What do you think?
Rate this book
Y: The Last Man #9
Y: Le Dernier Homme, #9: Terre Mère
Enfin réunis, les deux derniers mâles sur Terre, Yorick Brown et son singe Esperluette, sont sur un bateau pour la Chine, en route pour une réunion tant attendue avec la fiancée de Yorick, perdue à Paris. Mais alors qu'ils s'apprêtent à traverser deux continents de plus avec l'agent 355, leurs autres compagnons de voyage (la biochimiste Allison Mann et son amie Rose) tentent d'arriver au bout d'une autre quête... Elles veulent découvrir l'origine du fléau qui, quatre ans plus tôt, a tué tous les mammifères pourvus d'un chromosome Y. Ce qu'elles trouvent dans un laboratoire secret de Hong Kong est une chose à laquelle aucune d'elles ne s'attendait... une chose qui pourrait signifier la fin, non seulement pour le dernier homme, mais aussi pour l'avenir des mâles sur la planète.
Y : Le dernier homme - Terre mère recueille les épisodes 49 à 54 de la populaire série créée par Brian K. Vaughan et Pia Guerra, avec la participation de l'artiste Goran Sudzuka et de l'encreur José Marzàn Jr.
Y : Le dernier homme - Terre mère recueille les épisodes 49 à 54 de la populaire série créée par Brian K. Vaughan et Pia Guerra, avec la participation de l'artiste Goran Sudzuka et de l'encreur José Marzàn Jr.
180 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2007
49 people are currently reading
3850 people want to read
About the author
Brian K. Vaughan
1,057 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 508 reviews
March 22, 2023
Notes: Grade and review pending re-read. Collective review for volumes 9-10 can be found here: Y: The Last Man - The Deluxe Edition Book Five.
October 14, 2021
I really don't care for Yorick.
He annoys me and I'm not sure what 355 sees in him.
Oh, wait.
He is the last man on earth.<--he's looking pretty good now, isn't he?
Shockingly, the answer is still not really.
On the upside?
We are rolling towards the finish line, people!
Could Dr. Mann's father be the source of the plague?
Can Rose prove to Dr. Mann that she really does love her?
Beth has a dream (wtf?) that Yorick is alive and heads starts scouring Paris to find him.
The garbage truck supermodel from the first issue buries Yorick's mom and has a heart-to-heart with a prostitute.
And the theater chick from way back makes a comic about a plague that wipes out all the women except one - The Last Woman.
Yorick reads it and we all smile ironically.
Nine volumes down, one to go!
Bring it home strong, Vaughn.
He annoys me and I'm not sure what 355 sees in him.
Oh, wait.
He is the last man on earth.<--he's looking pretty good now, isn't he?
Shockingly, the answer is still not really.
On the upside?
We are rolling towards the finish line, people!
Could Dr. Mann's father be the source of the plague?
Can Rose prove to Dr. Mann that she really does love her?
Beth has a dream (wtf?) that Yorick is alive and heads starts scouring Paris to find him.
The garbage truck supermodel from the first issue buries Yorick's mom and has a heart-to-heart with a prostitute.
And the theater chick from way back makes a comic about a plague that wipes out all the women except one - The Last Woman.
Yorick reads it and we all smile ironically.
Nine volumes down, one to go!
Bring it home strong, Vaughn.
January 22, 2025
i finished it a few days ago and when i finally remember to write a review or say anything about it like i usually do i find that i already forgot what i wanted to say
but since i already started to read the final one
i would like to say a few books this comic made me want to read
for a start it made me to want even more than before to read don Quixote
and it made me want to read something about Lenin i want to know why he is so famous and so important i guess i will start reading something about him when i finish the new novel am reading about Alexander
but since i already started to read the final one
i would like to say a few books this comic made me want to read
for a start it made me to want even more than before to read don Quixote
and it made me want to read something about Lenin i want to know why he is so famous and so important i guess i will start reading something about him when i finish the new novel am reading about Alexander
March 8, 2022
This is it, this could be the moment when we find out what this series is really about.... because we know it's not about Y right? And check out what equates to Y The Last Man #53 'The Obituarist' which is the best issue in the entire series so far, a one-shot set in Washington from when men first all died off. I do reckon. 9 out of 12 overall.
