The Scott Pilgrim Trailer is online

This weekend as I was doing my weekly genre news update (There's actually a process I use to attempt to keep up to date - but that's the kind of neurosis that deserves a post of its own), I saw that the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is online.

As long-time (and by that I mean since last August) readers of my blog are probably aware, I'm a huge fan of the comic series - it's awesome, it's Canadian, and it's references to my particular slice of pop culture are off the scale. At the same time, the movie could let me down, after all I was pretty excited when I heard that they were making a big screen version of The Spirit.

So lets take a brief glimpse at the pros and cons of this big screen adaption.

Pros: The fact that the film was made in Canada and has a Canadian star (Michael Cera). The fact that it's directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shawn of the Dead, Spaced). The fact that I really love the source material.

Cons: Actually only one - I really love the source material. I think that this actually makes it a little harder for me to warm up to the story, as I've got such a special fondness for the comics.

In the end, I have to say I'm pretty excited - but don't let me keep all the excitement to myself, check out the trailer here for yourself.

Genre Character of the week: Scott Pilgrim

First off, I have to admit my biases - I'm Canadian, I enjoy reading manga, and references to video games and role playing games make me very happy. I actually only got into this comic series earlier this year, but it is fast becoming one of my favourites. The main reason for this is definitely the main character, and my genre character of the week, Scott Pilgrim.

Here's the basic run down of Scott, he's 24 (at the start of the series), lives in Toronto, Canada with (or you might say off of) his room-mate Wallace, is the basist for a band called Sex Bob-omb, and has just met the girl of his dreams. The only problem, Ramona (the girl in question), has seven ex-boyfriends, each of which want to kill Scott and will fight him one-on-one in a series of martial arts battles.

The things that blows me away most about this crazy series, is how real it feels. Scott begins the series by dating a girl he really isn't into when Ramona comes along and his break up scene with his current girlfriend is pretty painful. The idea of dating a girl whose past won't stay in her past is pretty easy to relate to for most people, and Scott's past does not exactly stay where it should either.

What I admire most about Scott is that he's trying. I like a guy who is putting effort into himself and is attempting to be better. Scott is a definite slacker, though, so it is a work in progress, luckily he does have a great number of friends (pictured right) who are there to help him out.

A film version of the comic series is due out in August of 2010, so if you haven't checked out this great series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, give it a look, it is pretty awesome.

Bookmonkey's Top 5 Current Comic Series

I'm one of those people who likes to wait until a comic, novel, or television series are finished before I start buying them. I want to see where the story ends before I decide that it needs to be on my shelf, but certain comics are so good I can't wait. Although I love reading super hero comics, they make up a pretty small part of my overall collection.

Here are my top five currently published comic series that I'm snapping up as they come out (in graphic novel format).

5. The Dark Tower

Okay, this is the one I actually buy issue by issue but the reasons are pretty simple. The Dark Tower series of novels by Stephen King is possibly my favourite genre series of all time (Sorry LOTR, but you come a very close second). The series is written by Peter David and illustrated by Jae Lee. It works to fill in the gaps between the novel series and although I've had a problem with Lee's art in the past - it fits this series so well I am consistently blown away by it. If your a fan of the novels, check out the comics, they are simply that good.

4. Fables

You have to read this series. Bill Willingham is simply an amazing storyteller. Take all of your common knowledge of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fantasy books and myths, then turn it into a series that is by turns violent, wonderful, epic, sensual, urban, hilarious, and a war story and you begin to get the idea of how good this series is. In addition, the spin-off series Jack of Fables, is also incredible. I'm not even sure why you are still reading my recommendation, go and read this now.

3. The Walking Dead

Last week I talked about how the protagonist of this series is one of my favourites in horror fiction. The series does exactly what I want to know after every zombie film - What next? Where does this go? What happens six months later. This series is pretty grim, what with all the zombies, but there is also a lot of hope in it, and for me hope is a pretty big part of what I like in any story. I just read that the series is being made into a TV show for AMC next year, and as I'm a fan of both of their other big shows (Mad Men and Breaking Bad), I am really jazzed about how they will adapt this amazing series.

2. Hellboy / BPRD

In a way, part of why I like these series is the same as why I'm a fan of Fables - they take classic folklore and give it a modern twist. Hellboy is simply an incredible character. I think I decided on loving this series when I read the two-page story, Pancakes, which shows a defining moment in the characters life, when he chose good over evil. The stories are incredible, the artwork is amazing (although BPRD's takes a little getting used to), and the graphic novels are actually decently priced (thanks Dark Horse!). The movie adaptations are great, but the original material is fan-freaking-tastic.

1. Scott Pilgrim

All right, I'll admit it, a huge part of why I love this series is because I'm Canadian. It takes a basic story (young man growing into adulthood and finding his first love) and then adds in the fact that in this world, if you date a girl you must battle each of her evil ex-boyfriends - in seriously awesome, martial arts battles. The series owes a lot to manga for its style and is incredibly funny. Scott's world is so well developed you end up caring for all of his friends and their stories too. Simply put, this is my current favourite comic book.