Stephanie Kay
Oct 13, 2007, 10:04 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6945"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6946" hspace=10 align=left alt="Y The Last Man #50"></a> Reviewer: Zach Ayotte, zachzealand@gmail.com
Story Title: Motherland Part 2
”…But I Never Stopped Trying.”
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Letterer: Clem Robins
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr.
Colorist: Zylonol
Assistant Editor: Casey Seijas
Cover Art: Massimo Carnevale
Editor: Will Dennis
Y The Last Man Created by: Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra
Published by: DC/Vertigo Comics (http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/)
Suggested for Mature Readers
A few spoilers!!! Read at the risk of letting one or two cats out of one or two bags!
Fifty issues ago, while a certain escape artist was hanging upside down in a straight jacket, the presence of a Y-chromosome became a death sentence for all men except one. That man was Yorick Brown and along with his monkey, Ampersand, he became the world’s last chance to fix whatever happened to all the men on earth. From that moment on, Yorick's life would never be the same. His friends would find out how far they would go to save him, and his enemies would do whatever it took to stop him. Everyone thought he was worth the risk because he was it; he was the last man. That is, until now.
A few issues ago, I was beginning to think, every so slightly, that Y The Last Man may be becoming formulaic. As if right on cue, I picked up issue #47, and thought again, because in issue #47, Allison Mann started to bleed. I didn’t realize it at the time, but at that moment, we as readers, got one step closer to getting the answer to the biggest question of this book: why is Yorick Brown the last man? The answer to that question begins to unfold in this issue, but begins with a twist.
From the very beginning, Brian K. Vaughan has offered us an assortment of possible causes for the plague that killed all Y-chromosome bearing creatures on Earth. Some were scientific, while some were a little more mythical, but we have never been short of possibilities. Now that we are getting answers we are closing in on what I think will be this book’s biggest hurdle, the truth about what started it all. This book has always straddled the real world and a fictional one in an impressive way. Over the course of this book, Vaughan has covered many issues, ranging from sex, politics and drugs to sexism, racism and sexual identity, but the issues he has tackled have never overpowered the story that Vaughan is telling. Instead, they have added a sense of realism to a world that, if handled improperly, could have felt foreign and impenetrable. Now Vaughan has to give up answers that satisfy the reader, in tone and believability, but at the same time he has to hold onto what makes this book great. In my opinion he is off to a solid start. We get a glimpse of the truth in issue #50 and it seems that Vaughan has chosen the most viable possible cause of the many present in this book. I don’t want to ruin anything so I will avoid great detail. I will say that an answer that is in some way scientific has always felt like a necessary part of this story, even if that science borders on something fantastical. For me, the opening pages of this book, which demonstrated Vaughan’s brilliant use of flashbacks, were a strong metaphor for what it has been like to read these stories. We are presented with scientific evidence that borders on something mythical, we then counter with a feeling of doubt, but deep down we cannot discount what we have been told because the answers are all around us.
Along with the first threads of truth, this issue serves up some solid moments from all of our main characters. Yorick has his humorous lines, 355 proves that she is now and always tough as nails, and Ali, who in many ways is the emotional core of this book, loses and gains in the same few pages. The writing is as strong as ever, including a great scene with our favorite Lieutenant General from the Israeli army, and the plot remains thick, rich and full of curves.
My one complaint about this issue is that, in many ways, the truth about the “plague” really felt like the main character in this issue. While all of the characters were well written and true to form, they all felt like they were making room for the big impending shoe-drop. But we only get a tiny glimpse of the truth in this issue. As a result, this issue felt like it ended too quickly. It felt like we made room for truth in this issue, but it really only barely got it’s foot in the door by the end of the issue. Of course, this is often the case with story arcs and is one of the reasons that this book is so popular in trade paperback form.
Pia Guerra gives us more of her great and recognizable art in this book. Her style is so married to this title that fill-in artists always feel out of place. One of my favourite panels is the scene where the curtain is pulled back to reveal Yorick, who is having an adverse reaction to the drugs he was given. His face was comical and so perfectly suited to how he the panel was written. The bluish-green tints for the final pages were a nice touch from Zylonol, who handled the colours for this book.
This title is good. So good that it almost goes without saying. The story is unique, the characters are dynamic and interesting, and the art and writing are almost always spot on. We’ve been given fifty solid issues and we’re not done yet. But we must go back now, to the truth and to one little letter. Y. It is an initial, a chromosome, and a question. Why did Yorick Brown survive? Why is he the last man? We are starting to get our answer to the question that has been the title of this book for fifty issues. Dr. Ming told Allison that she already knows the truth, now it’s our turn. Happy 50th Y!
