O'Malley, a self-described "27-year-old whiny Canadian cartoonist lazy musician," grew up reading and drawing comics, but admits that his "gateway drug" to the Japanese manga style was via that most addictive of mid-'90s afternoon TV staples, Sailor Moon.

"I used to try to draw exactly like that stuff, but I think I've sort of absorbed it and moved past it. I feel I've been growing into whatever my style is. It's really obvious if you look from the first volume to the third," O'Malley says.

His illustration style may be foreign, but much of the series' inspiration is closer to home. Familiar Toronto landmarks (Casa Loma and the Toronto Reference Library have made appearances) play a major role in O'Malley's books as Scott and his pals flit about the city. While local readers might delight in seeing Lee's Palace (also in Vol. 2) and Honest Ed's (in Vol. 3) pop up, readers elsewhere find our edifices a bit, well, cartoonish.

"Everyone's like, `Is Honest Ed's real? What is this circus place?' In the comic, I make it explode, so when I was back in Toronto recently, I was like, `It's still here!' I'd been living in my own little world," O'Malley laughs.