It goes without saying that the past 2 years have brought many shades of change to our daily lives and for me this meant sinking into a depressive spiral where I wouldn’t leave my home. I’ve recently developed a sort of ritual to try and break out of this, where I would go to my local library’s park, find a bench, soak up the crisp autumn air, and read for a few hours. My library has a small selection of graphic novels, one of which caught my eye: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Volume 1 of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s legendary series of Scott Pilgrim comics.

I was familiar with Scott Pilgrim, as I’ve seen the movie based on these comics about a thousand times growing up. Lots of late nights huddled around the TV with some friends, laughing and making memories. Somehow though, the comics have always eluded me and I never actually cracked one open and gave it a read. I thought I’d change this and checked out 2 volumes, of which I quickly blasted through in the next few days I had spent at that park. I was glued to the characters, the cozy Canadian small-town vibes, and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s vibrant art style. Reading these at the end of a stressful day felt like a little healing ritual.

I’m actually glad I held off on reading these until now, as they resonate much more with me as a 23 year old “adult” who is really just 3 children stacked atop eachother in a trenchcoat. The titular Scott Pilgrim is also 23, with many of his friends and familiars also being in that early 20s age range, and I saw different shades of myself reflected in each character. They all are facing the struggles of young adulthood as well as the moments of joy.

I’ve gotten in a rhythm of only reading these at the park, as they have become intimately attached with that healing process and have given me a reason to leave my house and touch grass lol. One thing lead to another, and I also started to use the walking path at this park, trying to walk for 30 minutes or more each time I was here, and it has dramatically improved my mental health. I don’t know that I would even be writing articles or working on videos if it wasn’t for those park visits, and I have Scott Pilgrim to thank for that. I also would like to thank nyadeon who is the absolute BIGGEST Scott Pilgrim head I know and definitely helped spark this whole chain of events!

Next, I would like to ramble on for a bit about Seconds, Bryan’s most recent solo work written in 2014. This one-shot comic has been recommended to me for years by my sister, only for it to join my enormous backlog of books to read. I bumped into it at Barnes & Noble and decided to finally give it a go, and I’m so glad I did. The story follows Katie, owner of a successful restaurant called Seconds, and her yearning to start a new chapter of life and open an even bigger, cooler restaurant. Things quickly turn south, and Katie is left wishing for a second chance, which is given to her by a mysterious glowing girl who appears in her room in the middle of the night.

The theme of Seconds is change, and the effects that both too little and too much change can have on your life and those around you. This resonated pretty deeply with me. As some of you might know, I’ve pretty much been a complete and total shut-in for the past 3ish years and it’s been something that I have carried with a lot of shame. Change has been extremely difficult for me and oftentimes has felt impossible, especially with my study-abroad plans being brought to a screeching halt by the pandemic. It felt like a swift kick back to square 1 during a time where I was finally starting to get my life on track. This time spent hanging out with my sister at Barnes & Noble and sharing books, laughs, and coffee has been paramount in motivating me to keep moving forward and trying to get better each day. I would happily recommend both of these comics to anyone who is curious, they might just change your life for the better like they have with mine. In closing, I will leave you with this art Bryan drew of Scott and Katie hangin’ out. Happy Reading!