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TORONTO: COME ONE, COME ALL! Our very good friend Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of the international bestselling graphic novel series SCOTT PILGRIM, will be making his triumphant return to Toronto, a year since the awesome midnight release party for Scott Pilgrim volume 6!

The Scott Pilgrim Midnight Release Party drew 2,000 fans to normally quiet and quaint Markham Street last July to grab a copy of the new graphic novel and meet the creator of this epic series of epicness. O’Malley hasn’t been back to Toronto since then, and this Saturday, July 9th, he’ll return to meet & greet fans, sign books, and hang out in the neighbourhood that inspired that graphic novels and the cult-classic movie!

This event will feature an exclusive and limited-edition print designed by O’Malley featuring Ramona Flowers, and will be made available for sale for just $5! But all Scott Pilgrim fans are invited to show up in costume, and if they do they get a copy of the print for free!

Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, box sets, action figures, t-shirts, and other posters will be made available for sale at the event courtesy of The Beguiling.

Also, be sure not to miss the screening of SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, free at Harbourfront Centre Tuesday, July 5th at 9pm! For details visit http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/.

Click to enlarge (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

Last night Scott Pilgrim fans of all stripes—dorks, hipsters and everything in between—descended upon Toronto’s Mirvish Village for the midnight release of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s sixth and final volume in the series: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. Markham Street played host to a veritable nerd block party of epic proportions, complete with costumes, video games, rock music and a lineup that stretched all the way to Bathurst.

It must have been a surreal experience for creator O’Malley, who was the guest of honour; To see people coming together and enjoying something you have created must be wonderful and humbling. O’Malley happily signed books for his fans late into the night. He seemed to be having just as much fun as everyone else.

Zack, Jonathan, Ian and myself were there to check out the festivities; I have to report that a good time was had by all. Early in the evening I remarked that could now say that “I was there when the Scott Pilgrim phenomenon jumped the shark”, but I realized later that I was being entirely too negative. I get the feeling that when the film version hits in a few weeks—no matter how it is received—Scott Pilgrim will belong to the world. After last night I’m satisfied to say that “I was there for Scott Pilgrim‘s last big Toronto hurrah”, truly his finest hour.

See pictures from the Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour Midnight Release Party after the jump.

The view from Bloor Street looking down Markham (Photo by Will Perkins)

Fans gathering outside of The Beguiling (Photo by Will Perkins)

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour poster outside The Beguiling. (Photo by Will Perkins)

Fans dressed as Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers. (Photo by Will Perkins)

Suspect Video done up like its graphic novel counterpart: No Account Video (Photo by Will Perkins)

Baby raccoons, also known as rats in the Honest Ed’s sign. (Photo by Jonathan Ore)

Costume contest in full swing. (Photo by Will Perkins)

Crowd gathered for the costume contest. (Photo by Jonathan Ore)

A view of The Beguiling early in the night. (Photo by Jonathan Ore)

Plum Tomato debuted the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie soundtrack. (Photo by Jonathan Ore)

Fans battle it out for the amusement of all. (Photo by Jonathan Ore)

Fans inside The Beguiling. (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

The fine gents from A&C Games brought old school video game goodness. (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

Fans dressed as Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers. (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

Madness ensues as the clock strikes twelve. (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

Bryan Lee O’Malley signs copies of Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour for fans. (Photo by Will Perkins)

The back of the line read their new books while waiting to get them signed. (Photo by Zack Kotzer)

Got any shots from Monday night? Share them in the comments or email them to us and we’ll add them.

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.

As the book opens, we sense that Scott has not moved off his couch since we left him in vs. The Universe. Ramona is long gone, he’s a shell of his former self, and Wallace wastes no time in telling him so. Stephen Stills has moved on to a new band, and it is at one of their shows* where Scott learns, definitively, that Knives is over him. After another awkward meeting with Envy Adams (from Vol 3!) Scott finally agrees to visit Kim at her parents’ up north. It is here that Scott realizes his true secret—the fact that he, Scott Pilgrim, is often kind of a dick.