2017 read<>
2017 read<>
April 21, 2020
Same decent art. Same intriguing story. This series continues to bring it!
I have been slowly working my way through this series but loving every minute of it. It is unique and odd and maybe not everyone’s’ cup of tea. But, the creative approach to a potentially apocalyptic event has been fleshed out in many interesting ways. There have been so many “what ifs” for the author to play with that it was probably as fun to write as it is to read!
It appears that the next volume is the last volume of the series. I cannot say that I have felt it building up to a climax yet, so I hope it is wrapped up well. I would hate to have all this build up for a rushed and convenient ending.
The art has remained the same but very decent throughout. I believe I mentioned in previous reviews of this series that it has more of the older comic book style in most places (think Dick Tracy or early superhero). Where the art has branched out into cool variants on the theme is with the covers, and I have included a few examples with my review.
Excited for the next issue, but sad to see it end!
I have been slowly working my way through this series but loving every minute of it. It is unique and odd and maybe not everyone’s’ cup of tea. But, the creative approach to a potentially apocalyptic event has been fleshed out in many interesting ways. There have been so many “what ifs” for the author to play with that it was probably as fun to write as it is to read!
It appears that the next volume is the last volume of the series. I cannot say that I have felt it building up to a climax yet, so I hope it is wrapped up well. I would hate to have all this build up for a rushed and convenient ending.
The art has remained the same but very decent throughout. I believe I mentioned in previous reviews of this series that it has more of the older comic book style in most places (think Dick Tracy or early superhero). Where the art has branched out into cool variants on the theme is with the covers, and I have included a few examples with my review.
Excited for the next issue, but sad to see it end!
June 4, 2018
Any story needs to be held up to the yardstick of its wrap-up, and this is no slouch.
I'm not used to seeing comics throw all their focus and love on a single idea after so much time has been spent on what appears to be, you know, THE LAST MAN.
But here's a little secret. It's not really about him at all. It never was. And even after so much panel time, he's really nothing more than a red herring.
Do I need to spell it out?
Well, yeah! It's about women. Hello!! And this volume is doing a very fine job of it. All complicated and messed up as it is, how cheeky and sad and gritty and girly, it's just as crazy as the whole subject we've been sloshing through for this entire comic.
And it just feels right. One more to go! Let's see if the *ahem* hero gets his girl. :)
I'm not used to seeing comics throw all their focus and love on a single idea after so much time has been spent on what appears to be, you know, THE LAST MAN.
But here's a little secret. It's not really about him at all. It never was. And even after so much panel time, he's really nothing more than a red herring.
Do I need to spell it out?
Well, yeah! It's about women. Hello!! And this volume is doing a very fine job of it. All complicated and messed up as it is, how cheeky and sad and gritty and girly, it's just as crazy as the whole subject we've been sloshing through for this entire comic.
And it just feels right. One more to go! Let's see if the *ahem* hero gets his girl. :)
March 8, 2021
Diğerlerine göre serinin açık ara en kötü kitabıydı. "Büyük gizem" çözülmesine rağmen açıkçası sebeplerini de pek akla yatkın bulmadım. Hikayenin IDF açısı çok anlamsız. Diyaloglar gereksiz uzun. Seri öyle yarıda bırakacak gibi değil ama bittikten sonra hafızalarda kalmayacak gibi.
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
Herkese keyifli okumalar!
February 3, 2012
This is a tricky one to review, because while there's a lot I loved about it --- it's very satisfying in a narrative sense, with a lot of long-running threads resolved and tied together, and it gives us much more of Dr. Allison Mann's backstory --- I absolutely hated the answer to the question of what caused the XY-killing plague.
