Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book One

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Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book One (Y: The Last Man #1-2)

by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator), José Marzán Jr. (Illustrator)

4.4 of 5 stars 4.40 · rating details · 4,581 ratings · 171 reviews

The first ten issues of the award-winning series written by Brian K. Vaughan (EX MACHINA, Lost).

Hardcover, 256 pages

Published October 28th 2008 by Vertigo (first published 2008)

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Jul 03, 2010 Ceridwen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ceridwen by: Walker Library

Shelves: america-and-environs, for-teh-ladies, comics

Usually I love this sort of thing, but this fell apart for me in the third act. This is not unusual for end-times fictions - writing about the apocalypse comes ready-packed with emotional explosions wired up to a timer of schadenfreude and latent nihilism. But then once the fireworks die down, you actually have to tell a story, and here's where writers trip over the wreckage. Here, all the male mammals die, suddenly, inexplicably. One guy named Yorick and his monkey survive.

The opening section...more Usually I love this sort of thing, but this fell apart for me in the third act. This is not unusual for end-times fictions - writing about the apocalypse comes ready-packed with emotional explosions wired up to a timer of schadenfreude and latent nihilism. But then once the fireworks die down, you actually have to tell a story, and here's where writers trip over the wreckage. Here, all the male mammals die, suddenly, inexplicably. One guy named Yorick and his monkey survive.

The opening section is brutal, and really conveyed how traumatized the remaining women would be - planes falling from the sky, heavy industry and much of our infrastructure, ahem, unmanned. Most of any given government would be dead - and there's a great scene where the wives of Republican elected leaders get into a throw-down with the democratically elected Democratic women - maybe not surprisingly, most women elected to office in the US are liberal of one stripe or another, so the government, what was left anyways, was (ahem) left. The GOP ladies wanted to assume their husbands seats; the DNC ladies thought maybe they should be elected first. Cue gunfire.

In this new world, Yorick roams around trying to find passage to Australia, where his gf was when the cataclysm went down. Here's where things start to go wrong for me. I don't like Yorick: he's one of those blanks who is structurally important - he's the last man on Earth - but otherwise he seems self-involved to the point of total narcissism. His love and loss of his busty, hiking gf seems in poor contrast with the loss by every woman of every single man in their lives: husbands, fathers, brothers, children. (Also, the entire Catholic hierarchy, every single imam, most of the combat soldiers, etc.) He's lost these things too, but seems strangely unaffected. Again, some of this is structural - he's the one everyone tells what's going on, so that the reader knows - but I guess I'm just bothered by how blithe he is, how naive.

The latter sections go even more wrong, with the introduction of a group of cartoony ball-busters, the Amazons, who chop off one of their breasts - and I'm sorry to say, the wrong one; it's the right one ladies, not the left - and go around trying to topple the Washington Monument and stuff. (Okay, that last bit was funny.) Yorick's sister falls in with them though, and then the plot goes all familial psychodrama. I like familial psychodrama much of the time, but Hero - did I mention her name was Hero? Gag me, Heather - but I just didn't buy her, the movement, the rhetoric. All of the men are gone; what's left for a poorly caricatured bra-burning femist to rail against? Oh right, there's the one. It's a regular problem with end-of-the-world - c'mon people, really, there are corpses in the street and food's running scarce, and you're going off on some stupid vendetta or political mission? Priorities, people. But I don't know, the last time, we, historically speaking, had an event on this scale was the black plague, and much wackiness when down then: flagellants, pogroms, etc.

Yorick Candides his way across the US, and the final act is meeting up with a community with a seeeekrit, which ends in a conflict with all of our major players speechifying and pointing weapons at each other. Oh nos! This last bit was rushed, and unsatisfying, winding to a final plot-twist/reversal and muhahaha muhahaha. I suspect that this will become the template for the later series - Yorick bumbles into a community, tensions rise, conflict, and then resolution. This is fine - this is what made the A-Team so wonderful - but it's such an odd view of community - isolated, self-contained, without reference to larger world events.

All in all, I liked this series, especially its beginning, but I'm not reading any more. And I'm still giggling about the irony of imagining a world without men, and then writing a story in which all of the women are sidekicks or lesser characters. When I go to chop off my breast, it will be the right one, my friends. Watch out. (less)

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Jun 07, 2013 StoryTellerShannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-very-best-reads, graphic-novels, books-reviewed, need-reviewing, fantasy-scifi

What if all the men, except one young man and his male monkey pet, were wiped out all over the world and nobody knew why exactly? That's the setup for volume one of this series that takes a look at gender issues and progressive science versus a natural order of things. I like that the explanation for the plague is not known and there are several possibilities. There's a fair amount of mischievous style humor in the first volume.

