Comics

Scott Pilgrim is one of those things that if I had read it two years before I did, age 20 and after a break-up of a long term relationship, I wouldn’t have appreciated it. Hell, if I read it for the first time now, I wouldn’t have appreciated it. It’s good, sure. Funny. It has heart. It has nice action scenes. Sure I have problems with it. There’s this weird bi-erasure throughout the series as well as some of Scott’s shittier behaviors are kind of just forgiven. Still, I enjoy it. But that’s not why it’s Important.

Scott is a fuck-up. He has no idea what he’s doing with his life, just loafing around. He’s looking to be Wanted

He’s looking for love to try and…motivate him. To try and make things make sense. He’s a shitty person. He has no idea who he is. He’s a collection of personality defects in a body. And I was very much feeling that when I read it. It’s a story about growing up despite the fuck ups. It’s a story about how you don’t just…stop growing up when you turn 18. It’s a story about owning up to the fact that you’ve been a shitty person and growing in spite of it. Maybe I’m actively misreading it slightly. But I don’t mind. I was Untethered, the plans I had in my head for my future largely upended. I was still trying to figure out how to be Good. And all the while dealing with a break-up and it was oddly soothing to know that I wasn’t alone. I like to think I’m a better person that Scott Pilgrim. But if he can grow and get better, then I sure as hell can to.