Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O?Malley decided to share a single page from ?Scott Pilgrim? vol 4. This reminded me that I did a Q&A with him a while back (last spring) and never shared it. I mostly kept it to myself because I stopped writing my column, ?Trade Waiting? and because O?Malley seemed annoyed with my questions.

So here, for the first time, is my (uncut) Q&A with Bryan Lee O?Malley

Scott: What genre would you say “Scott Pilgrim” falls under?
Bryan: I don’t write for genre. That’s for you to decide.

Scott: Scott comes off stupid but extremely sincere, was this done to make him a more relatable character or if not, then why?
Bryan: It was mainly done because it’s easier to write someone more clueless than yourself.

Scott: Scott is 23 and seems to exist in that place in life between being a teenager and being an adult, is this an accurate description of where Scott is in life?
Bryan: Scott is indicative of the early-20s age group these days. People seem to act like teenagers for a really long time.

Scott: Knives seems to change the most out of everyone is this first volume, but she also comes off as one of the most vulnerable characters. Is this simply because she is younger and still trying to figure out who she is or why?
Bryan: It’s because she is younger. You’re answering your own questions.

Scott: Did you feel it was risky having a 23 year old date a 17 year old?
Bryan: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Risky personally for me? No. Risky for Scott? No. He did it because he was stalled at a high school level, emotionally, and dating a high schooler made him feel safe and comfortable.

Scott: Scott defends dating Knives by saying, “I? I don’t know. It’s just nice, you know? It’s just simple.” Which shows a lot more depth to his character than had previously been seen at that point? I was curious as to why there were not more moments like this one in the first volume.
Bryan: I think that’s my prerogative. As you get to know a person, you see more sides of him or her, and that’s one of my storytelling approaches. The reader will get to see Scott’s vulnerable side gradually.

Scott: For “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life” the main cast seems to include Scott, Ramona and Knives while Wallace, Stephen, Kim, Stacey, and Mathew hold the supporting roles?but there were still tons of other characters that made an appearance. Where you ever worried about readers being confused with so many people? Why introduce so many characters?
Bryan: Again, one of my goals is to try to introduce the reader to characters as you would get to know a real person. When you’re introduced to a new group of friends, you get a broad impression of each one at first, and as time passes your impression of that person changes and becomes more rounded. I want the world and the group of friends to feel real and comfortable. I trust the readers to keep up.

Scott: The tone of the story has a very voyeuristic feel to it, was this done intentionally or something that evolved during the creation process?
Bryan: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you think movies are voyeuristic? It’s not voyeuristic at all.

Scott: How pre-plotted was “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little life?” because a lot of scenes seem to be ones that organically come from the characters.
Bryan: It might seem that way because I know how to write things that feel natural.

Scott: Although the world of “Scott Pilgrim” is one where anything can happen, the real meat of this first story is grounded in reality by being about a love triangle. Was the character drama side of the story and the crazy-anything-goes side two separate things that came together later or what?
Bryan: It’s not separate. It’s very much intertwined. The first volume is intended to sneak up on you a bit, but if you re-read it, you’ll see that the seeds are there throughout.

Scott: There are a lot of pop-culture references, were these simply jokes or is there more of a thematic meaning to them?
Bryan: I don’t like making overt pop-culture references. I’d like them to be woven into the fabric of the story so the readers pick them up almost subconsciously, and so that readers who don’t “get” the references aren’t sitting there scratching their heads. There is more of a thematic reason for them, too, yes.

Scott: How important is the humor in “Scott Pilgrim?”
Bryan: I think it’s important. It’s supposed to be kind of funny.

Scott: I have work with a girl who is from Toronto. I was telling her about how I was emailing the writer of “Scott Pilgrim” questions and she told me that “Scott Pilgrim” is a song by a band called Plumb Tree, is that true?
Bryan: Maybe you could try googling it before asking me that. The band is called Plumtree. I’m a little insulted by your lack of basic research.

Scott: “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life” breaks the fourth wall at several points and makes it clear to the readers that it is aware of itself, why do that?
Bryan: Because the medium is the message.