For instance, women commemorate the dead man at an obvious phallic...more What if all the men, except one young man and his male monkey pet, were wiped out all over the world and nobody knew why exactly? That's the setup for volume one of this series that takes a look at gender issues and progressive science versus a natural order of things. I like that the explanation for the plague is not known and there are several possibilities. There's a fair amount of mischievous style humor in the first volume.

For instance, women commemorate the dead man at an obvious phallic symbol a la The Washington Monument. Extremists women take on the role of the ancient Amazons and tear off one breast and take to believing Mother Earth meant to eradicate the males. Hardcore GOPs may take offense when Republican wives of dead senators show up with guns, arguing they should have a voice in the new government. The main character, Yorick, is a putz and sometimes clueless but believable enough even though some might argue he is a passive character. The super model turned corpse collector who just got her implants is an obvious jab at how the fashion industry and of course female looks are intertwined with male desires.

VOLUME ONE

The crisis hits and shows male mammals biting it all over the world and women gradually adjusting. Some don't care to stick it out and check out by taking their lives. The focus is mainly on America and Yorick and his monkey are apparently the only males remaining and thus do the higher ups assign him a bodyguard, make him wear a disguise to appear to be a woman and send him off to a lab in San Francisco that might be able to figure out why he lived and others did not so that the species may continue. Along the way we see the mournings, the extremists, Yorick's dysfunctional relationship with his mother (who is high up in politics now that the men are all gone), what Yorick's sister is up to, part of the beginning trek to SF, the mysteries of a small town and other countries getting involved when they hear of one surviving male.

Overall, I'd say this is a very good start but if you're the nitpicking type you may not enjoy it as much because everything hasn't been explained. A good starting read, by the way, for people new to comics/graphic novels. The series has received 5 prestigious Eisner Awards. Hollywood has been trying to make this into a movie since 2007. Some say this series saved Vertigo Comics from financial problems.

CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK: B plus; THEMES: B to B plus; WHEN READ: early January 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B plus. (less)

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Apr 24, 2011 Trudi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalyptic-types, graphic-novel, horror, love-the-premise, stephen-king-recommends, survive-this, 2011-reads, dystopia, series, books-i-want-to-marry, science-fiction, kick-ass-heroines, infection

Pardon me while I flail about in fangirl mode, but OMFG and all that is holy, Y: The Last Man is totally a.w.e.s.o.m.e!!!! I didn’t think the graphic novel format would ever win me over entirely, but it’s happened - I’m in love - hook, line, sinker, fully, completely. Not only is this an addictive premise taken to the extreme reaches of the most fertile imagination, it’s brimming with fully fleshed out characters who live and breathe with histories, motives, strengths and vulnerabilities. The be...more Pardon me while I flail about in fangirl mode, but OMFG and all that is holy, Y: The Last Man is totally a.w.e.s.o.m.e!!!! I didn’t think the graphic novel format would ever win me over entirely, but it’s happened - I’m in love - hook, line, sinker, fully, completely. Not only is this an addictive premise taken to the extreme reaches of the most fertile imagination, it’s brimming with fully fleshed out characters who live and breathe with histories, motives, strengths and vulnerabilities. The best part? This edition only collects Issues 1-10; I still have another 50!! to look forward to.

How’s this for a premise? – last guy on Earth is not alone, literally. Yorick is a hapless, near to agoraphobic, practicing escape artist, madly in love with a young woman a hemisphere away in Australia when a sudden unexplained plague hits the planet and kills every last mammal carrying a Y chromosome. Every last mammal that is except for Yorick and his pet Capuchin monkey Ampersand. Think it would be a laff riot to be the last guy on Earth surrounded by a few billion ladies? Think again gentlemen. Welcome to your new nightmare.

Vaughan’s world-building here post-plague is incredibly detailed and believable. With all men suddenly blipped out of existence women aren’t standing around singing Kumbaya (did you really think we would?) and the world does not become a better place. Far from it. Vaughan deftly explores the harsh realities that must be faced when such a monumental, unpredictable, counter-evolutionary shift happens to humans with no warning.

The graphics are superior; each character has their own unique look and the action is propelled along not just by Vaughan’s ripping dialogue, but by Pia Guerra’s sharp interpretation of the action. I love that I get so much story delivered on such a small canvas. I could have taken days to plow through a 650 page novel and not felt as sated or panting for more, the way I felt here after indulging in a mere 250 pages of colorful, comic book cells. That’s storytelling magic. I can’t wait for more!