Overall:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yhalf.jpg
Buy Y The Last Man online now from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=158&cat=Y+%2D+THE+LAST+MAN+)
Story Title: Motherland Part 2
”…But I Never Stopped Trying.”
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Letterer: Clem Robins
Inker: Jose Marzan Jr.
Colorist: Zylonol
Assistant Editor: Casey Seijas
Cover Art: Massimo Carnevale
Editor: Will Dennis
Y The Last Man Created by: Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra
Published by: DC/Vertigo Comics (http://www.dccomics.com/vertigo/)
Suggested for Mature Readers
A few spoilers!!! Read at the risk of letting one or two cats out of one or two bags!
Fifty issues ago, while a certain escape artist was hanging upside down in a straight jacket, the presence of a Y-chromosome became a death sentence for all men except one. That man was Yorick Brown and along with his monkey, Ampersand, he became the world’s last chance to fix whatever happened to all the men on earth. From that moment on, Yorick's life would never be the same. His friends would find out how far they would go to save him, and his enemies would do whatever it took to stop him. Everyone thought he was worth the risk because he was it; he was the last man. That is, until now.
A few issues ago, I was beginning to think, every so slightly, that Y The Last Man may be becoming formulaic. As if right on cue, I picked up issue #47, and thought again, because in issue #47, Allison Mann started to bleed. I didn’t realize it at the time, but at that moment, we as readers, got one step closer to getting the answer to the biggest question of this book: why is Yorick Brown the last man? The answer to that question begins to unfold in this issue, but begins with a twist.
From the very beginning, Brian K. Vaughan has offered us an assortment of possible causes for the plague that killed all Y-chromosome bearing creatures on Earth. Some were scientific, while some were a little more mythical, but we have never been short of possibilities. Now that we are getting answers we are closing in on what I think will be this book’s biggest hurdle, the truth about what started it all. This book has always straddled the real world and a fictional one in an impressive way. Over the course of this book, Vaughan has covered many issues, ranging from sex, politics and drugs to sexism, racism and sexual identity, but the issues he has tackled have never overpowered the story that Vaughan is telling. Instead, they have added a sense of realism to a world that, if handled improperly, could have felt foreign and impenetrable. Now Vaughan has to give up answers that satisfy the reader, in tone and believability, but at the same time he has to hold onto what makes this book great. In my opinion he is off to a solid start. We get a glimpse of the truth in issue #50 and it seems that Vaughan has chosen the most viable possible cause of the many present in this book. I don’t want to ruin anything so I will avoid great detail. I will say that an answer that is in some way scientific has always felt like a necessary part of this story, even if that science borders on something fantastical. For me, the opening pages of this book, which demonstrated Vaughan’s brilliant use of flashbacks, were a strong metaphor for what it has been like to read these stories. We are presented with scientific evidence that borders on something mythical, we then counter with a feeling of doubt, but deep down we cannot discount what we have been told because the answers are all around us.
Along with the first threads of truth, this issue serves up some solid moments from all of our main characters. Yorick has his humorous lines, 355 proves that she is now and always tough as nails, and Ali, who in many ways is the emotional core of this book, loses and gains in the same few pages. The writing is as strong as ever, including a great scene with our favorite Lieutenant General from the Israeli army, and the plot remains thick, rich and full of curves.
My one complaint about this issue is that, in many ways, the truth about the “plague” really felt like the main character in this issue. While all of the characters were well written and true to form, they all felt like they were making room for the big impending shoe-drop. But we only get a tiny glimpse of the truth in this issue. As a result, this issue felt like it ended too quickly. It felt like we made room for truth in this issue, but it really only barely got it’s foot in the door by the end of the issue. Of course, this is often the case with story arcs and is one of the reasons that this book is so popular in trade paperback form.
Pia Guerra gives us more of her great and recognizable art in this book. Her style is so married to this title that fill-in artists always feel out of place. One of my favourite panels is the scene where the curtain is pulled back to reveal Yorick, who is having an adverse reaction to the drugs he was given. His face was comical and so perfectly suited to how he the panel was written. The bluish-green tints for the final pages were a nice touch from Zylonol, who handled the colours for this book.
This title is good. So good that it almost goes without saying. The story is unique, the characters are dynamic and interesting, and the art and writing are almost always spot on. We’ve been given fifty solid issues and we’re not done yet. But we must go back now, to the truth and to one little letter. Y. It is an initial, a chromosome, and a question. Why did Yorick Brown survive? Why is he the last man? We are starting to get our answer to the question that has been the title of this book for fifty issues. Dr. Ming told Allison that she already knows the truth, now it’s our turn. Happy 50th Y!
Overall:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yfull.jpghttp://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/yhalf.jpg
Buy Y The Last Man online now from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=158&cat=Y+%2D+THE+LAST+MAN+)