In today’s interview, we’re excited to speak with Bryan Lee O’Malley, the creator of the beloved Scott Pilgrim series. Over the past two decades, O’Malley’s work has captured the hearts of fans worldwide, and solidified a lasting legacy in both comics and pop culture at-large. It’s a career that’s perhaps expertly, if not entirely, encapsulated in the recently-released Scott Pilgrim anniversary box set, which features fresh design elements and nostalgic extras.
In the chat, O’Malley reflects on the series’ unexpected success, the enduring fandom, and how new generations continue to discover and connect with Scott Pilgrim. We’ll also talk about what’s next for the Scott Pilgrim franchise, including new action figures and collectibles and the cathartic experience of revisiting these iconic characters. Plus, his experience working on the new animated adaptation of Scott Pilgrim.
And don’t miss out on even more Scott Pilgrim action as Bryan is hitting the road with a U.S./Canada tour, where fans can meet him and celebrate this milestone anniversary. The outing begins on September 28.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
AIPT: Hi Bryan, David Brooke here from AIPTcomics.com. With the 20th anniversary taking place just a few days ago, what would you have told yourself 20 years ago now that you’ve seen so much success with Scott Pilgrim?
Bryan Lee O’Malley: Well, I distinctly remember the economic anxiety I had exactly 20 years ago, so I would tell myself that I’m financially stable thanks to Scott Pilgrim. That still sounds bizarre and unlikely to me. But somehow, fans keep discovering the books, fans who weren’t even born 20 years ago. Thank you, fans, for keeping me financially stable.
AIPT: I got an advance copy of the box set and, sir, congratulations. It’s impressive. If you had to pick two of your favorite design elements, what would they be?
BLO: One, I really love the hand-drawn SP20 logo Patrick Crotty came up with, and I love the big glossy version of it on the side of the box. I love mixing textures like that.
Two, I think we’re also all really happy with the shiny foil SP20 sticker in the corner of the box. That was another nice touch Patrick came up with.
Courtesy of Oni Press.
AIPT: The box set has great extras like the seventh book featuring your commentary, stickers, art prints, and posters. Were some of these materials made for the box set itself or materials you had made over the years?
BLO: I didn’t have a ton of time to do new art for this box set, but I wanted to do all-new art for the covers, without trying to overshadow the original art. It was fun to revisit the covers with the context of 20 years of fandom. The stickers came out of that work too. The extras book was mostly edited together from existing pages that were published in the hardcover editions, with lots of little updates.
AIPT: There have been innovations in gaming of late, like VR. Do new games or tech ever make you itchy to jump back into the Scott Pilgrim world?
BLO: I never really clicked with VR. Maybe because I wear thick glasses and I’m prone to motion sickness. But I heard they have a new thing called the Wii where you can shake a stick and the game does stuff. Wow. We’ll have to wait and see I guess.
AIPT: From the box set, to the recent cartoon doing a new take on the series, are there any goals for this property for the future?
BLO: It was pretty cathartic to do the show on a personal level. I loved getting to work on that with everyone. The box set is a nice thing to have in the world. As long as I keep getting to make cool stuff with talented people, these characters are fun to do it with. I’m sure the flow of new stuff will slow to a trickle for a while, but we should have some new action figures and other stuff coming down the pipe pretty soon.
AIPT: In ten years, Oni Press asks to get in on a 30 year anniversary box set. What’s one thing you’d have to add to make it extra special?
BLO: I think I’m pretty tapped out. You’d have to put an actual portal to subspace in the box to make it any more special.
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