My deepest thanks to my graphic-novel reading friends who kept throwing this series title at me for ages – I finally get it now!!! (less)

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Sep 21, 2010 Ariel Acupan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Originally Posted Here (Yay! I got a book blog!)

Y: The Last Man (BOOK ONE)

In 2002, a plague that is mysteriously sex-specific killed every man, every boy, and every mammal with Y chromosome all over the world. For a reason that cannot be explained right now, a boy named Yorick Brown and his male pet monkey Ampersand was spared. A “genderside” that causes chaos, a society with without male, and a mystery to be solved, Vaughan created a masterpiece that for me would place him next to Gaiman (Sand...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Craig rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel-favorites

I refuse to read any other reviews on this series before I post this. Therefore, I may sound either stupid or prescient. Or maybe a bit of both. Personally, I am leaning towards stupid, but...

Friends have been telling me to read this series for quite a bit. They said "you like literary comics, so..." or "You're obsessed with end of the world plague sort of stuff that presents humanity in a different light..." or "you took women's studies classes in college, so you might find it interesting..."

W...more I refuse to read any other reviews on this series before I post this. Therefore, I may sound either stupid or prescient. Or maybe a bit of both. Personally, I am leaning towards stupid, but...

Friends have been telling me to read this series for quite a bit. They said "you like literary comics, so..." or "You're obsessed with end of the world plague sort of stuff that presents humanity in a different light..." or "you took women's studies classes in college, so you might find it interesting..."

Well, to be honest, I never read it because it was written by a man. No matter how idiotic I think the 'war of the sexes' can be, somehow I thought that a man could not write this series and make it serious, make it meaningful... Really, a man writes a story about the last man on earth? How original.

Flash forward to Christmas this year. A good friend of mine (who should not have gotten me a gift...) bought me this. And because a friend bought it for me, I had to read it. And...

What a fool I have been. I have maintained for a long time that good sci fi/fantasy/zomie/apocalypse fiction exists to make us examine ourself in ways that it is difficult for other literature to approach quite as directly. (And those who know me and my penchant for poetry and 'slice of life' prose know that I do not mean to belittle any other forms.)

And this book maintains that tradition. I have no idea where the series goes from here, but I am very impressed with this volume. There is a fantastic sense of history here, not only of this country, (I learned several things that I had never heard of from the revolutionary war period, especially) but of the world and how men and women are treated within it. I feel like I am a male that understands a good deal about gender dichotomy in this world and I have no regrets in saying this taught me a thing or two.

Maybe it is better that this story is written by a man -- because only a man could understand the idiocy of a man's place the way this author does. Again, I turn myself over to the gender 'war,' but there is a sliver of honesty there. There are so many moments in this book handled so deftly and subtly. In other hands, I'm sure they would have knocked you over the head or else simply gone over the head of many readers. With so many comic readers being male, perhaps a bit of a male viewpoint was needed to really shatter the male viewpoint.

That is not to say that there aren't some comic book story traditions that aren't upheld too rigidly and some cliche story elements that don't creep in... And that is where the stupidity or prescience creep in. Those of you that have read further into the story can laugh at my hope for this story or say that I saw this glimmer of brilliance despite the small cliches present. Either way, I am glad that I was 'forced' into reading this first volume. I will definitely be pursuing more. So far, I am impressed. I hope to remain that way.
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Jul 06, 2012 Rick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Perhaps the finest science fiction comic book of the young century, creators Vaughn and Guerra relate the extraordinary story of twenty-something slacker escape artist Yorick Brown and his pet male monkey Ampersand, the sole surviving males after a mysterious worldwide plague killed everything with a Y chromosome. Vaughn deftly crafts his humanist sf tale in a low key, non-sensationalist manner. This volume, the first hardcover edition, collects the first two story arcs, “Unmanned” and “Cycles,”...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Simone Sarasso rated it 2 of 5 stars

Il commento vale per l'opera completa, non solo per questo volume.
Come dicevo: 'nsomma... Per essere "the best graphic novel I've ever read" secondo Stephen King mi aspettavo qualcosina di più.
L'idea è graziosa, ma è troppo "vorrei ma non posso". Voglio dire: un uomo solo in un mondo di donne, che diavolo fa? Si nasconde e si mantiene illibato per la sua bella perduta, oppure...
Esatto: oppure.
E già qui non ci siamo. La prima scopata arriva a metà del secondo volume. In più, tutte le ragazze sono...more

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Jun 18, 2013 Zach Danielson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, science-fiction

What if all the males on the planet suddenly dropped dead? That's the premise of this award-winning comic book series from Lostwriter Brian K. Vaughan and Canadian artist Pia Guerra.

