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Y: The Last Man Book 1
"Unmanned (Part I of V)"Written by Brian K. Vaughan (Lost, EX MACHINA), this is the saga of Yorick Brown - the only human survivor of a planet-wide plague that instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. Accompanied by his pet monkey, Yorick searches for his lost love...and the answer to why he's the last man on earth.
- GenresScience Fiction
Paperback
Published September 25, 2014
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Brian K. Vaughan
1,064 books14.2k followersBrian K. Vaughan is the writer and co-creator of comic-book series including SAGA, PAPER GIRLS, Y THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and most recently, BARRIER, a digital comic with artist Marcos Martin about immigration, available from their pay-what-you-want site www.PanelSyndicate.com
BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.
BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 31, 2025
[The edition I read is actually the Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition hardback, which contains Unmanned and Cycles; but the Goodreads listing I found for that has the wrong author--a translation?--and there are umpteen different variations on the volume 1 listings. I don't have the time or patience to go into Goodreads Librarian mode and sort them all out.]
I've known about this series for years but avoided it, presuming the concept would be some kind of male fantasy I couldn't relate to. After being impressed with Paper Girls and its amazing feminist writing, I decided to give this volume a try. And I was pleasantly surprised. It's smart and intriguing; I literally could not put it down and finished it in one sitting.
The focus character, Yorick* Brown, is likeable and nuanced. He's a good guy but not perfect. His determination to find his girlfriend who was last known to be in Australia is sweet. A full range of female characters are on display, from various walks of life, with various careers and interests and various political and emotional/mental landscapes. So far, I like agent 355, a government operative protecting Yorick. Dr. Mann is an interesting mix of no-nonsense scientific intelligence and darker emotion. The Israeli commando known as Alter is formidable, and I don't know whether she's good, bad or something in-between. The Daughters of the Amazon are terrifying; and I definitely want to know what the hell happened to Yorick's sister, Hero*, to cause her to join them. Congresswoman Brown, Yorick and Hero's mother, is an interesting and potentially tricky person. Some of the Democrats vs. Republicans material made me snicker and is unfortunately still applicable years after this story was published.
[*Yorick and Hero's father was a professor of Shakespeare. The Shakespeare references don't stop with their names.]
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 16 years old; I think a person needs a certain level of life experience and knowledge to get the most out of the plot. There's some graphic violence, some partial nudity (more realistic than gratuitous) and a lot of profanity/vulgarity (also realistic).
The art is very good--clean lines, good detail, maybe trending toward more idealised in terms of how the characters look.
I'm forging on to the next book.
I've known about this series for years but avoided it, presuming the concept would be some kind of male fantasy I couldn't relate to. After being impressed with Paper Girls and its amazing feminist writing, I decided to give this volume a try. And I was pleasantly surprised. It's smart and intriguing; I literally could not put it down and finished it in one sitting.
The focus character, Yorick* Brown, is likeable and nuanced. He's a good guy but not perfect. His determination to find his girlfriend who was last known to be in Australia is sweet. A full range of female characters are on display, from various walks of life, with various careers and interests and various political and emotional/mental landscapes. So far, I like agent 355, a government operative protecting Yorick. Dr. Mann is an interesting mix of no-nonsense scientific intelligence and darker emotion. The Israeli commando known as Alter is formidable, and I don't know whether she's good, bad or something in-between. The Daughters of the Amazon are terrifying; and I definitely want to know what the hell happened to Yorick's sister, Hero*, to cause her to join them. Congresswoman Brown, Yorick and Hero's mother, is an interesting and potentially tricky person. Some of the Democrats vs. Republicans material made me snicker and is unfortunately still applicable years after this story was published.
[*Yorick and Hero's father was a professor of Shakespeare. The Shakespeare references don't stop with their names.]
I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 16 years old; I think a person needs a certain level of life experience and knowledge to get the most out of the plot. There's some graphic violence, some partial nudity (more realistic than gratuitous) and a lot of profanity/vulgarity (also realistic).
The art is very good--clean lines, good detail, maybe trending toward more idealised in terms of how the characters look.
I'm forging on to the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2025
Fresh off the heels of DNF’ing the Monstress series, I really enjoyed Book 1 of Y: The Last Man. The story, characters, and groups were clearly introduced/explained as well as humor sprinkled throughout. Looking forward to starting Book 2!
March 18, 2024
Way back when I started reading this and really enjoyed it. I’m not sure why I stopped, but probably money.
I’m glad to get another chance and hope it’s as good as I remember.
I heard they tried a TV series but for some reason it didn’t continue. That’s really good bad for such a good story, but then again, I’m not really one to think that every good comic book should be made live action. It’s usually good because it’s in comic book form.
The art on this book is really good. I love that it is comic book art, not some graphic novel computerized BS. It looks like a human being drew it and another human being inked it. Like god intended.
This book is killing it as I remembered. As action oriented as any spandex book, but with an intriguing mystery and interesting characters.
Yorick goes searching for his senator mom, narrowly avoiding death by hot chick along the way. He wants to find his mom and then the girl he proposed to (who never had a chance to answer) but his mom says he’s got bigger fish to fry. And then they’re attacked.