Without going into spoileriffic detail, I'll just say I thought it was an obnoxious injection of magic into what had been a non-magical, realistic world. I have a biochemistry degree, and I had been impressed at how little head-slapping Bad Science this book contained (a frequent problem for science fiction of the "mysterious plague" subgenre) and at how well Brian K. Vaughn had succeeded at writing technical dialogue for Dr. Mann that wasn't gibberish to someone who actually knew what all the words meant. But all that goes right out the window in this volume ... in earlier volumes, the series had flirted with the idea that magic exists (prescient dreams, red herrings about enchanted rings or ancient amulets), and I had liked the tension between these elements and the dogged realism of Dr. Mann's search for the cause of Yorick's immunity to the plague. But in this installment, instead of stepping up the juggling act, Vaughn seems to have chosen to drop one of the balls.
Without going into spoileriffic detail, I'll just say I thought it was an obnoxious injection of magic into what had been a non-magical, realistic world. I have a biochemistry degree, and I had been impressed at how little head-slapping Bad Science this book contained (a frequent problem for science fiction of the "mysterious plague" subgenre) and at how well Brian K. Vaughn had succeeded at writing technical dialogue for Dr. Mann that wasn't gibberish to someone who actually knew what all the words meant. But all that goes right out the window in this volume ... in earlier volumes, the series had flirted with the idea that magic exists (prescient dreams, red herrings about enchanted rings or ancient amulets), and I had liked the tension between these elements and the dogged realism of Dr. Mann's search for the cause of Yorick's immunity to the plague. But in this installment, instead of stepping up the juggling act, Vaughn seems to have chosen to drop one of the balls.
January 5, 2023
In the penultimate volume of the adventures of possibly the last man on earth, Yorick and the gang go to China to find Dr. Ming and wind up balls deep in trouble.
By the end of this volume, all the pieces are placed on the board and some of them are removed for good. The possible origin of the plague is revealed as well as the definite reason Dr Mann's cloning experiment didn't work. By the end, things are much like they were at the beginning - Yorick, 355, and Ampersand heading off into the unknown. In this case, it's Paris and possibly one or more Beths.
I wasn't planning on re-reading this so quickly but now that I have the luxury of wolfing them all down in near record time, I'm going to.
By the end of this volume, all the pieces are placed on the board and some of them are removed for good. The possible origin of the plague is revealed as well as the definite reason Dr Mann's cloning experiment didn't work. By the end, things are much like they were at the beginning - Yorick, 355, and Ampersand heading off into the unknown. In this case, it's Paris and possibly one or more Beths.
I wasn't planning on re-reading this so quickly but now that I have the luxury of wolfing them all down in near record time, I'm going to.
November 28, 2024
Romanian review: Se pare că .
Am fost surprins să aflu din acest volum că aparent, peste 4.6 milioane de ani, cromozomul Y ar putea dispărea. Oricum, acest lucru nu este sigur, iar bărbații ar continua să existe, având în vedere că alte specii care au pierdut acest cromozom s-au adaptat- viața găsește o cale (sună mai bine în engleză, apropo Yorick nu este singurul care poate face referințe la filme). În fine, este un subiect destul de complex; din carte am aflat doar că s-ar putea să dispară cromozomul Y și am căutat mai multe pe internet. Nu mă așteptam ca o bandă desenată să-mi ofere o informație științifică pe care nu o știam, care să mă facă să mă gândesc la o mulțime de lucruri.
În acest volum, se încheie destule linii narative și ni se prezintă câteva lucruri despre ce s-a întâmplat cu unele personaje minore apărute la începutul seriei. Am fost surprins să văd cât de interesante pot fi poveștile câtorva personaje care nu au avut un rol important în povestea principală.
Acesta este, momentan, volumul meu preferat și singurul căruia îi dau 4 stele complete, nu 3.5.
English review: It seems that .
