The journey has finally come to an end. Brian K. Vaughan's apocalyptic epic Y: The Last Man ended last month capping a 60 issue run. Riveting from the very first page to the very last, the conclusion of the series ends my journey as a faithful reader. And boy, what a ride!
Way back when I first started blogging (back on MySpace) I wrote up a fairly lengthy introductory blog about Y, laying out it's seemingly absurd premise for those unfamiliar and describing what an intelligent, witty and uncompromising comic it was. So now it seems fitting that I sit down and write once more about it as a complete work. And for those unfamiliar I can only say you really need to give this title a try, comic book reader or not, because what Mr. Vaughan (Ex Machina, Runaways, tv's Lost) has done is set a very high bar with a very non-traditional type of comic book story. Its contemporary, compelling and skillfully written. In short, its worth your time.
Not so much with the audience that reads this blog, but in general, when a comic book fan starts talking about said material, the reaction from non-comic readers involves the "look", perhaps a scoff and often times a chuckle. Yeah, yeah... comics are kid's stuff, we know... except that they aren't so much. Let me just say that if I were a parent with a kid reading today's comics, rest assured I'd be monitoring, not necessarily to censor, but certainly to better understand and guide my child. Bottom line, if you have read a comic book (and I'm not talking Archie) you know that they are really aimed at a mature audience. With Y, and Vaughan's work in general, this is absolutely true as it deals with a ton of social issues, most prominently gender and sexuality, human nature and psychology.
I like Vaughan's description of Y best: it is a serious take on that common teenage boy fantasy of being the last man on Earth (so that you could have all the women to yourself, of course) and exploring the consequences of such a situation. When a worldwide "plague" strikes dead every single male in the animal world at the very same moment, amateur escape-artist Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand discover that, somehow, they are the only remaining males on the planet. And thats bad... more than you know! Once you get past the obvious dilemma effectively preventing further propagation of the human race, you start to realize that the majority of factory work is done by men, the transportation industry is predominantly men, etc, etc, etc. The very structure of our modern society is brought into focus and the tough question is posed - could our society, left with only women to run it, function? It's not a dig at women, but rather a legitimate, well explored question.
Yorick thus becomes the eyes through which we explore this extreme scenario. Accompanied by a body guard, a mysterious Culper Ring agent known only as 355, and geneticist Dr. Allison Mann, he sets off on a worldwide quest to find his girlfriend Beth (literally a world away in Australia doing anthropological studies) and help find the means to restore humanity's future. No, it does not involve "making it" with every woman he encounters. Quite the opposite. As the last man on Earth, he is a target of those who would use him for their own desires and those who would see him dead with the rest of the men.
Through his journey's we explore the politics of gender and gender roles, identity and purpose, religion, philosophy, relationships and, most importantly, human nature. Even in the absence of men, some things never change. However, there are a LOT more deadbeats. *wink* All the while Vaughan keeps us wondering what caused all the men to die. It obviously wasn't war or global warming, so we realize that something really big is at work and its the anticipation and speculation that keep you coming back for more. You want to know, but as was my experience, eventually the answer to that question seems to take a back seat. How would this all end up? Humanity is pretty much staring its extincting square in the face.
Vaughan weaves together a hell of a story that, for me, even challenged my hopes for how it would resolve itself. In the end you suddenly realize that there is so much more to Y than is immediately apparent. It is those deeper aspects to the story that really makes it great. He is also a very enjoyable writer. I appreciated his wit, pop-culture references and especially his off-the-cuff, non-apologetic approach to his story; political correctness is a waste of time and Vaughan pays it no mind... and its great!
There are more mysteries to Y than simply what caused all the men to die. They, too, come into much clearer focus as the story moves along, one prominent example is the true name of Agent 355, to which Vaughan has admitted that clues are spread throughout the series. It is up to the reader to piece it all together. And absolutely everything in the plot has meaning, often not spelled out in clear terms. How does it all turn out in the end? I will never tell. You absolutely have to read it for yourself. The good news is this - of all the people I have introduced to Y over these past 5 years, both men and women, not one of them has had anything bad to say about it. It's universally accessible in my opinion.
As a complete work, Y: The Last Man stands alone for me and challenges the most renowned titles in the comic world, past and present. Honestly, its on par with the best novels, television and film have to offer and better than 95% of it. It has it all - action, romance, adventure, science, religion, politics, history, emotional highs and lows. It's thoroughly entertaining and brings with it a refreshing level of intelligence that sets a very high bar for future writers. Hopefully it is a sign of things to come for new titles in the future. I sincerely hope Y is not the last of its kind.
4 comments:
Just ran across another great review of Y's final issue:
Y: THE LAST MAN #60: While it didn't bring me to tears like it did Diana, I have to admit to being happily surprised by this last issue. Not that I expected it to be bad in any kind of way, but I did expect some kind of last minute reversal or reveal that would cast everything that had come before in a new light, and that idea scared me; not only did I like everything that had come before, but the whole "last minute gotcha" thing would've felt cheap in this series. It wasn't something built on that sort of idea-led/plot-led structure; like all of Brian K. Vaughan's work, it's been the character work and small details that had made the series as good as it was. So, that the final issue turned out to be a series of small, quiet, vignettes with a framing sequence that resolves the entire series in an entirely unresolved, optimistic, manner, came as an unexpected treat. That those vignettes, along with the framing sequence, manage to somehow bring the series to a close that feels right and doesn't shortchange the entire story, makes this last issue a Very Good end to an Excellent series.
The library here at Calvin has finally started stocking graphic novels and comics in its recreational reading section. I started working my way through Sandman the other day and desperately hope that they have Y by next Fall.
I have to admit that I've enjoyed some of the Y that I've read. I have heard, unfortunately, that they're making a film adaptation. Anothet 'I Am Legend' of sorts I hear. Supposed to be different from the books. I wish they'd stop making comic book films.
Not only that, but Vaughan submitted a screenplay and it was rejected! I mean, who better to handle a film adaptation than the creator, right?! I haven't lost all hope... perhaps I'll ignore more than anything. Besides, there is still Watchmen to worry about. *ugh* The only comic adaptation that has really been worth a damn compared to the source materials, in my opinion, has been V For Vendetta, which greatly surpassed my expectations.
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