While getting his heart broken, it turns out that he was doing just as much breaking (of hearts), and hasn’t really managed to learn much from it. For me, this was certainly the most resonant part of this book, perhaps of the series. Who among us can’t relate to things we’ve done to sabotage past relationships—the things we swear we’ll never do again, but then don’t really think much about until we realize we’ve done them one more time. Scott sees the common thread between his own gallery of exes, and resolves to make things right.

It’s at the one third mark that Scott man’s up, hops a Greyhound (literally, he rides on the roof) and storms into the new Toronto club owned by Gideon, Evil Ex #7 (as my girlfriend pointed out, Gideon’s club is located at Bathurst and Queen, in what used to be a homeless shelter—what a douche!) Gideon and Scott are soon battling it out until they realize that Ramona is with neither of them. From here the rest of the book is a roller coaster of personal revelations, ninja swords, and surprise team-ups.

One of the things I’ve always admired in this series is O’Malley’s unique ability to tell familiar relationship stories through the unusual lens of video game action. In Finest Hour, this talent for dramatizing personal growth through 64-hit combos is on full display. These are the long relationship conversations that everyone has had, only with added urgency, violence, and swordplay. Once Ramona returns, the story really falls into place. This was never just Scott’s story, it was always the story of Scott and Ramona. She has just as many demons to overcome, and she does so in equally powerful style.

As I said up top, I love when a story doesn’t skimp on the climax, and Finest Hour skimps on nothing. We don’t just find out what happens, but what was happening all along—what the story was about. In the end, Scott Pilgrim is about taking a stand against your own flaws, accepting help from your friends, and knowing when you have to do the work yourself. I loved the Scott’s dreams, Knive’s self-awareness, Envy’s terrifying (yet still hot) outfits, the memory cam complete with Tanooki Suit, Scott’s awesome shirt, the unexpected impaling, Gideon’s own exes, the many Ramona’s, and the pitch-perfect closing pages. If you’re still reading this review, you’re gonna read the book. So go do that. Or reread it—it’s worth it.

*Stephen Stills band’s show was at the Cameron House, the bar where my sketch troupe did a poorly-attended monthly show for a year. The attention to detail on this scene, down to the unusually low bike rack outside, made me very happy.

Mirvish Village becomes the epicentre of all things Scott Pilgrim this evening with the midnight release of the sixth and final volume of the series: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. The Beguiling and Oni Press have teamed up to turn Markham Street into Scott Pilgrim central for the release of the new book, the whole event kicks off at 9:00pm. Author Bryan Lee O’Malley will be there to meet fans and sign copies of volume six until 1:00am.

But it wouldn’t be a Scott Pilgrim themed evening without rock music and video games, now would it? Next door, The Central will play host to a full line-up of awesome bands, including Sister, Hurry Hard, Chang-A-Lang and Soft & Wet. Across the street, Rocco’s Plum Tomato will be debuting Anamanaguchi’s soundtrack for the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World video game from Ubisoft. And if that’s not enough video game for you, the fine folks from the Toronto Hand Eye Society will be at Butler’s Pantry showing off the latest and greatest local indie games from Spooky Squid, Spyeart, GetSetGames, ][ Games and more.

There will also be a costume contest at the space formerly known as David Mirvish Books, with prizes for the person sporting the best Scott Pilgrim related outfit.

Artist Michael DeForge will be selling copies of his awesome Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour launch poster.

Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour: Midnight Release Party happens tonight, Monday July 19th starting at 9pm on Markham Street just south of Bloor.

For more info check out The Beguiling and the official Facebook event page.

Comic Book Confidential is a great documentary and I highly recommend it to anyone with a love of comic books.  Hell, even if you don’t like comic books the film provides a very entertaining history of the medium.

Comic Book Confidential, with an introduction by director Ron Mann, is on Saturday, May 2nd, at 11:59 PM at Innis College Town Hall. That’s 2 Sussex Ave., one block south of Bloor and St. George.

via CINSSU – Free Friday Films and TorontoComics.com.