Y : The Last Man - Unmanned / Cycles / One Small Step / Safeword / Ring of Truth / Girl on Girl

by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator), José Marzán Jr. (Illustrator)

Y: THE LAST MAN, winner of three Eisner Awards and one of the most critically acclaimed, best-selling comic books series of the last decade, is that rare example of a page-turner that is at once humorous, socially relevant and endlessly surprising. This includes Unmanned ISBN 9781563899805, Cycles ISBN 9781401200763, One Small Step ISBN 9781401202019, Safeword ISBN 9781401202323, Ring of Truth ISBN 9781401204877 and Girl on Girl ISBN 9781401205010

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Paperback

About the author

Brian 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.

Reviews

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bed-ridden and recovering from an injury, I devoured this series from start to finish with manic frenzy. It's a pulpy exploration of an apocalyptic scenario: planes fall from the sky, cars crash, governments collapse, and the last remnants of man are slicked in blood which spews from their orifices. A  mystery pandemic has hit and the world's population falls by half and the protagonist is the last man on earth.  He's suddenly left with the mystery of the plague, an existential crisis (why him?), hot girls wanting him, and hot girls wanting him dead.

It doesn't get much deeper than that, despite the potentially profound premise. The gender commentary is extremely superficial and doesn't explore much past role reversals: women are now truck drivers, hilarity ensues!

Whatever -- the plotting and momentum are excellent. So are the pulpy details. He's got a monkey sidekick and a ninja assassin hunting him around.  The White House, Israeli soldiers, world class bio-geneticists,  militant feminist cults are all major players in the fast moving labyrinthine plot.  Scattered throughout the intrigue, there were enough spectacles of blood and flesh to feed my feverish mind.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian K Vaughn is the man. I read this series at a breakneck speed of 10-15 issues per night.

This book is like World War Z in its realistic (somewhat) portrayal of the "gendercide". It becomes a globe trotting adventure with a host of hugely interesting characters.

I don't want to be cliché, but I loved how relatable Yorick was for me. He's the modern 22 year old guy amidst an existential crisis. And what guy like that doesn't secretly dream of such a catastrophe?

You can tell why Vaughn was hired on for LOST season 3 and Under the Dome. He is just a master of crafting the long story. Oh what an amazing, entertaining yarn Y: The Last Man was. This series gives me hope that he will do outstanding things with Saga.

[Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent comic book, I was put off by the premise at first, but when I actually got down to reading it something hooked me and pulled me in. That something was the same thing for every series that I love, the characters. Their growth, development, and unique experiences were amazing, I loved getting to read it and highly recommend it.

[sohrab sitaram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic artwork, amazing story line and concept, just loved it - a must read and one of my favourite comic books !

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow wow! i’m not really into graphic novel but this one downright hooked me. i highly recommend this book.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this story excellent is its consistency. With a lot of 'epic' stories I've read/ watched/ played over the years. It's evident that crafting a captivating narrative at the outset, is a lot easier than maintaining and finishing it in a satisfying way. For me, Y: The Last Man did this.

I think a large part of its success is ultimately because its characters are larger than the narrative. This seems to be the main difference in my experience between a successful epic series and one that ends convoluted and unsure of where to go. Last Man never loses sight of its primary aim to tell the story of a set of characters involved in a big situation and this is what sets the comic and its writer apart. All of Vaughan's characters, both major and minor, have depth and quirks that fashion their humanity into something believable. I genuinely liked spending time with these characters, so much so that when plot reveals occurred, they didn't really hit me like they would in a narrative driven piece. I rolled with it, like the characters did. But if there was so much of a suggestion that if I advanced pages one of the characters might case. I really didn't want to turn that page.

Having said that, the plot is itself well handled. I appreciated the fact that Vaughan didn't shy away from approaching questions on gender and society, within what must have been a proverbial mine field of potential sexism. I'm sure he probably offended some, but I think he did a commendable job overall.

Ultimately, I suspect this is the type of story that would be perfect for someone who's curious about the medium and what it can do. Said person, or anyone for that matter will find something to like here I think.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pues verá usted... Leer "Y" ha sido una experiencia agradable, similar a algunas series de tv en las que, a partir de un hecho inverosímil pero el cual se nos asegura que es posible, se nos va revelando el misterio a cuentagotas. Y con cada nueva revelación, uno va desechando sus hipótesis para elaborar otras más complejas. Siempre con fe en que existe una explicación satisfactoria al hecho que sirve de escenario a la historia. En caso de que Ud. no lo sepa, la premisa es simple: en un instante, todos los animales machos se mueren. Hombres, niños, perros, osos, etc. Todos excepto el protagonista y su mono.