I was surprised to learn from this volume that apparently, over the next 4.6 million years, the Y chromosome might disappear. However, this is not a certainty, and men would likely continue to exist, considering that other species that lost their Y chromosome have adapted—life finds a way (by the way, Yorick isn’t the only one who can make movie references). Anyway, it’s a pretty complex topic; the comic only mentioned the potential disappearance of the Y chromosome, so I looked up more information online. I didn’t expect a comic book to provide a scientific fact I wasn’t aware of and that would lead me to think about so many things.
In this volume, quite a few narrative threads are tied up, and we also learn what happened to some minor characters who appeared at the beginning of the series. I was surprised by how interesting the stories of a few characters who didn’t play major roles in the main plot turned out to be.
So far, this is my favorite volume and the only one I’ve rated a full 4 stars instead of 3.5.
November 6, 2011
So without giving anything away here, we're given the long awaited answer to the plague. Well, it looks that way at this point. Anything can happen with this series (I don't mean that in a bad way). When I was finally shown the reason, it really didn't matter.
Let me clarify. Obviously the reason behind the "gendercide" needs to be given to the audience. It's just that Vaughan has created these characters that are sticking with me. Some people may have problems with the big reveal and I can certainly understand that. In fact, my favorite book of all time The Stand, has a pretty ridiculous ending. However, just like the characters in The Stand, it's the journey that these women, and Yorick, have been on that make this series so great.
Geez, I'm acting like the series is finished! I still have another damn book to read!
I wasn't crazy about the re-appearance of a long lost character at the end of the novel. I assume Vaughan has plans for her in Book #10, I mean, if not - kind of pointless?
Let me clarify. Obviously the reason behind the "gendercide" needs to be given to the audience. It's just that Vaughan has created these characters that are sticking with me. Some people may have problems with the big reveal and I can certainly understand that. In fact, my favorite book of all time The Stand, has a pretty ridiculous ending. However, just like the characters in The Stand, it's the journey that these women, and Yorick, have been on that make this series so great.
Geez, I'm acting like the series is finished! I still have another damn book to read!
I wasn't crazy about the re-appearance of a long lost character at the end of the novel. I assume Vaughan has plans for her in Book #10, I mean, if not - kind of pointless?
January 28, 2016
After reading nine volumes of this story, I've come to the conclusion that all the female characters are actually written very similarly.
I think what annoys me most about these comics is that I know Vaughan is a good writer. I know he's clever and innovative. I don't understand why he chose this path for his story. He could have done so many things, but I think that in and of itself may have been overwhelming.
I don't understand why all the splash pages are extremely sexist either. Like almost all of them depict an extremely sexually posed half nude woman...why?
Also, in this book or the other one he spelled "ohayou" "ohayo". Classic weeb.
There's a part where Yorrick asks Dr. Mann to just smile for him. There's a part where a woman is looking at her baby and is like "it totes needs a strong male influence". Why are women so fucking unimportant in a story about women?
God. I'll ultimately write a long review on the tenth volume, which I'm about to read, but just god.
I was just flipping through the comic for more quotes and I just can't. Saga better be infinitely better than this comic or I will rage.
I think what annoys me most about these comics is that I know Vaughan is a good writer. I know he's clever and innovative. I don't understand why he chose this path for his story. He could have done so many things, but I think that in and of itself may have been overwhelming.
I don't understand why all the splash pages are extremely sexist either. Like almost all of them depict an extremely sexually posed half nude woman...why?
Also, in this book or the other one he spelled "ohayou" "ohayo". Classic weeb.
There's a part where Yorrick asks Dr. Mann to just smile for him. There's a part where a woman is looking at her baby and is like "it totes needs a strong male influence". Why are women so fucking unimportant in a story about women?
God. I'll ultimately write a long review on the tenth volume, which I'm about to read, but just god.
I was just flipping through the comic for more quotes and I just can't. Saga better be infinitely better than this comic or I will rage.
