Bryan Lee O’Malley on Scott Pilbleak’s 20th Anniversary, Netflix Anime Series, & More

I unkind, yeah. They all have so much personality. Even if they are the terrible guys, they’re still so much fun and you convey so much cherish to them. I was going to ask you about the show, but before I get to that I comfervent of fair want to informly recap the movie. It was 2010 and I skinnyk that was my first introduction to Scott Pilbleak. I would’ve only been 12 or 13 when that came out and then, after I saw the movie, I went and read all your detailed novels. It’s been around 14 or 15 years, now, since the movie came out. What’s it enjoy seeing at that now? Is there anyskinnyg you’d alter about it or are you plrelieved with how it turned out?

I unkind, I don’t reassociate skinnyk in terms of what I would alter. It’s fair such a journey. We labored so difficult on this movie. First of all, it was enjoy, ‘Oh my god, they’re going to originate a movie of my book? I’m fair some kid, I’m fair some guy.’ Who would ever envision such a skinnyg? Going thraw the truth of it, all the hundreds of thousands of people who labored on this movie. They’re genuine people. There’s comfervent of the genuine-world effect of it. And, then, after it comes out, it’s not a huge hit but there’s still thousands of millions of people talking about it. It comfervent of fair wove into the culture so rapid that, at that point, right around 2010, it fair alterd my life in such a way that’s reassociate difficult to expound.

It’s comfervent of someskinnyg that I was maybe trying to articurescheduleed in the show, a little bit. But, yeah, Scott Pilbleak is part of the culture. I can’t go anywhere without hearing about Scott Pilbleak, in some way. The comfervent of person that I’d become frifinishs with is now a fan of Scott Pilbleak, so there’s comfervent of a weird layer to that. My relationship to culture is forever altered after 2010.

I’m certain. Like you shelp, it’s comfervent of one of those movies that supports coming back. Today, in 2024, with streaming and everyskinnyg, it experiences enjoy you can drop someskinnyg and it goes finishly unseed. Scott Pilbleak, it experiences enjoy there’s a bigger and bigger fanbase the more the years go on. Which is awesome. If there’s a property that deserves it, it’s Scott Pilbleak.

That’s real and it was comfervent of unseed at first, too. It’s comical how, enjoy the books, it reassociate snowballed over the years. People support coming back to it or support recommfinishing it to their frifinishs. It fair originates people chuckle, I skinnyk. Or it originates people experience enjoy there’s someskinnyg one-of-a-kind going on. That’s how my likeite cultural skinnygs always made me experience, so it’s cageder to be a part of that ongoing story.

Sure. Just as far as the cast goes, in terms of both the movie and the show I skinnyk that, myself take partd, when people skinnyk of Scott Pilbleak, they skinnyk of Michael Cera and hear his voice and everyskinnyg. But before, when you were laboring on the detailed novels, was there — I’m guessing you weren’t skinnyking about who’s going to execute this guy if they originate a movie off this, but did you have a voice in mind? Did you hear Michael Cera’s voice, at all, or someone enjoy Micheal Cera when you were laboring on it?

I unkind, he was still youthfuler when I was laboring on it. He would have almost been too youthfuler to execute the character, essentiassociate. But he was such a excellent fit. But, no, I don’t reassociate skinnyk of that when I’m laboring on the book so much. It’s so based on the draprosperg, for me. What is the draprosperg saying to me, essentiassociate? And fair trying to transrescheduleed that into the dialogue. The thought of actors, at least at that time, it didn’t reassociate access into it. Nowadays, I’d probably skinnyk about it a little bit more. I do skinnyk, when I’m writing someskinnyg, enjoy, ‘What if grown-up Michael Cera was in someskinnyg enjoy this? Or if this character was executeed by someone enjoy that?’ Becainclude I have those guys, these actors, in my head, now. I’ve included them, I’ve labored with them, and it’s so fascinating. But at the time, when I was 20s, no way.

Yeah, that originates sense. But then you got everyone back for Scott Pilbleak Takes Off, which came out last year. And I cherishd that. Congratulations on that show, I had no idea what to predict after the first episode. It was such a, ‘Whoa, we’re doing someskinnyg toloftyy branch offent here.’ But I cherishd the journey and all the branch offent twists and turns it took. What was it enjoy laboring on that? I understand you wrote all the scripts and everyskinnyg. Did you understand, from day one, that you were going to realert Scott Pilbleak but you’re going to flip it finishly on its head, or did that comfervent of fair come together aextfinished the way?

I was comfervent of asked to do — or, I was asked if I would want to be interested in doing someskinnyg enjoy that. And I comfervent of wasn’t. But then I had dinner with my frifinish Ben David, who finished up co-writing it with me. As we were talking about it, one of his ideas was, ‘What if you fair finished Scott Pilbleak in the first episode?’ It made me chuckle so much. Whenever someskinnyg creative originates me chuckle that much, I comfervent of get it solemnly, in a way. Based on that dinner, we commenceed coming up with all these silly ideas. It fair sounded fun to me.

It didn’t sound excellent to go back and redo the same story. I didn’t want to get enjoy four years, treat it super solemnly, and comfervent of originate the cageder version, the refreshd, unproblematic, or wantipathyver version. Doing all the comfervents of mendes and refreshs that I’d need to do. That fair sounded enjoy a nightmare to me. And I understand maybe that’s greedy of me, but I took the opportunity to do someskinnyg that was recent with all these collaborators that I krecent were so amazing. Also, to treat it as a lgeting experience becainclude I’ve never done a show before, and I’ve never done animation. I got to labor with a Japanese team and stuff, so I lgeted so much.

