Urban Fantasy: It's Not Just For Goths!

Okay, now usually I love dark and spooky things, but from time to time I like variety! Neil Gaiman is great, but the majority of urban fantasy I see is, quite often, very dark. With dark aesthetics, dark character traits, dark humor, it's all a little same-same to me. I had trouble picking out what to read for this week because, aesthetically, a lot of Gaiman's work is the same. Not to say his work isn't great, I love his stuff, but I wanted to read something brighter.

Which is when I thought "Isn't Scott Pilgrim technically urban fantasy?" I mean, think about it. It's an out of the box, fantastical scenario that takes place in a modern setting. Sure, most of the fantasy aspects come from modern gaming, but those aspects themselves are based on fantasy. There's no denying that reading Scott Pilgrim is like diving into another world.

Like most fantasy work, Brian Lee O'Malley's graphic novel follows an unusual hero on a quest. Rather than a quest to save the world, Scott Pilgrim's quest is to defeat the seven evil exes of his girlfriend, Ramona Flowers. I think this was a really unique way to show the hero's journey. Rather than to save the world, to become a hero, or to look flippin' awesome, Scott goes on this quest for love. But it's not the typical kind of "save the princess and she'll marry you I guess" kind of love, where the reader never interacts with the "princess." In Scott Pilgrim, we see genuine feelings and emotions between two people, along with all the complexities that come with that.

For most of the story, we see our "hero" engaging with the "princess." Ramona isn't trapped, she's not bound, instead she's constantly encouraging Scott in his quest to win her over because she WANTS him to win her over. We even see Ramona fight, and protect Scott in some situations. We get to experience what Ramona thinks of Scott, and how her opinion of him changes over time. Unlike the typical "save the princess" type stories, it's not only about what the hero thinks of the princess, it's about what they think of each other.

Scott and Ramona do things together that they love to do, but also do things the other hates. The multiple facets of their relationship are tangible, and way more fun than most stories since there are giant hammers and super powered vegans thrown in. There is no damsel in distress situation, aside from one instance. In one volume, we see Ramona captured by one (technically two) of her evil exes, and Scott must free her from captivity via battle. Even during this time, we don't see Ramona as totally dependent on Scott.

So yeah, I'd say Scott Pilgrim is urban fantasy. It's got heroes, fight scenes, adventure, and a hero's journey. I'd love to see more urban fantasy that's bright like O'Malley's work is, because not everything has to be edgy and dark. Though, edgy and dark things are very fun.