“Scott, if your life had a face, I’d punch it.”
What’s it all about? About two minutes from my apartment, there was a block party last night — a block part to end all block parties. Why was it so good? Because it was the release party for the final volume of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim.
And Bryan was there for the block party, cheerfully signing books and posters for the ridiculous amount of hipsters, nerds and Scott-loving Torontonians who showed up for the night. Not only was Bryan there, the amount of Scott Pilgrim swag was to-die-for. I’m currently wearing a Scott Pilgrim tshirt underneath my business-casual work clothes.
The girl in the black dress (front) looks creepily like my roommate.
Also, there were sales at the Beguiling, the comic book store (where all my money goes) that was hosting the event. (Bryan was an employee of the Beguiling when he still lived in Toronto.) Besides the Scott Pilgrim swag and deals on comics near the Beguiling, there were live bands, an early leak of the soundtrack from the forthcoming Edgar Wright film and a costume contest.
Crash and the Boys for the win.
Of course, three guys wearing black tshirts, goggles and orange gloves–Crash and the Boys–won over some of the more dedicated costumes, specifically the plethora of Ramonas and Roxys. But they were in character, and hilarious, so, there’s no harm done there. To be quite honest, Ellen Wong (who plays Knives Chau in the upcoming movie) should have entered the contest.
Bryan and Ellen, two lovable Torontonians.
Yes, most of the night was spent in line waiting for the latest volume of Scott Pilgrim, and to meet Bryan. However, the time seemed to fly by. There were so many people, and they all had their own opinions about the nerdiest things possible. It made for great conversation. Even though I got home well after 1 a.m., I still read Vol. 6 as soon as I got to my apartment.
The whole night was reminiscent of the five midnight releases I suffered through in various bookstores for Harry Potter books. But this was outside, smack-dab in the middle of Mirvish Village, with so many ridiculously friendly and excited Torontonians that nothing could go wrong.
Notes: All photos in this post are courtesy of Bryan Lee O’Malley of Radiomaru.com, except for Alex Crocker’s shot of Crash and the Boys, because I’m still too cheap to shill out cash for a camera.
Sasha James, otherwise known as The Final Girl Project, is a twenty-something Torontonian with an unhealthy amount of her week reserved for film and television. She also moonlights as The Doctor's companion on Saturdays. 
I was one of the boys and crash!
@Alex That’s awesome! Do you have any pictures of you guys? I’ll put one up on the site.
Wow, that does look like me.
@Kim It kind of creeps me out.
@Sasha
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs039.ash2/35321_445071914065_512764065_5942555_2086630_n.jpg
Here you go!
@Alex Thank you, Darling. That’s complete perfection.
Awesome! Man I’m jealous, this sounds like so much fun! I missed my chance to meet Bryan at the NY Comic Con two years ago and still regret it. I still haven’t gotten my hands on the new book- is it good?
@Alex The new book’s fantastic, but I’m a little miffed at the absence of Kim Pine. I’m kind of in love with her. But, you know, it’s a pretty good conclusion to an amazing series. Books 2-4 are still my favourites, however.
Wish I coulda been there. Looks like it was a lot of fun.
@Lev It was, it was.