairbairn never fails to disappoint either.

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Further making this volume an essential part of comic collection is the additional features after the proper story itself. Aptly named “EXTRAS”, it has a number of cover and poster arts. Another part is called “PROCESS” where readers glimpse on some of character and paneling developments. And the main treat is the coloring process as annotated and further explained by Fairbairn himself. These add-ons are indeed a significant read to further comprehend the behind the scenes of this great finale.

If ever I have some issues regarding the book, I nitpick on two things. One, the binding is too tough for a good reading experience. I need to hold the pages from page one up to the end just to read this one. And obviously, this finale has plenty of “mature” contents, despite the anime-inspired and bouncy feel this book has to offer (read: “casual sex”).

Simply put, this book is a great one. O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim is overall a love-letter of anything associated with pop culture and most importantly, being a teenager and young adult! Fairbairn’s colors just heightened more what is an already magnificent visual manifesto of being in-love and young at heart!