Sketch Charlotte

I decided to post this since it doesn't look like the site I originally wrote it for is actually going to use it. :-(

Friday night at 7pm on October 5th, Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find hosted a signing with Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of indy darling Scott Pilgrim. O’Malley worked on Hopeless Savages then moved on to Lost at Sea before creating Scott Pilgrim. With Scott Pilgrim he really hit on something extraordinary. O’Malley has created a unique blend of comics and video game culture that leaves you with the feeling of listening to your favorite song. Like his contemporaries Corey Lewis (Shark Knife) and Brandon Graham (King City), O’Malley joins them in bringing music back into comics. It’s truly an awesome experience and a great series. There are three volumes of Scott Pilgrim currently published by Oni Press. Do you yourselves a favor and run out and purchase them.

Let me briefly talk about Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find. This is the type of comic shop everyone dreams about having in their home town. The store is nicely designed and the selection is out of this world. There aren’t many stores that carry such a wide variety of independent comics. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and shockingly; quite attractive. Seriously, come to the store sometime. It’s all overseen by Shelton Drum, who puts on one of the best comic conventions in the country with Heroescon.

Things started promptly at 7 pm. The crowd started out a bit slow but grew steady as the night progressed. I was expecting to see a large portion of the Emo set come out for the signing, so it was nice to see that people of all ages standing in line. One of the things that stood out right away about O’Malley was how personable he was. O’Malley, not only signed each book, but drew headshots as well. He drew detailed sketches for anyone who asked. He even did a portrait of one fan that was dead on in accuracy. It was nice to see an artist take the time for his fans. The fans seemed enthusiastic and grateful for his generosity. One fan even drove eight hours just to get a chance to meet him. He never grew tired of signing peoples copies of Scott Pilgrim and Lost at Sea.

O’Malley told the crowd that he had just finished Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4 on Sunday and if all goes well, it should be on sale November 7th. The crowd was quite happy to hear the news. He had original pages from the previous volumes for sale with him. I had the chance to peruse them and they were quite beautiful. It’s always neat to see a fellow artist’s pages up close and to be able to examine how they lay down the ink. The pages were only 8 ½ x 11 but highly detailed. Looking over the pages it was interesting to see that he actually letters them digitally. Another thing I noticed was how clean they were. They almost looked effortlessly drawn. He wound up selling a few before the night was over.

Throughout the night O’Malley talked about comics and music to a very responsive crowd. He may try to do some shorter stories in the future. O’Malley seemed excited at creating web and mini comics again. Especially, after something that could be as daunting as a 200 page graphic novel. The crowd would often talk about their favorite parts of the Scott Pilgrim stories. Some went so far as to dissect the characters a bit. You really got a sense that it spoke to them on many levels. O’Malley assured the crowd that more stories of their favorite slacker were on the way. What ever he decides to do next you can bet this crowd will follow him.

As the evening started to wrap up Shelton and crew popped open some wine and beer. They brought out some finger foods and the get together lasted into the night. Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find hosts a great event. This was one of the best signings I have ever been to. This felt more like a gathering a friends than a traditional signing. O’Malley seemed to enjoy himself and he came off as a witty and friendly creator. I even heard whispers that he may come down for Heroescon. I sincerely hope so