The titular Y, Yorick Brown, is an amateur escape artist who suddenly and inexplicably becomes the last man on Earth after a global plague. Yorick quickly discovers it's a dangerous world for a boy all on his own.

This series is an excellent example of serialized storytelling. My feelings about Y are actually pretty...more

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May 24, 2013 Nick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphicnovels

Original plot -- well, not that millions of men haven't given it some thought, and not that apocalypse/dystopias haven't been done a billion times, but original to be put into action, in graphic novel format, in this way. Much more complex than the obvious 'hordes of horny women to sleep with,' (sadly), and no zombie/disease apocalypse monsters to speak of; more like Mad Max with a 99% female cast. The overall pacing is nice, the art is great, the trauma of the main event was well-illustrated, a...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Sean Francisco Yau-Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-my-criterion-collec

Like a post-modern english lit major, I admittedly struggle to separate my appreciation of Y:The Last Man as an artistic work, from it's signature representation of the state of the graphic novel (what used to be called comics today)- for both good and bad.

Artistically- it's hard to argue against Y and the comics revue corp rarely has. It's the probably endpoint to the topic breakout started by Watchmen. Whereas that signature work helped announce that "comics are coming! comics are coming! and...more Like a post-modern english lit major, I admittedly struggle to separate my appreciation of Y:The Last Man as an artistic work, from it's signature representation of the state of the graphic novel (what used to be called comics today)- for both good and bad.

Artistically- it's hard to argue against Y and the comics revue corp rarely has. It's the probably endpoint to the topic breakout started by Watchmen. Whereas that signature work helped announce that "comics are coming! comics are coming! and are good" to the outside world- it still stayed tied to the mainly American comic fascination with super-heroes. Yes, it critiqued it and modernized the super-hero- but it was still a superhero comic. And in all respect to Alan Moore- his work reads more sexist and well "white" as time goes on. While "Watchmen" has become the standard "look at what graphic novels can do" book to give to a non-fan, "Y" seems to have taken over many "best ever lists"

"Y"The Last Man" has no superheroes- it has a science fiction theme with a small "s", similar to the Inception of Sunshine of the Eternal Mind (or whatever that was called)- where a major sci-fi topic is in the background- but the focus is more on gender politics and character.

To start - without spoiling things, "Y" takes part in a world where all males have suddenly died, for all species, save 1 survivor. This concept is introduced quickly, and the rest of the series runs with that theme- but "Y" doesn't descend into "I am Legend" textbook survivalism. This is not your boring "read how to make a non-electrical water cooler" sci-fi textbook. Is really about the last man, Yorick Browne- the last male human, and Agent 355 - his bodyguard - as they travel across the world.

That story, the pacing and characters are great. Brian Vaughan is a master of snappy dialogue, and well realized characters. A series of fascinating developments are created, and the story moves quickly. For the most part- it stays in the world of the plausible- and I am actually happy that it didn't descend into long, boring details about how to rebuild society. While the series does delve into gender issues- it certainly reflects a mature view- women are surviving and coping, but also grieving. An additional touch is that Yorick himself is far from the ideal emblem of masculinity- traditional or metrosexual. He is infantile, sophomoric and, well annoying. But he is real and a lot of fun. As is the rest of the crew- Agent 355, Dr Mann, Yorick's sister etc. In all it's a great series- and could stand on it's own as a Cable Television series. Which is my main dislike.

Don't get me wrong, as an old comic book fan, it's great to see the medium finally getting the credit it deserves in the US- matching what it receives in Europe and Asia, but this seems to have led to "this is just my day job" phenomenon- where a lot of the best comic book writers seem to be using the medium as a way to break into hollywood. On the one hand, this has been great for the medium- dialogue has really taken a step forward in the hands of Mark Millar, Michael Bendis, etc. - but the structure has started to approach a TV series- with writers taking hiatus' to write their movie scripts. But while this has helped the corny purple prose of yesteryear, it also erased the long deep introspective thought clouds of Stan Lee or Chris Claremont, moments that took advantage of the textual nature of the medium. There is no window into the inner world of today's characters - and before this is bashed as amateurism- it was a technique used by Shakespeare and Proust (Adaptation aside). This sense of "graphic novel" as an HBO employment pitch also permeates "Fables" and a lot of the Vertigo line (DC's line of creator owned comics).

