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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  General Discussion  |  Comics  |  Topic: Y: The Last Man 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Y: The Last Man  (Read 7484 times)
Velorath
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on: February 12, 2008, 11:58:36 PM

Brian K. Vaughan's 60 issue Vertigo epic, Y: The Last Man, wrapped up a couple weeks back, and I've been meaning to write something about it.  Problem is, I'm still not exactly sure how I'd rate this series as a whole.  It's an ambitious and well written book, but it doesn't always live up to its potential.  With Runaways (which launched a year after Y), BKV showed that he can create some amazing characters, but that doesn't always come through in this book.  Characters come and go in this book, and most of them never seem to hang around long enough to get fleshed out, and particularly near the end it makes some of the twists seem a little unconvincing.

The book does do a lot of things well though.  In particular, a lot of sequences that show the immediate aftermath of the plague that wipes out all the males on the planet (except for Yorick, and his monkey Ampersand) are pretty effective, thanks in large part to Pia Guerra, who did the art for most of the series.  A lot of the success of the book is also due to Yorick himself (and to a lesser extent Ampersand).  In Yorick, BKV created what could be seen as the evolution of the  "Marvel style" character, though obviously he isn't a superhero (although he does have some nifty escape artist skills).  He's a bit of a shut-in with no real direction in life, with a girlfriend most people would consider to be way to good for him.  His quest after the plague hits is as much about growing up as it is about the various goals he and the rest of the cast are trying to accomplish throughout the course of the book.

As far as 60+ issue Vertigo maxi-series go, this book isn't Tranmet or Preacher.  In all honesty, I thought I'd have a lot more to say about it when I started going through the series from beginning to end about a week ago.  Obviously there's spoilers I don't want to get into here, but more than that, there doesn't seem to be a lot of meat to the story that you'd expect in something 60 issues long.  That said, issue 60 did have one of the saddest moments I've ever seen in a comic.  It's hard for me to recommend this, simply because getting the whole story would cost around $100 in TPB's, unless you get them cheap used somewhere.  I guess the safest recommendation is to give the first tpd a try and make a decision from there.
Kitsune
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Reply #1 on: February 13, 2008, 03:36:44 PM

Y doesn't have much in the way of a nice, pat beginning-middle-end everything-wrapped-up-with-a-pretty-bow story, but I think that sort of tone suited it well.  Vaughan seemed to be striving for realism with his story, and life is often lacking in clear resolutions of events.  I'd say it's worth going after the trades, but I wouldn't try to track down the issues unless you can find them for a good bit below cover price.
Phildo
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Reply #2 on: February 17, 2008, 12:24:45 AM

When is the last TPB for this due out?  I've refrained from picking up the individual issues, but am rather looking forward to being done with the series.  It's the first lengthy series I got into when I returned to comics a few months ago.
Velorath
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Posts: 8980


Reply #3 on: February 17, 2008, 01:04:00 AM

When is the last TPB for this due out?  I've refrained from picking up the individual issues, but am rather looking forward to being done with the series.  It's the first lengthy series I got into when I returned to comics a few months ago.

Last TPB is currently scheduled for June 3rd.
Phildo
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Reply #4 on: February 17, 2008, 02:00:35 AM

Four months, why not?
TenaciousMike
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Reply #5 on: February 18, 2008, 08:35:31 PM

Although he claims otherwise, it seems like the writer was just going along without a clue where he was heading.  His reason for all the men dying was really odd pseudo-science.  The book was very good right until the last 10 issues, where it took a dive into confusion.  I'm looking forward to more of his work, but I think the ending/cause behind it all could have been handled better.

___

Tenacious Mike
Velorath
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Posts: 8980


Reply #6 on: February 19, 2008, 12:04:32 AM

Although he claims otherwise, it seems like the writer was just going along without a clue where he was heading.  His reason for all the men dying was really odd pseudo-science.  The book was very good right until the last 10 issues, where it took a dive into confusion.  I'm looking forward to more of his work, but I think the ending/cause behind it all could have been handled better.

I haven't read any interviews with BKV in regards to the last few story arcs of Y.  I don't know that any of the possible explanations we're given throughout the course of the book (including the one I assume you are referring to) are meant to be definitive answers.  In the end though, I don't think the exact cause of the "plague" is really an important part of the story.
Phildo
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Reply #7 on: February 19, 2008, 01:30:52 AM

I thought it was.  Do NOT tell me he pulled a Cloverfield.
Velorath
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Reply #8 on: February 19, 2008, 02:05:34 AM

I thought it was.  Do NOT tell me he pulled a Cloverfield.

A Cloverfield?  As I mentioned elsewhere, Night of the Living Dead is one example of pulling off what Cloverfield attempted long before Cloverfield ever got made and a whole lot better.  It's a good example of how the cause of a world altering plague is a lot less important than the effects on society, and its effects from the perspective of the people forced to live through it,

In Y, its only importance as far as the plot goes really, is whether or not finding out the cause would help find a "cure".  Once they figured out what kept Yorick from being affected, it made the cause of the plague little more than a curiousity.  The plague has already happened.  Figuring out what caused it to happen isn't going to bring all the men back to life.
stu
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Reply #9 on: February 19, 2008, 06:07:15 AM

I read a Stephen King interview in which he regretted trying to describe the girl's pyrotechnic abilities in Firestarter. In the end, he felt that she should have been able to set things on fire without giving an explaination. It just made more sense that way.

By the time BKV revealed what had caused the gendercide, I was more concerned with the safety of the characters than anything else. Now that I think back on it, this title had a huge cast.

Doesn't Vertigo have a promotion that lets readers view complete 1st issues for free online?

Dear Diary,
Jackpot!
Phildo
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Reply #10 on: February 19, 2008, 10:11:29 AM

Sorry, I haven't seen any of the Living Dead flms since I was really, really little.  Cloverfield's just the last movie I went to see and it left me more than a little scorched by bad filmmaking.
Velorath
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Posts: 8980


Reply #11 on: February 20, 2008, 11:50:04 PM

Doesn't Vertigo have a promotion that lets readers view complete 1st issues for free online?

Each link that has a #1 by it has a link for downloading a .pdf of the first issue.
stu
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Reply #12 on: May 23, 2008, 04:30:07 PM

... issue 60 did have one of the saddest moments I've ever seen in a comic. 

Just picked up the final issue after taking a couple months off of comics. I don't remember having ever read a sadder moment in a comic.  Cry

Dear Diary,
Jackpot!
Samwise
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WWW
Reply #13 on: May 23, 2008, 06:45:57 PM

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Some of us are waiting for the TPB.

"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
stu
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Posts: 1891


Reply #14 on: May 26, 2008, 07:17:13 PM

Hey, I'm just sayin'! I like to buy TPBs now and then, but this is worth hunting down in its original format.

Dear Diary,
Jackpot!
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