I hate it when a beloved series rushes through its climax. I felt that with Y: The Last Man, and I’m currently feeling that creeping sensation with Ex Machina. Nothing worse than enjoying a series for years, anticipating the unique storytelling opportunities that only a finale can offer, and then discovering that the creators have very, *ahem* different notions of what closure means (*ahem* Lost, Battlestar, Alf, etc…)

But Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, Bryan Lee O’Malley’s thoroughly personal conclusion to the series (coming soon to a theatre near you), is decidedly all killer with no filler. The book has one thing on its mind, namely “what’s Scott’s problem?” O’Malley wastes little time reminding us of the trainwreck that is Scott’s post-Volume 5-life, before throttling the story ahead and forcing Scott to confront his greatest enemy: Scott. Along the way we encounter new revelations about old events, characters who’ve been MIA for several books, and a balls-out crazy battle all leading up to what is, in fact, Scott’s finest hour.

Umm, you can probably tell by this point that I’m a fan—stood in line to buy it at midnight, got O’Malley to sign my poster, all that good stuff (by the way, if you missed the party at The Beguiling in Toronto, you missed out). That aside, I really loved this book. I have a personal preference for Volume 4, but Finest Hour definitely stands among the strongest of the Pilgrim books. It’s certainly the most eventful, exciting, and introspective of the series. Go read it now. Now!

From this point on in the review, SPOILERS AHOY. Read the rest of this entry »