The difference stands out when comparing "Y" to "Watchmen". For all the critical praise, and a bad movie adaptation- Alan Moore's signature piece was an definitive attempt to create a graphic novel based on the legacy of comics and defeat any attempt to adopt it. The "Watchmen" is proud to be comic book- and for all of it's revolutionariness- it is an actual celebration of the genre- using comics for it's own sense of intertextuality and commentary. In other words, to really "get it"- you need to have been reading comics.

The end results, is that while "Y" is great, and I love it, much more than I like Watchmen- it feels resolutely "safe"- it's definitely targeting the mainstream - and staying within those bounds. It's certainly the comic to give people who don't read comics- but it's not the one that resolutely says it belongs to the medium. For the latter- I would point someone to "Bone" a work of heart, whimsy and affection - or to Jaime Hernandez "Locas", as two items that are strongly of the medium, by people who love the medium and for the medium of the graphic novel.

But given all that "Y:The Last Man" is a fixture on my shelf. The story is tight and well structured, and unlike a lot of graphic novel series- neither sputters out of control nor feels like a tying up of loose ends. It has one of the best endings I have ever read anywhere- definitely check it out.(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Ronyell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: brian-k-vaughan, action-adventure, alternative-worlds, american-hero-or-heroine, best-books-of-2012, book-series, books-i-want-to-own, cult-classic, drama, dystopian-world, eisner-award, family-situations, fantasy, favorites, graphic-novels-comics, humor-satire, my-blog-reviews, mystery, read-in-2012, reviewed-books, strong-hero, strong-heroine, vertigo-comics, young-adult-teen-books, politics

Introduction:

What would happen if you became the last gender (whether you are a male or female) on the face of the planet? Well, that is what we are discovering in Brian K. Vaughan’s Eisner Award winning classic graphic novel, “Y: The Last Man: Book One!” After hearing so many glowing reviews about this graphic novel, I decided to give this book a shot and man, was I blown away by the creative concept of this graphic novel! “Y: The Last Man: Book One” is definitely one of the most dramatic an...more

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May 09, 2012 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, graphic-novels

(this review is for all five deluxe books in the series)

Y: The Last Man is one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. Funny how this should mirror Stephen King's review found on the cover. It's a well-deserved claim. A mysterious plague instantly kills all male mammals on the planet except for a young twenty something and his pet monkey. The chaos and confusion that ensues makes this such a innovative and memorable dystopia. There's Amazon gangs, lesbian encounters (with all the men gone, wh...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

This would be a much better series without the proliferation of (to the point of being ubiquitous) vulgar language. Not everyone talks like this, nor would a mass gendercide turn everyone into sailor mouths. Hopefully it will get better as the series progresses - it would be a shame for such an interesting concept to be marred throughout by its commitment to being coarse. The many subplots and layers are fairly intriguing: Agent 355's original quest with this mysterious amulet/necklace is more i...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Traci rated it 5 of 5 stars

Yorick Brown is a survivor. And not in a generic way – not like how people say “I survived Space Mountain.” Yorick Brown and his male Capuchin monkey Ampersand are both survivors of a plague that wiped out everything with a Y chromosome on Earth in an instant. No more male humans, monkeys, giraffes, dogs, cats; nothing with a Y chromosome survived. But seriously, how awesome would it be to be the last man on Earth? Turns out, it’s not as great as one might think. In their Eisner Award winning 10...more
Yorick Brown is a survivor. And not in a generic way – not like how people say “I survived Space Mountain.” Yorick Brown and his male Capuchin monkey Ampersand are both survivors of a plague that wiped out everything with a Y chromosome on Earth in an instant. No more male humans, monkeys, giraffes, dogs, cats; nothing with a Y chromosome survived. But seriously, how awesome would it be to be the last man on Earth? Turns out, it’s not as great as one might think. In their Eisner Award winning 10 book series of graphic novels, Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra show us just how not awesome it is to be the last of anything among a world of not only mourning survivors, but also overzealous women determined to destroy him.

The only think Yorick wants to do is find his fiancée Beth who was studying in the Australian Outback when the plague hit. However, his government, of which his mother is a Representative, has other plans for him. They force him to go with Agent 355, a member of the mysterious Government agency the Culper Ring, to try and find Dr. Allison Mann who is rumored to have successfully created a clone – a clone she gave birth to right at the second the plague hit the Earth. With Yorick’s and Ampersand’s DNA she might be able to bring life – male life –back to the planet. Meanwhile, hot on the foursome’s pair are a group of Israeli soldiers led by Alter who are determined to find and protect the last man. Yet, the more readers learn about Alter and her regime, they might start to question her motives – is she a protector or an assassin?