January 18, 2009
In this volume we learn of a theory to explain why almost all people with the Y chromosome died. This story adds lots of historical details that we were never told before and allows the author create an explanation that had not previously been hinted at. This felt suspiciously like an explanation the authors had decided upon last-minute after hooking people with a neat premise without knowing where the story was headed. Regardless of motivation, this style of adding copious amounts of back-story to explain a plot point is poor storytelling. Additionally, this particular theory is one that puts women and men at odds with each other. The oppositional setup of a binary gender system is a distasteful theme that runs through this entire series.
September 26, 2020
Dayanamadım bitirdim. Son ciltte sağlam bir sıçrama yapması lazım. Sinirlerimi bayağı bozdu. Serinin açık ara en kötüsüydü. Çizgi romanlarda 9 numara neden hep en kötüsü oluyor? Sandman'in Merhametliler'i de gereksiz uzundu, bu da.
June 18, 2023
With one volume remaining, the mystery as to why all the males of the world died out, turned out to be vaguer and more mundane than expected. No conspiracies, secret organizations, plagues, or honest to God plagues; just yet another mad scientist.
But it was not as disappointing as one would think. There were still engaging and emotional action set pieces, characters confronting their pasts and monsters, and everyone coming out of the kerfuffle mostly intact.
So, as things are beginning to wind down, it would be interesting to see how this story gets wrapped up. Unless we get thrown some curveballs in the final chapter, it going to end in a fizzle, rather than a bang, but in a good way.
But it was not as disappointing as one would think. There were still engaging and emotional action set pieces, characters confronting their pasts and monsters, and everyone coming out of the kerfuffle mostly intact.
So, as things are beginning to wind down, it would be interesting to see how this story gets wrapped up. Unless we get thrown some curveballs in the final chapter, it going to end in a fizzle, rather than a bang, but in a good way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2025
The penultimate volume brings me closure to the second re-read of the series and I am glad for it. I love this series and thanks to Kindle Unlimited I have been able to enjoy my favorite books again and again so to that end let's say cheers and Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I have I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.
I have always loved comics, and I have I can. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and hope always to love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.
October 22, 2020
8 volumes (48 issues) later, the readers finally get the reason why the plague happened. But was the wait for the revelation of the mystery worth it?
February 14, 2019
The Y chromosome has been rationally self-destructing for hundreds of millions of years. It used to contain thousands of working genes, but was whittled down to just a few dozen even before the plague.
Men have long been a necessary evil for continuation of this species, but the moment that evil became OBSOLETE, nature righted its course. I was merely the trigger that set off a time bomb that's been ticking for millennia.
We finally had the reviling of what cause the genderside. the 2nd last issue is basically a giant wrap up and the last season probably will be the conclusion to the other characters.
Men have long been a necessary evil for continuation of this species, but the moment that evil became OBSOLETE, nature righted its course. I was merely the trigger that set off a time bomb that's been ticking for millennia.
We finally had the reviling of what cause the genderside. the 2nd last issue is basically a giant wrap up and the last season probably will be the conclusion to the other characters.
May 31, 2024
IMPRESSIVE!!!!!
Review at the end of the series
Review at the end of the series
March 12, 2016
I was ready to rate this volume lower, but I just can't. I only have one more to read, and I have to say this is the most enjoyable and imaginative of the entire series so far. I love the two side stories that the editors decided to put at the end of the book; breaking the order from that in which the original issues were published caused no harm whatsoever, and ending the volume on such a fun, almost meta-note was delightful. Further, they fleshed out this world even more.
SPOILERS BELOW***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
The objection I feel (and my own inner resolution of that objection) requires diving into a rather major SPOILER, so if you haven't read this volume, please stop reading now.
At least at this point in my reading, I understand that the reason that almost every male on Earth suddenly died is that women were suddenly able to reproduce asexually. They could clone and then incubate. Once this happened, the DNA of the world (I'm not a scientist, so please be patient with me) decided the Y chromosome was unnecessary so those who had it seemingly lost it, or it deactivated, or something, and everyone bled out the face and collapsed into corpsedom.
