Welcome back to the comic book corner. As promised, this week I’ll be discussing a title not published under Image comics. Y: The Last Man was created and written by Brian K. Vaughan with art by Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. This series originally debuted in 2002 and ran until 2008. Published under the DC comics adult-focused label, Vertigo Comics, book one of Y: The Last Man collects the first ten issues of the series.

Y: The Last Man was also adapted into a television series under the same name on FX and ran for one season before being canceled in 2021. I have never seen the show, though I have heard mixed things from fans of the comic series.

The story of Y: The Last Man is set in our world. One day a mysterious virus suddenly wipes out 99.9 percent of living creatures with the Y chromosome. The only living male creatures left are protagonist, Yorick Brown and his pet capuchin monkey Ampersand. As a result of this selective genocide, the world is now ruled entirely by women, but the main story is focused on Yorick’s quest to repopulate the human race.

If this sounds like a plot to a bad adult film, I can’t say you are incorrect. I have heard a fair amount of positive discourse surrounding this series and I certainly believe this premise can make for an engaging narrative if handled with tact. Nonetheless, that’s not really the case here. Y: The Last Man is littered with crass jokes and stereotypes surrounding both sexes. I understand this was written in 2002, but given the story is aimed at adults I would appreciate jokes that felt less childish.

Y: The Last Man is also a prime example of the phrase “Men writing women.” This concept represents how women are often poorly characterized in media by male authors/film and TV writers. Examples include: characterizing women simply through trivial personality traits, stereotypes, or sexuality. Female characters in Y: The Last Man fell into three extremes: raging emotional balls of hormones, radical feminists, or lesbians. It’s very predictable and tiresome; I often found myself rolling my eyes when reading Y: The Last Man. Real people do not behave in this manner, they have nuanced personalities and by portraying characters according to stereotypes instantly destroyed my immersion in the world.

Another major issue I had with the narrative is how character development is handled. One character in particular transitions from an EMT to a murdering extremist in moments. I don’t have a problem with this evolution, but merely wish I was given more reasons and evidence to show why this character is driven to commit atrocities. As it is written, the changes come across unrealistically and lazily. It is unfortunate, as I feel there really is potential here for something interesting. Perhaps something more akin to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which explores the divisions between men and women in an extremely thought-provoking and heart-wrenching tale of struggle.

In terms of the artwork, Y: The Last Man provides something serviceable though nothing especially noteworthy. I do like the classic look of the series, as there is something about traditional pencil and ink comics that provides a bit of charm. This collection does preserve the original issue covers, which showcase some absolutely gorgeous pieces that almost look hand painted.

Though I have complained a fair amount during this review there are certainly interesting aspects to be explored. What exactly is the cause of the virus? What role does science have here? Why are Yorick and his pet monkey the only ones to survive? These are all questions I hope will become a larger part of future issues. I also enjoyed the character of Agent 355. She is easily one of the more well-written female characters and her serious personality makes for a nice contrast to Yorick.

Y: the Last Man is a deeply flawed narrative. There is certainly potential for the story to evolve into something more powerful, but as it stands now, I didn’t enjoy reading this and I’m not sure if I will be continuing the series here.

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Y The Last Man Book one

19.99

4

Score

4.0/10

Pros

• Intriguing concept

Cons

• Bad humor
• Rushed and poor characterization
• Artwork is unexciting