Along the way Yorick, his friends, and his monkey come across astronauts, pirates, Australians, more monkeys, women convicts, and the Daughters of the Amazon, a group of women convinced that the plague was sent by God to clean Mother Earth of the abomination that is the Y chromosome. When they get wind of Yorick and Ampersand, they stop at nothing to find him – which includes using his sister Hero to lure him to his death.

Over 60 issues collected into 10 volumes, Y: the Last Man is storytelling at its greatest – regardless of format. Readers who have said that comics are just for kids will find a story that makes them think, a noteworthy test of any great book. Full of humor, heartbreak, mystery, espionage and suspense, Y is a great story that will stay with readers long after they’ve read the last page.
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Jul 28, 2011 Gabriel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ok, a tad sexist at times (I mean, without men the world really devolves that quickly? Come on), but still a very interesting take on the Post-Apocalyptic Genre. I'm a little annoyed at how easily our main character has been waylaid from finding Beth (and, truly, a little annoyed at how loyal he is to her) all, of course, for the greater good.

In short, this is a very fun and entertaining read, but still feels as if written in the 1950's if the last man on earth was a dweeb. Still, I'm intrigued...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Fraggle rated it 1 of 5 stars

I had heard lots of great stuff about this and the premise sounded interesting. One dude left on the planet after all the other men die of some mysterious disease or something. The artwork is quite good but the dialogue is only so-so and honestly I was a little bored pretty quickly, like by page 3. I was also astounded at the direction the story went, found it heterosexist and homophobic. You'd think a world of mostly women would be pretty frank about lesbians; not this book. The only loud and p...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Mitchel Broussard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: apocalypse, dystopia, graphic-novels-and-comics, sci-fi, series, mind-equals-blown

So. Good. Ohmygod.

The Walking Dead better watch its back, because Y is here to potentially knock it off its high horse. Like that series it is pretty simple in its plot, just replace zombie apocalypse with the complete extinction of every man, boy and mammal with a Y chromosome, and you have Y: The Last Man. And just like in Dead it's not really about the zombies, its about the people. Same goes here (just minus the zombies, mind you.)

The characters are all pretty interesting, and it even...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Jj Le rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: march-2013-book-list

Y: The last man, was great!!! The artistic and writing sill was wonderful. I love how the novel was in color. I also enjoyed the length of the graphic comic.
The last man is about, what it literally says, last man.On July 17, 2002, every living mammal possessing aY chromosome— includingsperm is killed. The only guy who survives is,Yorick Brown, who lives in New York City. Yorick made a living as a amateur escape artist, and his malemonkey, Ampersand. Yorick goes on a cross country journey to find...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: vertigo

On the whole, this is a great book/series. The writing, art, pacing, etc. are all quite good. The story is original and interesting. What would happen if every man suddenly died? The reason I can't give this 5 stars is because I just don't buy that women would act like this. Yes, there would be much chaos and some of the events and characters are very plausible. Yes, there would be nut-jobs. But, Vaughan wants us to believe that women would turn on their own immediate male family members because...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Myles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sequential-art, sf, graphic-novels, the-end

I like Brian K. Vaughan, I enjoyed Pride of Baghdad, The Runaways, and especially his run with Ultimate X-Men so I've seen a pretty wide range of what he can do. Post-Apocalyptic stories tend to lose crucial oomph points after the main event has finished up, and Y is no different, but the view of our society if all men suddenly died is alone worth a peak.

I could have done without the monkey sidekick and Yorick's more stupid moments, but Vaughan must have his reasons for making his survivor so he...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

I feel like I shouldn't have liked this book, but I really did. When I first began reading it I wasn't too sure about it, but the more I read, the more I liked it. I got sucked into the story and I can't wait to read the next book. I'm sure there are people out there who would say that all the female characters are stereotypes, etc. but in all honesty, I think this book might be a fairly accurate representation of what might happen if all the men in the world suddenly died. There would me some w...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Nonodisco rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: summer-2012

I came across Y: The Last Man by chance while poking around the internet for graphic novel recommendations, and it seemed right up my alley: sci-fi, suspense, humor, and a far-ranging, epic plot.

Wow.

Y finds its niche squarely in pulp fiction, but has literary sensibilities. Its more personal moments are treated with admirable subtlety, but the action and plot twists are chest-pounding. Truly anything goes, and it's exhilarating to watch Brian K. Vaughan to weave all his plot threads together. It...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Robert Kristoffersen rated it 5 of 5 stars

So, if you wrote a book about the last two males on earth, how do you think it would turn out, especially if you're a male yourself? Certainly not the I thought it would, and even better. The books great focus is on how much a player men are in the world, with jobs, skills, and many other things, men dominate and it makes for kind of a depressing start. However, when the epidemic happens, and you'd think the whole world would fall apart, the world makes it OK. Really, Y: The Last Man is the ulti...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a review for the entire series.