As a gay man, the notion that the only purpose of my own existence is really to make more humans is indeed not only offensive; it goes against my own self-understanding.
But there are glitches to be found here: A man caused this to happen; a man who believes (after all is said and done) that nature (the evolutionary process?) was already done with men before this final catalyst. A woman is going to do it in such a way as to not damage the collective DNA consciousness. Her goal is to reverse it. Indeed, the man who presents to us this theory is committing evil acts - in trying to kill Yorick, he is taking Yorick's free-will away. The collective DNA theory, while seemingly purely coming from a cold and scientific mind, is really coming from an unbalanced mind, one which sees no importance in the qualities of (what we think of as) feminity, which both sexes posses: sensitivity, creativity, nourishment, compassion. The editors' decision to end the volume with an earlier note takes on a deeper literary meaning all-of-a-sudden, because it is there that we read the notion that Shakespeare couldn't have been a woman, because women had brought the world to ruin. Probably just as a male-only world would have done. Suddenly, the book and the theories within it take on several dimensions, grow deeper, open up to a richness of discussion that can only excite the philosophical and literary mind.
Motherland stands out for me in this series, and in the world of the graphic novel itself, as a feat of art, writing, and editorial craft. I am in awe.
SPOILERS BELOW***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
The objection I feel (and my own inner resolution of that objection) requires diving into a rather major SPOILER, so if you haven't read this volume, please stop reading now.
At least at this point in my reading, I understand that the reason that almost every male on Earth suddenly died is that women were suddenly able to reproduce asexually. They could clone and then incubate. Once this happened, the DNA of the world (I'm not a scientist, so please be patient with me) decided the Y chromosome was unnecessary so those who had it seemingly lost it, or it deactivated, or something, and everyone bled out the face and collapsed into corpsedom.
As a gay man, the notion that the only purpose of my own existence is really to make more humans is indeed not only offensive; it goes against my own self-understanding.
But there are glitches to be found here: A man caused this to happen; a man who believes (after all is said and done) that nature (the evolutionary process?) was already done with men before this final catalyst. A woman is going to do it in such a way as to not damage the collective DNA consciousness. Her goal is to reverse it. Indeed, the man who presents to us this theory is committing evil acts - in trying to kill Yorick, he is taking Yorick's free-will away. The collective DNA theory, while seemingly purely coming from a cold and scientific mind, is really coming from an unbalanced mind, one which sees no importance in the qualities of (what we think of as) feminity, which both sexes posses: sensitivity, creativity, nourishment, compassion. The editors' decision to end the volume with an earlier note takes on a deeper literary meaning all-of-a-sudden, because it is there that we read the notion that Shakespeare couldn't have been a woman, because women had brought the world to ruin. Probably just as a male-only world would have done. Suddenly, the book and the theories within it take on several dimensions, grow deeper, open up to a richness of discussion that can only excite the philosophical and literary mind.
Motherland stands out for me in this series, and in the world of the graphic novel itself, as a feat of art, writing, and editorial craft. I am in awe.
April 10, 2009
Easily the best graphic novel I've ever read, in terms of sewing up character development and delving into the fractured souls scrambling about in a less than cheerful world.
Motherland is such a fantastic book, I have a hard time believing that it comes from the same series as Cycles, Paper Dolls and Girl on Girl. So much time has been spent in setting up different story lines and developments by Brian Vaughan, that I had no idea how satisfying his conclusions would become, emotionally and thematically.
He finally seems to make a choice, in terms of what this whole comic series has been about: the ability to deal with the external only by challenging or damaging the internal. And the chaos that grows out of acting on that internal institution, whether it be political, spiritual, societal or national. In Motherland, we finally meet ALL of Dr. Allison Mann's family, and see how one destructive group of people has altered the fabric of the planet. And how its last man has grown from a boy to an adult as a result.
