[Geek]  Don’t Ask “Y”:  A Vision Of The Unmanned World

by Jerry Landry
August 3, 2005

I have to profess an undying affection for "what if" stories—what if the British had won the Revolutionary War, what if Napoleon had not lost at Waterloo—and the comic book genre is full of these stories. What if Spider-Man had joined the Fantastic Four? What if Superman's rocket had landed on Earth in Russia?

Imagine my thrill at first reading "Y: the Last Man," a series built entirely around a "what if" premise. This series explores a question found often in the annals of literature: How does a survivor survive? The survivor in this case is Yorick Brown. Following a mysterious event, Yorick and his pet monkey, Ampersand, find themselves to be the only beings on Earth with a Y chromosome. Males of all species on Earth—humans, monkeys, dogs, et al.—died at exactly the same moment, all except for Yorick and Ampersand. The cause for this mass extinction is still unknown 35 issues into this series, but this mystery is part of the allure of this series.

The plot centers around Yorick and his two companions, a secret government agent known only as 355 and Dr. Allison Mann, a brilliant bioengineer. These three have been charged with the task of ensuring that the human race does not die out due to the catastrophe that occurs in the first issue. Yorick is reluctant to accept this role, instead focusing on being reunited with his girlfriend, Beth, who was in Australia when the event occurred and whom he has not been heard from since. Dr. Mann joins in the journey to explore the possibilities of cloning as a means of continued survival, and 355 is appointed by the government to protect Yorick during his travels. Their voyage is a secret one; Yorick's existence is kept quiet for fear of his safety.

The artwork in the series focuses on strong lines and distinct colors, a contrast to the plot that constantly seeks to express that there are few definite black and whites in the world. The comic is primarily dialogue-driven with occasional outbursts of action here and there. The writer, Brian K. Vaughn, keeps the main plot chugging along well while providing adequate but not overwhelming subplots and pit stops along the way. He also builds excellent supporting characters including Yorick's sister Hero, now joined up with a radical group dedicated to the demise of the male gender and thus to the demise of Yorick and Alter, a female Israeli soldier whose life is built around war.

The strongest point to Vaughn's writing is his characterization. The characters seem to leap off the page, and the reader truly feels as if s/he is along for the ride through this strange world. The character of Yorick in particular grabs the reader with his loneliness at being the last of his sex and his inability to grasp the enormous task before him: being father to the future of the human race.

Vaughn also examines hot-button issues such as cloning, homosexuality and transsexuality in the light of a world where men are presumed extinct. Naturally, the issues of gender are at the forefront of the plot, and the story breaks down long-standing male/female stereotypes.

Covering a wide array of cultural issues, "Y the Last Man" only facilitates existing discussions with some new thoughts and concepts. It does not guarantee answers, at least not yet. Of course, the journey is far from over for Yorick, as well as his audience. While no one knows exactly where this series will end up, one thing is certain: The reader will enjoy this intellectual and entertaining voyage.

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