There is a lot to like about this series: the premise is fun, the attempt at social commentary is noble and there is a lot of truly touching moments and believable characterization and growth. The cover art is phenomenal, some of the most interesting and creative I have ever seen.

There is also a lot of cheesy or odd narrative decisions. Calling the character Yorick, in order to give him a name that starts with a Y and then covering for it by saying his pare...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Matthew Legaspi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Several words to describe Vaughn’s work would be: clever, political, wry, variably pessimistic and optimistic, well-written, and fast-paced. The dystopian future where all living things with a Y chromosome die in the same exact instant (except for one man and his monkey) is a truly fascinatingly concept that is explored intelligently. I applaud the writer for handling the political and social fallout realistically. The first arc depicts Yorick’s travels with Agent 355 and Dr. Mann to reach her l...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Corielle Riddell rated it 4 of 5 stars

What happens when all the men on the planet, except for one man and his male monkey, die? Well, lots of women start to believe that they are better off without them. Hence, the story of Yorick Brown and Ampersand, the monkey, begins to unfold.

Their journey takes them through several states, aided by a few helpful women who are also seeking the reason for this mass-extinction. Or, shall I say, they seek the reason why these two males were the sole survivors.

They cross paths more than once with th...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Nicolas Ward rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, fiction, graphicnovel, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Apparently I'm just in the mood for post-apocalyptic fiction these days. I picked this one up on a whim from our local library branch, which has the first four hardcover volumes. I think I'd previously read the first paperback bound (I.e. non-comic) version in a bookstore a while ago, which amounts to the first chapter or so of this printing.

As I may have mentioned before, I strongly prefer waiting and reading comic series in bound form, or alternatively in a digital form where I can tear throug...more Apparently I'm just in the mood for post-apocalyptic fiction these days. I picked this one up on a whim from our local library branch, which has the first four hardcover volumes. I think I'd previously read the first paperback bound (I.e. non-comic) version in a bookstore a while ago, which amounts to the first chapter or so of this printing.

As I may have mentioned before, I strongly prefer waiting and reading comic series in bound form, or alternatively in a digital form where I can tear through issues in bulk. I just don't have the patience to read such a small amount of text and then have to wait a month for the next issue. Maybe that's why I was never really into comics as a kid, but rather the TV adaptations? They were my primary exposure to some of the big names in both the Marvel and DC universes, mainly X-Men, Spiderman, Batman, and Superman.

This review contains a few spoilers. I'll probably do some summary thoughts of the whole series once I finish the last volume, and see where the full plot is going.

I think the premise is interesting, if a bit hard to believe. Of course as with a lot of dystopian futures, it's not that it's a realistic future, but that it is a way for the artist(s) to make a statement about current society. This has a bit of "humanity's underlying animal nature", primarily ddemonstrated by the Amazons. They kinda creeped me out, especially the whole breast-removal self-mutilation thing. I know it was inspired by a legendary tribe, but it's not like they were active in archery. I suppose that says I have expectations about how women should look in comics?

I had a couple of criticisms: I don't believe the main character's motivations for going out to find his girlfriend instead of just hiding to survive; I don't think the cloning scientist would jump to the wild conclusion that her clone baby started the plague; and there would be way more male survivors on submarines and other sealed environments, not just the ISS. Maybe the later volumes will clarify the nature of the plague (if that's what it even is) so that I understand why there weren't more male survivors.

I'll have to put the next volume on hold after I finish some other books. It was acceptable enough to keep reading, so I'll see where the series goes.(less)

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Jun 17, 2013 Chenise rated it 4 of 5 stars

A really good graphic novel! I don't read too many, but this one was recommended to me and I found it at the library so I gave it a shot. Built on a really cool concept (plague that takes out all of the men except for one) and the story line and illustrations hold up to the subject. I've read a small bit of the Walking Dead graphic novels and this one is just as good, if not better because the illustrations are in color and just more dynamic in general. I actually could see this being transition...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Griffin Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

