This is my cover design for Adam Perry's new novel, Boxing Gorillas to be released on Sept 30th. Boxing Gorillas is pulp-ish book filled with memorable characters, cars, women, and action...not to mention some laughs along the way...all set against the beautiful Alabama coast.
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I've always loved this video...never realized that this one was created by the same artist who did the Scott Pilgrim game. Animator Paul Robertson has done some powerfully messed up work, this one being perhaps his most tame. Hit up his livejournal site to see the rest.
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In case you missed it last week...here's what you would have read, because if you haven't read it, it's new to you. A full week of Scott Pilgrim. Behold:
Stage 1: Epicly Epic Review of the Edgar Wright movie, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Stage 2: Double Review of the Film's Soundtrack & Score
Stage 3: Review of Ubisoft's Videogame Adaptation: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Stage 4: Game Concept Animatic
Stage 5: Review of the Entire Bryan Lee O'Malley Graphic Novel
BONUS STAGE: One last dollop of Awesome Sauce on top:
A nice little gem from Adult Swim...this is a bit from the books that didn't make it to the movies. But it features the movie's cast as voice talent. WIN.
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Australian by way of UK designer Timba Smits is doing some really interesting stuff with vintage style and textures, mixed with contemporary street taste. The retro/kitsch thing can get a little old, but Timba seems to find ways to keep it fresh by going even MORE retro than most designers do. He is employing lots of texture and hand-drawn elements which give his work an authenticity that is beyond just being retro-ish. I'm way impressed and more than a little envious of his formidable skills. Must be all the Vegemite.
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If you've hit this site over the last week, you have seen precious little other than Scott Pilgrim stuff. In fact, I don't know that I've posted anything other than that. Well, let's wrap it up, shall we. This week closes with one final hurah ... an epic combo review of the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World soundtrack & Score.
Review by Chris Nolen
The end result of inspired musical choices, and a score that is a masterful blend of the film's core references, is a sound scape that is as crucial to telling the story as Wright's visuals. You may find yourself remembering the moments of musical brilliance just as much as the best fight sequences, which is no small feat. Fans of the books, the film, and video games will find little to complain about. This combo is like some our fondest memories thrown in a blender with a shot of awesome...served with a slice of lime. A bittersweet coctail of our youth.
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Review By Chris Nolen
Bringing a cherished cult property to life on film must be a terrifying prospect. In many ways, it's an impossible task. If you are too faithful to the idiosyncratic bits of original material, you lose mass appeal. If you fail to capture the minutia and the spirit of the property, then you alienate the core fan base. The further out and more obscure it is, the more polarizing this effect becomes. Likewise, it is difficult to be a fan because you want to support when a talented and respectful team do their best...but you must understand that some sacrifices must be offered up to commercial success. It is a very rare and special piece of film that casts its lot completely with the fans...choosing to do so because the team making it has that much faith in the material and the studio is farsighted enough to understand the long-term bet is good even if it doesn't dominate the box office.
All I could think while watching Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was "How the hell did this get made?" I can't really answer that, but I'm sure glad it did.
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This is a pretty cool little bit of geekery. You know how when people need to sell an idea, they sometimes get visual aids like slides and such? Well Ubisoft actually put together this animatic/prototype that shows the concept for the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game and its many scenes that reference classic games. And it features chiptune versions of Cherub Rock and Seven Nation Army. Rawk. The final game didn't end up too close to this (it is actually much better,) but this is a cool insight into how this stuff is done, nonetheless. Enjoy.
NOTE: The play button is hard to see...got clipped off. Just click the little blue part in the lower right corner.
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image from PS3 version
PS3/XBOX 360
Review By Chris Nolen
Even more so than movies, videogames are the ideal medium to retell the story of the Scott Pilgrim novels. After all, the very structure of the tale is built around videogame conventions: boss battles, leveling up, co-operative play, and statistics. For a more detailed recap of the how this story works, view my full review of the graphic novel series here. Now if you are up to speed, let me say that a giant kudos goes out to the minds Ubisoft and the marketing team at Universal Pictures, who somehow managed to not only tell the story well in its natural format, but miraculously picked the most absolutely perfect game to emulate in doing so...the side-scrolling beat'em up, River City Ransom (RCR.)
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Review By Chris Nolen
It is in O’Malley’s ability to make complex subject matter not only digestible, but entertaining, by speaking the language of his audience. The artistic style is inspired by Japanese cartoons, or Manga, a style that fits the video game references and structure well. To those who aren’t fans of the style, it can be a bit off-putting. But the dialog and depth of the stories and well-developed characters and relationships balance out the art style perfectly, bridging the gap between serious storytelling and comedic fare. It’s true that O’Malley does seem to have found a wonderful balance of accessibility and depth, and a fan of a well-told-story should not miss out on the Scott Pilgrim series simply because of the art style. And if you are from the Nintendo Generation, or love pop culture in general, it is a can’t miss cultural landmark series...that, along with the film adaptation, is another step toward videogames being accepted as a mature medium for the masses.
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artwork by Bryan Lee O'Malley
That's right, boys and girls. This week, it's all Scott Pilgrim to honor not only the release of the Film (Friday), but the PSN/XBOX LIVE! game (Tuesday, and it is way awesome), and the soundtrack (also Tuesday) featuring Beck, Broken Social Scene, Metric, Frank Black, and more.
To catch you up on Scott Pilgrim if you don't know, it began as a series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. These books are pretty much everything a kid growing up in the 80's and 90's could ever hope for rolled up into one manga-inspired package. At its heart, it is a romantic comedy...but it is also filled with ninja fights, video game iconography, robots, flaming swords, and Canadian garage rock. It truly does capture the spirit of a generation that grew up with its noses planted in cell-phones and gameboys. It is a celebration of gamer-geek culture.
You know, that pretty much sums up what I've tried to do with NoleoFantastico.com as well...just gather up all the cool stuff that interests me and present it to the world. But with less ninja fights.
So, what is on tap for Scott Pilgrim week?
Tuesday: Review of Scott Pilgrim 6-book graphic novel series
Wednesday: Review of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World game
Thursday/Friday: Review of motion picture soundtrack
Saturday/Sunday: Review of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World movie
I hope you all find this world as awesome as I do. And here's crossing fingers that the movie is as good as Rotten Tomatoes says (79% fresh!)
To put a nice little bow on this post, check out my Scott Pilgrim character below...
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