Y: The Last Man Vol. 02: Cycles

I really enjoyed this and am happy to continue reading this series! It's fun, action-packed, and has a great Whedon-esque sense of humor.

I am unhappy about the death in this volume, though. As I said in my review of the previous volume, the decision to shows us a world without men through the lens of a male protagonist, while obvious, puts up total Oedipal narrative flags. There's the danger that our male protagonist will become all-important and the other female characters only significant as they relate to him.

And here, indeed, we have a flatly characterized female character who only exists in order to die tragically and further the conflict between Yorick and his sister. "But Becky," you say, "of course she's female, this is about a show more world without men!" Yes, but this isn't just any story about a woman - it's a story straight out of Hollywood, pulp fiction, and Victorian novels - the Innocent Female Martyr who clarifies the hero's moral values and moves the plot forward.

Basically we have a story that asks insightful questions about what a post-male world would look like, but is still a traditional action/adventure serial and repeats the same old plot cliches of Oedipal fiction.

I've hardly begun reading so maybe my criticisms won't hold later on, but I do think anyone who wants to be aware of gender in their writing should be aware that plot cliches are as important to deconstruct as character or themes. Inserting them without thought or comment will undermine your story. show less

This review is for the entire run of Y: The Last Man, not any single installment.

In an instant all the men, in fact every mammal with a Y chromosome, all around the world are wiped out. Except for one man and his monkey (and yes, the inevitable Beatles joke does eventually get made). That man, Yorick Brown, and his helper capuchin in training, Ampersand, are taken under the protection of a spy/assassin member of a secret organization answerable only to the President of the USA and sent to meet an expert in (human) cloning to try and discover why Yorick survived and how to continue the human species. And incidentally for Yorick to re-unite with his fiancée, last known to be in Australia.

Of course most of the story is about the troubles show more of being the only remaining man alive in a world that just lost half its population while trying to travel from New York to Boston to California and eventually most of the rest of the world. How would women react? What sorts of communities would they re-build? The short answer is well and badly, communities of hate and communities of inclusion, all with very recognizable human motivations. There are neo-amazons who set out to destroy any vestige of maleness in the world. There are the ex-cons that were let out of prison (what if the female guards hadn't freed them?) who form a community based around shared pasts and a belief in reform, responsibility and independence. Fanatic nationalists, drug smugglers, post-male feminist activist acting troupes.

Throughout the entire run a variety of possible causes ranging from disease, to curses, to divine retribution, to gaia/evolution re-setting a balance are proposed. The thing they all have in common, aside from never being definitively set as "the" cause, is that every single one of them revolves around the incredible hubris that the actions of a single person caused this to happen. Right along side the obvious parallel of the hubris that a single man could "save" the entire human species.

The story is well told, beautifully illustrated, and plays with a whole range of human emotions and motivations in a fairly believable fashion. If it skims past a lot of the practical details and problems, it at least acknowledges them in passing. My biggest problem is that while any given installment contains some time references like "New York, 10 minutes ago" and "Washington D.C., now" the actual timeline of the entire series of chapters (issues? installments?) is not clearly laid out. And it doesn't help that two chapters might take place in immediate succession, or weeks or months apart. That probably worked fine for anyone reading each installment as it came out each month but if you're reading them in collected and straight through it becomes slightly annoying and distracting. show less

3.5 for sure, this thing is growing on me. But the dude is SO unrealistic sometimes, it's totally making me laugh my ass off...he's the ONLY dude on planet earth, 90% of the women he's surrounded by are super hot, & he's all "I'm saving myself for my girlfriend over in Australia"...Bwaaahahahah! :D And then when he IS going to finally stup some girl, SHE says she isn't good enough for him because she USED to be a meth addict...Bwahahaha! Less talk, more action, people! :) But the story's getting good, and unexpected things happen, which is always good!

This series is shaping up to be one of my all time favorites.