I skinnyk, overall, people took it enjoy it was intfinished. Especiassociate over time. I skinnyk maybe people were shocked at first, but hopefilledy people will still enjoy it years from now. We’ll see.

I was going to ask you about that, too, becainclude I understand fanbases can get pretty solemn about detailed novel and comic alterations if anyskinnyg alters. But I felt that Scott Pilbleak Takes Off labors so well that I was thrilled with fair not understanding what was coming next. I was inquisitive if you’d seen ambiguous likeable feedback from people or if people seemed to be digging it. As far as my circles, it seemed enjoy people were.

Yeah, the critics cherishd it and so many fans cherishd it so, so much. It was reassociate kind and pretty to comfervent of see those reactions. There’s the other contingent that’s fair enjoy, the skinnyg that I didn’t reassociate foresee is that they were predicting me to do the book becainclude I’m me and becainclude they understand me from doing the book. They’re enjoy, ‘Oh, he’ll do the same skinnyg becainclude he’s the same person.’ Aget, my brain fair didn’t reassociate labor that way. Maybe, in the future we could, but understanding that we had maybe one season, maybe eight episodes, and understanding that kids are going to watch it, anybody can watch it, you don’t have to understand anyskinnyg about Scott Pilbleak — aget, did I want to spfinish four years pouring my personal bullshit onto the screen or on Netflix? Not reassociate. So I made a sweightlessly kid-ier version, but also I tried to convey my enlargen-up troubles to it as well. It’s a weird fine line to try to walk. But I had fun doing it.

I’m certain. And I skinnyk that all shows. I skinnyk that toloftyy executes out, especiassociate in the last couple of episodes. It labors reassociate well. So, now, with the 20th anniversary, I understand there’s a difficultcover box set in both color and bdeficiency-and-white. I consent they’re already out and useable to get. How did it experience to be laboring on it aget? I understand you did some recent cover art and a whole bunch of other stuff with Oni Press. How was it coming back to Scott Pilbleak aget? In detailed novel establish, at least, I understand the show wasn’t that extfinished ago.

It was kind becainclude, yeah, it was literassociate right after we finished the show. It was kind to revisit it and go back to the origins of it more. It turned out so pretty. I reassociate fair wanted to originate someskinnyg that’s pretty and cageder, so I engaged Patrick Crotty, who is one of my likeite structureers in the indie comics world. We fair labored together on this skinnyg. We labored reassociate difficult on it. After doing the show, I comfervent of lgeted how to labor difficult on stuff with a bigr team, I skinnyk. Doing the comics, I’m laboring difficult, evidently, but it’s all by myself. Doing this, we were doing weekly encounterings. It felt enjoy it was a genuine project. It all phelp off, I skinnyk it sees reassociate fantastic. I’m super plrelieved with it. I skinnyk it’s what fans deserve to have. I understand it costs money, but I made someskinnyg to be kind, not to originate money. That’s not my goal.

Sure. And it’s also Scott Pilbleak. It’s well worth the money.

Yeah, I unkind, it’s pretty. It does fairify the price, to some degree.

And there is a seventh difficultcover that comes with it, too, right? About the making-of and the behind-the-scenes that went on when you were laboring on it?

Yeah, it’s called Scott Pilbleak: Collected Extras. Most of it was in the color difficultcovers, but we comfervent of recompiled it, and reedited it all together. It flows reassociate well as a book. I reassociate enjoy it, I’m reassociate conceited of it, actuassociate.

Sure. I absolutely can’t painclude to check it out, that sounds enjoy someskinnyg that’d be right up my alley. I can’t painclude. Then you’re going on tour fair in a couple of weeks or so, right? I skinnyk you commence in Canada and then hit a bunch of Canadian cities and United States cities?

Yup, I’m commenceing off, pre-tour, I’m going to Columbus’ Crossroads, it’s a comic convention there that Jeff Smith commenceed. That’s enjoy a week away. From there I’m headed to Halifax and so on and so forth. There are twelve cities. It’s going to be reassociate exciting, there are disjoinal cities I’ve never reassociate been to or signed in. So, you understand. Trying to get out there, trying to encounter people. Post-pandemic, I haven’t done a lot of signings since before the pandemic. I’m seeing forward to it, it should be fun.

It sounds enjoy it should be a blast. Bryan, I’m almost out of time with you here, but you’ve got the show that fair came out, you’ve got this 20th-anniversary box set. Do you have any structures for Scott Pilbleak in the future? Do you have any structures for anyskinnyg you’d want to do next or are you going to get a shatter for now?

I will probably get a shatter, a little bit. I skinnyk there are some skinnygs that will sluggishly commence to percorescheduleed out. I’ve been trying to enbig more. This year, I’ve been trying to do more other, ancillary stuff. Which I never reassociate included to do merch and stuff, but people want the merch. They’ll comfervent of bootleg their own merch if they don’t get it from me so I might as well commence trying to originate stuff. I’m going to try to enbig a little bit. But, yeah, as for Scott Pilbleak books, I skinnyk we’ll support it quiet for a little bit. We’ve spent the whole year talking about Scott Pilbleak, so I skinnyk I’ll fair go away and do someskinnyg else for a little bit.