Scott Pilgrim Launch Party report and pictures

On Monday night we attended the Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (vol.6) Launch Party, and while I knew that the comic was popular, I didn’t expect to see so many people crowding Markham Street, waiting for the book, and their hero, Bryan Lee O’Malley to sign it.

If you are not too familiar with Scott Pilgrim, it is a manga inspired-comic set in Toronto, starring the titular Scott Pilgrim and his efforts to win, and keep, his dream girl, Ramona Flowers by battling her seven ‘evil exes’. Since the first issue was released in 2004, it quickly gained a cult following amongst Toronto comic fans, but soon broke out into the mainstream and has become one of the most popular comics on the stands today. The book’s appeal lies in Bryan’s masterful mash-up of Japanese manga-style art, cool pop culture and video game references, and 20 something slacker angst – set in what is coming one of the coolest cities on the planet, Toronto.

The series’ popularity was rocketed even higher when Edgar Wright, British director of Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz , and, arguably, the king of geek directors , decided to make Scott Pilgrim his first American film, shooting it entirely in Toronto.

When I arrived for the event at approximately 10pm, there were already a lot of people filling the street, and a line-up snaking down the road. The crowd had fans eagerly waiting for midnight to roll around, and as the clock ticked closer, the line grew longer and longer. Even though there were a variety of ages represented at the party, I can certainly say that, as a geek in his mid-thirties, I am, and probably never was, the target demographic for Scott Pilgrim. This probably explains why I am not as big of a fan as some people. (In other news, I am slowly edging towards becoming old crank).

At 10.30pm there was a cosplay contest judged by Bryan, two cosplayers (whose names I did not catch), and Ellen Wong – the actor who plays Knives Chau in the movie. There were a lot of cosplayers there, and, of course, the most popular characters represented were Scott and Ramona, but there were also a lot of other cool costumes – my favourite being the evil-ex Matthew Patel, who I have a great picture of in the gallery . He was one of the runner-ups for the grand cosplay prize, the winners being the three fans dressed up as the band Crash and the Boys (which can also be found in the gallery).

As midnight drew closer, a second line-up formed, with even more fans who wanted to get their book signed by Bryan. I, personally, have never seen anything like this for a comic book! As the seconds counted down to midnight, the crowd started calling the numbers, as if it were New Year’s Eve. On the hour, Bryan sat down at the signing table, to the cheers of his adoring fans. Copies of the comic were handed out to people in line, and as I walked down the line to get some footage, many of them already had their heads buried in the final chapter of this epic series – some of those in the back had enough time to finish the book before they got to Bryan.

At 2.30am, when I was finally leaving, he was still there – signing, chatting, and having pictures taken with fans. Now that’s what I call fan-service. Apparently Bryan was there until almost 4am!

Now that the series is over, it’s evident that the fans are really going to miss Scott. Luckily for them, the movie is coming out in August, and hopefully it will do the books justice. It will be interesting to see, what with Vol.6 wrapping up the story nicely, if the success of the book, and (hopefully) the movie, will tempt Bryan to return with more Scott Pilgrim for the fans of the series. Wallace Wells spin-off anyone?

We also shot a lot of video at the event, including the Hand Eye Society indie gaming arcade, and a short interview with one of the organizers of the evening, Chris from the Beguiling. This video should be up soon, so check back with us.