Omar Reviews: Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley

It has been four years since Bryan Lee O’Malley released the sixth and final volume of his Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour. It has been well over two years since his new book, Seconds, was announced. And it was three weeks after the release of the book that I was able to sit down and read it. It was worth the wait.

Seconds is the story of Katie, a 29 year old chef at a popular restaurant called Lucky’s. Her dream is to own her own restaurant, a dream she is working toward achieving. Katie lives above Lucky’s. One night, she discovers a box in her apartment. Inside the box is a notebook, a single mushroom, and a notecard offering the opportunity for a second chance. All she has to do is write down her biggest mistake, ingest the mushroom, and go to sleep. When she wakes up, the mistake will not have happened. But you’re only allowed one chance, and the mistake must have occurred in Lucky's. What would you do with that power? Would you change one large mistake from your past and be satisfied? Or, would you find a way to change all of your mistakes, attempting to create your perfect life? That is the dilemma facing Katie once she finds the source of the magic. Like all great fantasy, things are not as simple as they appear.

Seconds is one part science fiction, one part fantasy, and one part reality. It is, first and foremost, a character driven book. Most of the story revolves around Katie’s emotional development. Bryan Lee O’Malley is a master of blending the fantastical and the mundane. The fantastical elements of the story serve to highlight the more realistic elements of Katie’s journey, a journey I was happy to take with her. I found myself identifying with Katie more and more throughout the book, as someone who wants to own my own business, as someone who wishes they could change their mistakes, and as a person who has learned from their mistakes. I wanted things to end well for her; I felt that if things ended well for her, they could end well for me as well.

O’Malley’s stylized artwork comes to life in this book. Seconds is some of his best artwork to date. His cartoon-inspired style serves to beautifully mix the elements of reality and fantasy. Like Scott Pilgrim, many settings in Seconds are based on real places which helps the book seem more real. I always love that O’Malley draws characters that look sort of the same, yet entirely different. They look like they all belong in the same book together and the same world, but you never get characters confused for other characters. Too many graphic novels run into the problem of characters looking too similar; Seconds doesn't have that problem at all.

Seconds is aptly titled. As soon as I was done reading it, I wanted to read it again. I was skeptical that Bryan Lee O'Malley would ever be able to churn out something as fun, poignant, and enjoyable as Scott Pilgrim. Not because he's untalented, but simply because Scott Pilgrim was incredible. Then he released Seconds, and I remembered why it's worth it to wait four years for his work. O’Malley never fails to impress.

If you have never read a graphic novel, Seconds would be a great choice for your first.

P.S. – Fans of Scott Pilgrim, keep an eye out. You may recognize a few of the characters in the background.

Omar Reviews: Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Prior to reading it for this review, Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley sat near the top of my "Must Read" list for years. Though O’Malley has been one of my favorite comic creators for a while, I never quite brought myself to read Lost at Sea. I’m not sure if it was because I never had access to it, or if it was never the right time. But now, I have read it. And I am glad I did.

This is O’Malley’s first original work. He wrote and released it while working on what eventually became the first Scott Pilgrim book, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. Lost at Sea is the story of four 18-year-olds traveling from California back to their homes in Canada. We experience the story from the perspective of Raleigh, a sullen young woman who claims to have no soul. As the four travel through California, enjoying their travels, Raleigh remains quiet and introspective. This isn't an adventure book; it’s a quiet book about a girl just trying to understand herself.

Lost at Sea reads very much like an 18-year-old’s journal. Normally, that would be enough to stop me from ever reading this book. When I first started, I thought I was going to have to force myself through it. Luckily, that wasn't the case. As I read, I wanted to read more (I consider this an achievement, since I won’t even read my journals from that age, much less anyone else’s journals). The sadness at times is palpable. The narration (Raleigh’s inner monologue) does a great job of making you feel the sadness that Raleigh is feeling. At times, though, I found myself wanting to shake Raleigh and tell her that her problems are childish (I wouldn't do that). But no matter what, I wanted to keep reading.

O’Malley’s writing in Lost at Sea is solid, though not what I had come to expect based on his later works. He knows how to tell a coherent story about characters that are easy to love. Lost at Sea feels much more stream of consciousness than typical graphic novels. While it works for Lost at Sea, a story very much about Raleigh’s thoughts and feelings, I’m glad that it’s a style that O’Malley veered away from in his later works. His art, however, is just as wonderful here as it is later in his career. Simplistic, yet incredibly emotive. Lost at Sea is not as action packed as the Scott Pilgrim series, but O’Malley makes great use of the panels and the pages.

The blurb on the back of the book says “If you've ever been eighteen, or confused, or both, maybe you should read this book.” That’s a fairly accurate assessment. There are a lot of people who just would not get this book. The feeling of just laying back and basking in your sadness is foreign to many people. Those of us who understand what it means to be inconsolably sad, and those that know that sometimes in order to get through sadness one must dive further into it, will grasp the full weight of Lost at Sea. Even if you can’t identify with Raleigh’s story, it’s easy to identify with her feelings.

It sounds like this is an endlessly sad book, and in many ways it can be. But not all sadness is completely sad. And sad stories such as Lost at Sea are worth the price.