When we last left Yorick, he was trying to travel across the United States with the help of Agent 355 and Dr. Mann. This is especially difficult when most roadways are blocked with abandoned vehicles and other large obstacles. Therefore, the best route of travel? Train. The trip is interrupted quickly when attacked by a gang of women separate from the Amazons. Once again, their journey is thrown into disarray. To go any further in the plot description would throw some major spoilerific elements your way, so I'll stop right here.

Going back to that opening sentence of mine - I really hated putting that in there. I mean, I've only just finished the 2nd book (of ten)! However, I show more honestly feel that way. In the second collection, we are given a whole hell of a lot of character development and story progression. Not only are we witness to several high anxiety confrontations but A LOT of revelations as well. All of these characters stay interesting especially considering Brian K. Vaughn just keeps throwing more people at us. You never get that feeling that Vaughn is trying to stretch the story out in a way that's not needed - length for the sake of it.

It probably goes without saying, but the artwork is fantastic. It plays out like watching a great action movie. Pia Guerra does an excellent job displaying Vaughn's vision with quick cutting and suspense building images.

I have high hopes for the remainder of this series. The only problem in getting these from my local library is waiting until the next one is available. Probably should've done the smart thing and taken them out all at once. show less

** spoiler alert ** The last page of this book actually made me raise up my arms in some sort of victorious celebration without even thinking about it. My boyfriend thought I was a little crazy.

I really like how the story line came together and am interested in seeing what happens to and with the Amazons. Yorick remains an interesting character and 355 is becoming more of a mysterious character the less we learn about her and her shady government organization (if it's really a government organization)...more The last page of this book actually made me raise up my arms in some sort of victorious celebration without even thinking about it. My boyfriend thought I was a little crazy.

I really like how the story line came together and am show more interested in seeing what happens to and with the Amazons. Yorick remains an interesting character and 355 is becoming more of a mysterious character the less we learn about her and her shady government organization (if it's really a government organization). show less

Summary: Yorrick Brown, the last man on earth after a terrible plague wiped out half of the world's population, is a man on a mission. After finding the lab of Dr. Mann, a cloning scientist who might be able to figure out why Yorrick is still alive, in flames, Yorrick, Dr. Mann, and secret government operative 355 must travel across the country to Dr. Mann's back-up facility in California. However, their quest gets derailed (literally, heh) in the middle of Ohio, where they come across a town that seems a little too good to be true. Meanwhile, there are several groups hunting the rumored last man, including a group of murderous Amazons that includes Yorrick's sister.

Review: Okay, this series has got me good and hooked. The second volume show more is as compelling as the first one was, and since the basics of the worldbuilding are already present, it's a little tighter and a little more focused. This story flirted with some pathos and deeper emotions for our main characters as well, although I wish they - Yorrick, especially - had been given a little bit more time to process and dive into those emotions. Story-wise, it's a nice arc as well; it's simultaneously self-contained and dropping hints and trailers that will certainly be picked up in the future.

I still can't always tell the female characters apart (although I'm really good at distinguishing between the male characters... not so hard, considering there are only two of them, and one's a monkey.) There's only one point in this volume where someone's identity is important to the plot but not stated out loud, and I figured out who that was easily enough. There are other little niggling details about the art that bug me, too; for instance, I would never have guessed that Dr. Mann is Asian based on the way she's drawn - black hair and glasses aren't enough to cut it, folks. Overall, though, the art is clean and attractive, and the story's insanely interesting, so I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Not a stand-alone, but based on what I've seen thus far, I'd absolutely recommend the series as a whole. show less

MAYBE I'm just spoiled by a glut of really great comics over the years, but while Y: The Last Man is still solid as hell, it's not quite rocking my boat yet.

It's still slightly edgy, but I've read lots of comics that cursed and had nudity. That's not what makes a great story. A great story makes a great story. In this volume, I'm reminded a lot of The Walking Dead in the early years. Willing to take risks but still firmly grounded in the everyday. Not quite tipping over into outright imaginative awesomeness, but holding back so as not to scare the normals.

And then again, maybe this is just a feature of the times. '03. All the later great comics, such as Saga, written by the same guy, had to have come from SOMEWHERE. :)

We shall see. show more Goodbye, paradise, hello spaceboys. :) show less