I needed to know it finished. I'm a sucker for punishment.
Y: The Last Man is a comic book series by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra, about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal (barring the same man's pet monkey) on Earth.
Final Issue Cover. Actually my favourite cover. I missed the little details the first time I looked at it. It made more sense once I read the comic. (Like Yoricks white hair)
"On July 17, 2002, something (referred to as a plague) simultaneously kills every mammal possessing a Y chromosome — including embryos, fertilized eggs, and even sperm. The only exceptions appear to be Yorick Brown, a young amateur escape artist, and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand.
Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse, and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivor guilt, and the knowledge that - barring a rapid, major scientific breakthrough or other extraordinary happening - humanity is doomed to extinction. Brian K. Vaughan crafts the new society that emerges from this chaos, from the conversion of the Washington Monument into a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist Daughters of the Amazon, who believe that Mother Earth cleansed itself of the "aberration" of the Y chromosome, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.
The main plot of the story covers the five years immediately following the plague. Over the course of their journey, Yorick and his friends watch society cope and restabilize in the absence of men. However, many of the women they encounter have ulterior motives in regard to Yorick. Though the subject matter of the series is entirely serious, Y: The Last Man is also noted for its humor. Yorick in particular is a source of one-liners, although the other characters have their moments as well."
Top to bottom: Agent 355, Yoricks Mother (offscreen) Yorkicks Sister and Dr. Mann. I fin it really hard to like female characters. But they where really likable characters. (despite one of being a nut job for a while)
I know the premise sound humorous and silly. Hmm last man on Earth, how much fun he could have (!) Actually, it's quite serious at times and though he may be the protagonist, Yorick also serves as subtle comic relief.
Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse, and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivor guilt, and the knowledge that - barring a rapid, major scientific breakthrough or other extraordinary happening - humanity is doomed to extinction. Brian K. Vaughan crafts the new society that emerges from this chaos, from the conversion of the Washington Monument into a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist Daughters of the Amazon, who believe that Mother Earth cleansed itself of the "aberration" of the Y chromosome, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.
The main plot of the story covers the five years immediately following the plague. Over the course of their journey, Yorick and his friends watch society cope and restabilize in the absence of men. However, many of the women they encounter have ulterior motives in regard to Yorick. Though the subject matter of the series is entirely serious, Y: The Last Man is also noted for its humor. Yorick in particular is a source of one-liners, although the other characters have their moments as well."
Top to bottom: Agent 355, Yoricks Mother (offscreen) Yorkicks Sister and Dr. Mann. I fin it really hard to like female characters. But they where really likable characters. (despite one of being a nut job for a while) I know the premise sound humorous and silly. Hmm last man on Earth, how much fun he could have (!) Actually, it's quite serious at times and though he may be the protagonist, Yorick also serves as subtle comic relief.
"Alas poor Yorick." Though only mentioned once really is a major theme. As well as the great use of "The male gaze." (This is a comic I want to look at during my dissertation.)
Brian K. Vaughan is one of my favourite comic book writers. Though the majority of the cast is female, there's only a few times you realise it clearly written and drawn by a male. I think writing this essay on the male gaze has started to affect how I look at comic books. It isn't a bad thing. I REALLY enjoyed the comic and I actually can't wait to see how they make it for the big screen. (Something I mentioned in a previous post.) - That is, as long as they don't cast Shia Labeouf like rumoured. Besides he'll be way to old. Yorick is more last boy than man.
There's everything you need. A great cast, diverse, brilliant story line and the use of mind blowing science. (Cloning...I love anything to do with clones.)
And there is a monkey is called ampersand. Nuff Said.
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