Y: The Last Man starts off with the extinction of every male on the planet. Men of all ages and species, sperm, and embryos are killed by this plague. That is all but one man, Yorick Brown, and his pet monkey, Ampersand. After the plague hits, all infrastructure is shut down by the lack of men, and the world spirals into chaos. Yorick leaves his home town of New York to reunite with his mother in Washington D.C. and, on his way there, runs into the new president of the united states. The presid...more Y: The Last Man starts off with the extinction of every male on the planet. Men of all ages and species, sperm, and embryos are killed by this plague. That is all but one man, Yorick Brown, and his pet monkey, Ampersand. After the plague hits, all infrastructure is shut down by the lack of men, and the world spirals into chaos. Yorick leaves his home town of New York to reunite with his mother in Washington D.C. and, on his way there, runs into the new president of the united states. The president, who was formerly the Secretary of Agriculture, has other plans for Yorick. She sends him on his way to Boston to meet with Dr. Alison Mann, who is a a brilliant geneticist and cloning expert. On his way to Boston, an Israeli commando tries seize Yorick in hopes to use him for leverage against other countries who have quarrels with Israel. As Yorick travels on, he joins a group who begin escorting them along. Although having this group, Israeli commandos still try and attack him throughout his journey.The exciting ending to this book may only be found out by reading more.

Anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic stories would be greatly interested in this book, mainly because the setting for this story is in a post-apocalyptic world. This story may also be appealing to women due to the very evident lack of men in this world. Being a fiction graphic novel, this book will not appeal to those who are major fans of non fiction, because this book is fiction. Also those who do not enjoy graphic novels will not enjoy this book, because this book happens to be a graphic novel. Overall, Y: The Last Man is a story for anyone who is in the mood for a good read.

I was very satisfied with this book, it was most definitely a page turner. I really enjoyed the setting and the brilliant story, although it was a little far fetched. The artwork in this graphic novel was also very enjoyable, with the color tones matching the mood of the story perfectly. This book greatly deserved the five star rating because, it was just that good. I actually bought this book, and am very happy that I did so, because I will be revisiting the story again and again. Overall, Y: The Last Man gets 5/5.(less)

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Sep 01, 2010 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

The premise of this graphic novel is that not only all of the men suddenly died, but also all of the other male animals with a "Y" chromosome...with the notable exception of our main character "Yorick" and his monkey named "Ampersand".
His goal is to somehow get from the east coast of the U.S. to his girlfriend in Australia while also helping a doctor that wants to find out why he's still alive and elude a group of extremely radical feminists calling themselves the Amazons.
His assigned bodyguard...more

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Does anyone else think its very cheeky to start releasing Y in hardback now that all the paperback volumes have been out?	5	73	May 29, 2012 04:19pm

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About Brian K. Vaughan

Born in Cleveland in 1976, Brian K. Vaughan is the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning writer and co-creator of the critically acclaimed comics series Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Ex Machina (picked as one of the ten best works of fiction of 2005 by Entertainment Weekly).

Recently named "Writer of the Year" by Wizard Magazine, and one of the “top ten comic writers of all time” by Comic Boo...more Born in Cleveland in 1976, Brian K. Vaughan is the Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning writer and co-creator of the critically acclaimed comics series Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Ex Machina (picked as one of the ten best works of fiction of 2005 by Entertainment Weekly).

Recently named "Writer of the Year" by Wizard Magazine, and one of the “top ten comic writers of all time” by Comic Book Resources, Vaughan’s work has been featured and/or reviewed in countless mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, MTV, National Public Radio, and feminist magazine Bust, which photographed him for their “Men We Love” issue (don’t ask).

As an undergraduate film student at New York University, Vaughan got his big break as part of Marvel’s Stanhattan Project, a workshop for aspiring comic book writers. In the ten years since, he has written nearly all of the major DC and Marvel characters, everyone from Batman to the X-Men.

In September of 2006, Vertigo released Vaughan’s first original graphic novel, Pride of Baghdad, lavishly illustrated by artist Niko Henrichon. Inspired by an unbelievable true story of four lions who escaped the Baghdad Zoo during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pride is equal parts anthropomorphic adventure and Animal Farm-like parable about the ongoing conflict in Iraq, and was described as "the best novel so far" about the war by the UK's Telegraph.

Along with his creator-owned work, Vaughan is currently writing The Escapists, a Dark Horse miniseries inspired by Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, as well as a new Doctor Strange limited series for Marvel with artist Marcos Martin.

This summer, the new WGA member/CAA client transplanted his poor playwright wife to Los Angeles, where Vaughan is currently working on the screenplay adaptations of Y and Ex Machina for New Line Cinema, as well as other new creations in film and television.

His home on the web is www.bkv.tv, and he’s become the last aging hipster to get a MySpace page: www.myspace.com/briankvaughan

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3710603-y?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1288024278l/3710603.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3710603-y?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book One by Brian K. Vaughan[/url]

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