Sin embargo, lo más interesante de "Y" son los personajes y cómo se van a transformando unos a otros a lo largo de la travesía. Por lo menos respecto a los tres personajes principales, ya que hay muchos otros con los que uno no termina de formarse una idea clara. Es posible que por falta de exposición, pero también es cierto que por mucho tiempo que se les dé, si no se les da volumen no sirve de mucho.

Leí la obra años después de su finalización, de manera que no tuve que esperar la publicación del siguiente número. Esto hace que mi percepción en el ritmo sea diferente a la de alguien que la leyó durante su publicación original. Me pareció poco uniforme, con varias líneas argumentales que, aunque si bien se cierran, daban para más. Sentí repetitivas algunas situaciones de la parte central. Por otro lado, los últimos 10 números avanzaron la historia frenéticamente, cerrando con un final agridulce pero satisfactorio.

[Mr.blasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows Yorick an escape artist slacker who survives a plague/something (we are never really told for sure what happened) that wipes out everything on earth with a Y chromosome except him and his monkey. The two go on a lengthy journey in search of his girlfriend Beth. He is accompanied by 355 a special US agent. We see Yorick grow and changes as he see how women adjust to the absence of men and his own role as the last surviving male human.

Y the last man has won five Eisner awards. So this graphic novel is extremely well written in my opinion, it never deviates from the seriousness of the topic. The character development is quiet clear with Yorick growing and becoming a man. So he is a bit older but he still has not yet turned his face towards becoming an adult so this story of becoming an adult and well the only man on the planet resonates with the young adult audience.

[James Demaio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading Y: The Last Man, so this is a bit of a afterglow review, but if you are over eighteen and have an appreciation for works that combine highbrow philosophy with lowbrow humor (I'm looking at you Shakespeare) then I think you would appreciate this work a lot. It's care in treating even minor characters as fully motivated human beings is what elevates it beyond the simple Lord of the Flies/The Road social commentary. Issue to issue it struggles at points but taken as the sum of its parts, I give it a hardy recommendation, and the last issue is flawless.

Again, not for kids or the easily offended.

[Mo Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I discovered that my tablet makes a decent comic book reader. I dont know how I stumbled upon this series (60 issues from start to finish), but I did and I'm glad I did. The protagonist has a wry humor that's endearing without being annoying. The explanation as to why Yorick (alas!) ended up being one of the only men to survive a plague is not particularly satisfying, but if you can overlook that the relationships that are built overtime makes sense and are strangely affecting.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was finally able to finish this series, thanks to a grant from a generous benefactor (maybe that convict I saved as a child?) An intricate, literate, funny, romantic and tragic epic. Adjectives! I would recommend it to anyone.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read; an interesting take on the role of women (present and post-apocalyptic), and about human nature in general. I thought the self-referencing was a bit like hitting us over the head, but I suppose it helps reach all facets of the work's audience.

[Bombadillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the one of the best graphic novel/ comic book series of all time. I really can't imagine anyone topping this anytime soon. And despite its size, I was able to finish it very quickly considering how insanely addictive it becomes.

[Zen · Rating 5 out of 5]

what can i say? this was an awesome read. epic, tragic, funny, sad, romantic - i dont say this lightly, but there was a little bit of everything in this series. i would heartily recommend it to any one.

[Kevin Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic had me hooked. Great character development, great action, and of course the concept of a "gendercide", which is just really cool. It also has a lot of moments that poke fun at gender roles and its just generally interesting.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Heba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read but pretty rushed ending.

[Jc Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best graphic novel I've read so far.

[Rob]

See also:
• http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.c...

[Aniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoying this right now

[Maxime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some truly deep insights in this book. A most amazing achievement.

[Pam Romualdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed at the end, but definitely a colorful journey from start to finish.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great graphic novel. The end was a little underwhelming but all in all worth the read.

[travis cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun engrossing read. Wish I had read more Shakespeare..

[Bronwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read these over the course of a year or so. Occasionally veers into stupidity, but mostly really fun what-if kind of graphic novel.

[Jason Tate · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best pieces of science fiction I've ever read.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is still one of the best comic book series I've ever read.