This book pulls together all the questions we've had about ninjas, international crises and the weird relationship between Agent 355 and Yorick, which seems more and more plausible with each volume. It also showcases a strong Dr. Mann, a woman who barely believed in her abilities at the start of the series, but who now is poised to save the entire world. Particularly heartening are the farewell scenes between the troops we've followed this entire time, and the revival of one-shot characters for short stories at the end of the book; they enlarge the world we've been living in for the last nine volumes, and put it to rest a little bit before the final battle for the last man.
Motherland is such a fantastic book, I have a hard time believing that it comes from the same series as Cycles, Paper Dolls and Girl on Girl. So much time has been spent in setting up different story lines and developments by Brian Vaughan, that I had no idea how satisfying his conclusions would become, emotionally and thematically.
He finally seems to make a choice, in terms of what this whole comic series has been about: the ability to deal with the external only by challenging or damaging the internal. And the chaos that grows out of acting on that internal institution, whether it be political, spiritual, societal or national. In Motherland, we finally meet ALL of Dr. Allison Mann's family, and see how one destructive group of people has altered the fabric of the planet. And how its last man has grown from a boy to an adult as a result.
This book pulls together all the questions we've had about ninjas, international crises and the weird relationship between Agent 355 and Yorick, which seems more and more plausible with each volume. It also showcases a strong Dr. Mann, a woman who barely believed in her abilities at the start of the series, but who now is poised to save the entire world. Particularly heartening are the farewell scenes between the troops we've followed this entire time, and the revival of one-shot characters for short stories at the end of the book; they enlarge the world we've been living in for the last nine volumes, and put it to rest a little bit before the final battle for the last man.
January 6, 2021
I walked into this vol like:
And I walked straight out of it like:
(Forgive me for the Cardi B GIFs but I felt no one could express it quite like she could and the “WHAT WAS THE REASON?!” video lives rent-free in my head😂)
Remember a couple of volumes ago where we said that couldn’t be the reason for the end of all men because it was a dumb reason? Well, SURPRISE! Turns out it’s not nearly as dumb as we thought it was. Except it is dumb. But apparently correct. Pedantic, I know.
This vol was good (just like every vol that came before it) but I’m so irritated about the revelation of the real reason why all the men died that I’m going to give it 3 stars. And I’m convinced that it’s not the real reason. There must be something else! There has to be, it’s not too late to save this comic!
And I walked straight out of it like:
(Forgive me for the Cardi B GIFs but I felt no one could express it quite like she could and the “WHAT WAS THE REASON?!” video lives rent-free in my head😂)
Remember a couple of volumes ago where we said that couldn’t be the reason for the end of all men because it was a dumb reason? Well, SURPRISE! Turns out it’s not nearly as dumb as we thought it was. Except it is dumb. But apparently correct. Pedantic, I know.
This vol was good (just like every vol that came before it) but I’m so irritated about the revelation of the real reason why all the men died that I’m going to give it 3 stars. And I’m convinced that it’s not the real reason. There must be something else! There has to be, it’s not too late to save this comic!
Read
September 14, 2016Excellent addition to the series. The stakes feel higher and the pay off is definitely there. This isn't the end of the series, but you can definitely feel it start to come to a close.
February 19, 2018
An absolutely crazy theory behind the 'event', more answers, more flashbacks, more journeys for the characters, the same dumb, insufferable asshole.......
March 19, 2020
Wrapping up to a close. Maybe I can finish the series today! I just want to know the end already.
September 22, 2024
Serinin bitmesine bir kitap kala o kadar gereksiz detaylarla ve yan karakterlerle temposu heba edilmiş ki sırf okumak için okudum. Umarım 10. Kitap ile seriyi güzel hatırlatırım.
January 21, 2015
Another volume that brought out the tears as the group is ready to part ways. I have grown to care for this group and have been on this journey right along with them, so in a way, I felt like I had to take sides and decide which group I wanted to leave with.