”But who the hell is shooting at us, mom? Terrorists?”
”Worse…Republicans.”
And of course, the toxic masculinity of the impotent Republican party carries over into their women who makes the first kill!
I can’t even! This book is making me laugh out loud. It’s a very fun read.
If the book makes you say ‘Holy Shit’! It’s a good one!
I’m kind of surprised the series didn’t last. This book is so good it writes and films itself!
”You’re those, ehn…Amazon-dot-com chicks.”
“That’s Daughters of the Amazon.”
I probably ran across this before ‘The Walking Dead’ but it’s got that same sort of vibe. You have no idea what the reaction to this situation will be and of course, our protagonists will be caught up in every variation of it. It’s very good and a page turner.
”What are you, pony-boy all of a sudden?
What I love about this book is that it is not at ALL ‘messagee’. It’s just a cool action packed story of a weird situation. Much like an 80’s movie.
”Because once you make it past the scales and the blindfold… Justice is a woman with a sword.”
This book kicks unholy ass.
This book gets 5 stars easy and not only a keeper but I might go looking for the deluxe edition.
It blasts through like a good Spider-Man or Batman comic. It doesn’t give a “message” it just gives a good action story and that’s what good comics do.
Highly recommended whatever your phenotype!
I’m glad to get another chance and hope it’s as good as I remember.
I heard they tried a TV series but for some reason it didn’t continue. That’s really good bad for such a good story, but then again, I’m not really one to think that every good comic book should be made live action. It’s usually good because it’s in comic book form.
The art on this book is really good. I love that it is comic book art, not some graphic novel computerized BS. It looks like a human being drew it and another human being inked it. Like god intended.
This book is killing it as I remembered. As action oriented as any spandex book, but with an intriguing mystery and interesting characters.
Yorick goes searching for his senator mom, narrowly avoiding death by hot chick along the way. He wants to find his mom and then the girl he proposed to (who never had a chance to answer) but his mom says he’s got bigger fish to fry. And then they’re attacked.
”But who the hell is shooting at us, mom? Terrorists?”
”Worse…Republicans.”
And of course, the toxic masculinity of the impotent Republican party carries over into their women who makes the first kill!
I can’t even! This book is making me laugh out loud. It’s a very fun read.
If the book makes you say ‘Holy Shit’! It’s a good one!
I’m kind of surprised the series didn’t last. This book is so good it writes and films itself!
”You’re those, ehn…Amazon-dot-com chicks.”
“That’s Daughters of the Amazon.”
I probably ran across this before ‘The Walking Dead’ but it’s got that same sort of vibe. You have no idea what the reaction to this situation will be and of course, our protagonists will be caught up in every variation of it. It’s very good and a page turner.
”What are you, pony-boy all of a sudden?
What I love about this book is that it is not at ALL ‘messagee’. It’s just a cool action packed story of a weird situation. Much like an 80’s movie.
”Because once you make it past the scales and the blindfold… Justice is a woman with a sword.”
This book kicks unholy ass.
This book gets 5 stars easy and not only a keeper but I might go looking for the deluxe edition.
It blasts through like a good Spider-Man or Batman comic. It doesn’t give a “message” it just gives a good action story and that’s what good comics do.
Highly recommended whatever your phenotype!
June 29, 2025
I think this is a really interesting premise, but there were a few points that made me uncomfortable. For the first… why are we using the R word?! Gross. Also, while I think it’s an interesting thought experiment, this crosses a line into being a bit insulting. I really don’t think it’s a realistic depiction of how things would go. Maybe that’s me being optimistic.
I do really want to know what is causing all of this & I like Agent 355 a lot. There are characters that are giving me hope that this isn’t as “women are monsters too” as it felt at first.
I do really want to know what is causing all of this & I like Agent 355 a lot. There are characters that are giving me hope that this isn’t as “women are monsters too” as it felt at first.
November 27, 2025
Probably the most overrated graphic novel, I've ever read.
The idea is not very original, the plot is boring, and the characters are hollow and unrealistic.
I got tired along the way trying to guess if this was meant as a woke comment to gender differences or the reverse, and I really couldn't care less to be honest.
How on earth, Stephen King could consider this the best graphic novel ever, is beyond me.
The idea is not very original, the plot is boring, and the characters are hollow and unrealistic.
I got tired along the way trying to guess if this was meant as a woke comment to gender differences or the reverse, and I really couldn't care less to be honest.
How on earth, Stephen King could consider this the best graphic novel ever, is beyond me.
December 18, 2024
the premise is super interesting but i don’t really know how i feel about the execution. the artwork and the way the comic is put together is brilliant but it’s hard to root for yorick when he chooses the stupidest option possible at every given opportunity.
October 17, 2024
Interesting premise and some great Vaughn vibes and writing
February 4, 2025
4.5 - such a great beginning. I’m completely hooked and lookign forward to the next book.
October 4, 2025
EXCEPTIONAL, so fun, punchy, and just a blast to get into. Fingers crossed the whole series keeps it up
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews