Scott Pilgrim (2004-2010)

A stylish and engaging comic featuring incredibly memorable characters. It’s packed with pop culture references and great humor, telling a six-volume story about growing up and coming to terms with one's mistakes. The characters here are often quite toxic toward one another, but this dynamic serves as the foundation for much of the humor and many key plot points. Consequently, you get used to it quite quickly and come to accept it as part of the norm. If you’ve only seen the movie and are wondering whether the comic is worth reading—yes, it absolutely is. The film significantly cut down and altered the events of the story, as well as the personalities and character arcs of many individuals—including Scott, Ramona, and her "evil exes." All the characters here are much more fully realized and possess far greater depth. The artwork, too, is quite distinctive—unconventional, yet beautiful and stylish. However, the comic captivates your attention with more than just its story and art. At the end of each volume, you’ll find character and location sketches, various pieces of artwork, promotional materials, and deleted scenes; you’ll also get to hear the author’s personal story—who he is, where he comes from, how he came to write *Scott Pilgrim*, and where he drew his inspiration. Alternatively, you might discover a short bonus story. And it’s absolutely brilliant. Few comics offer anything quite like this—which is a shame. It allows you to connect much more deeply with the narrative and its characters, especially once you learn that many of them are based on real people from the author’s own life. This is a superb indie comic that you simply must check out. 9.5/10.