Not really spoilers ahead but warning that if you're not yet at this volume it may reveal plot elements you may not be ready for:
--We get the background story on Dr. Ming and Dr. Mann's father affair.
--Dr. Mann gets sick as a consequence of cloning herself. She is driven to a hospital only to find out it's her dad's hospital. We also find out how Toyota is connected to this story.
--More cloning revealed.
--Hero, Beth#2, Beth#3, Natalya, Cibi (the astronaut woman), and Cibi's baby land in France in search of Yorick.
--We get a glimpse of Beth#1 looking for Yorick in the rain in Paris.
--Victoria, the corpse cleaner-upper from Vol. 1, reappears.
--Rats (the rodents) are seen in an alley after years of not having any.
--The acting troupe is back, this time filming in Hollywood. Were they really necessary to the story? Did we really need to see them again?
Great volume but deducted a star due to the reemergence of the acting troupe, the Daughters of the Amazon (I had hoped they'd be done with this group after their leader was killed--not a spoiler; this happened volumes back), and the Israeli army (not too fond of this story arc either).
One more volume to go. I'm getting separation anxiety already.
Not really spoilers ahead but warning that if you're not yet at this volume it may reveal plot elements you may not be ready for:
--We get the background story on Dr. Ming and Dr. Mann's father affair.
--Dr. Mann gets sick as a consequence of cloning herself. She is driven to a hospital only to find out it's her dad's hospital. We also find out how Toyota is connected to this story.
--More cloning revealed.
--Hero, Beth#2, Beth#3, Natalya, Cibi (the astronaut woman), and Cibi's baby land in France in search of Yorick.
--We get a glimpse of Beth#1 looking for Yorick in the rain in Paris.
--Victoria, the corpse cleaner-upper from Vol. 1, reappears.
--Rats (the rodents) are seen in an alley after years of not having any.
--The acting troupe is back, this time filming in Hollywood. Were they really necessary to the story? Did we really need to see them again?
Great volume but deducted a star due to the reemergence of the acting troupe, the Daughters of the Amazon (I had hoped they'd be done with this group after their leader was killed--not a spoiler; this happened volumes back), and the Israeli army (not too fond of this story arc either).
One more volume to go. I'm getting separation anxiety already.
December 1, 2017
Motherland (#49-52). We're clearly near the end because this is the first really conclusive Y story. Lots of the science is explained, especially all the cloning that we've been getting since volume one, and we may even have an answer for the plague. Along the way, several of our characters are in real danger, and it's not clear who will make it out. Put together strong tension and interesting answers to long-standing questions, and you have one of Y's best stories [8/10].
The Obituarist (#53). Wow, Waverly, the body-collector from early in this series, gets her own issue. However the joy of this issue is seeing [XXX] laid to rest and thinking about the statement that women were only able to come of their own in society when every single man is dead Sigh. [7+/10].
Tragicomic (#54). The return of our actors from long ago is just a long setup for a single joke. Meh. [4/10].
The Obituarist (#53). Wow, Waverly, the body-collector from early in this series, gets her own issue. However the joy of this issue is seeing [XXX] laid to rest and thinking about the statement that women were only able to come of their own in society when every single man is dead Sigh. [7+/10].
Tragicomic (#54). The return of our actors from long ago is just a long setup for a single joke. Meh. [4/10].
December 21, 2012
there were a handful of nice panels in this one. but really, whatever interesting stuff might be going on completely collapses under the weight of unnecessary heavy-handedness. it's bad enough in the actual story, but the one-off comic that appears (out of order) at the end of this volume is terribly insulting to the audience. if this issue had been earlier in the series i definitely wouldn't have kept on. if you don't trust your readers, why are you bothering? writers, it is not clever to explain to your audience how clever and interesting your themes are. jeez, you'd think someone who is using an escape artist as his protagonist would know better than to explain everything. ugh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 508 reviews