Y: The Last Man #1

[history79]

"We wondered if he thought a planet full of women could ultimately rebuild society and sustain itself once again. Vaughan was surprisingly optimistic on that front. "Yes, I do think it could. There were a lot of people early on in the first year who complained, "Wow, this is such a misogynistic book to say that, because the men died, the women can't get the electricity running all over the world and the airports up and running again." I think that's an extremely complex, extremely difficult thing to deal with. When three billion people die, I don't care what their sex was, that's an incredibly difficult thing to come back from. I will say that the world would be better off than if it were just the men left. I think that would be an even more dire situation. I think there is hope for the planet."

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/02/02/y-the-last-man-the-end-of-an-era?page=5




11 pages of 33

Comments

[balbanes]

I forget: did the comic ever explain what caused the gendercide? This issue (and others) suggests the the first human clone was somehow responsible, but that wouldn't explain why all the other male animals died. If the cloning effect is cross-species, then Dolly would have already triggered the gendercide.

[beardedjellybean]

Not really, there were a number of explanations given throughout the story ranging from cloning, genetic experiments, men dying from their evilness and the Rapture not taking women because of Eve's sin.

None are concretely confirmed as the real cause of the gerndercide, Vaughan mentioned at one point that of the story explanations one is true, but it's not really important to absolutely confirm which is the real one.

[leoboiko]

I'm bracing myself for the same thing in Walking Dead. Sigh.

[informationgeek]

That was the only thing keeping me going in this comic, but if Vaughan is too lazy to answer...

As for this comic as a whole, it's okay. Just okay. It's not his best (Ex Manchina and Paper Girls), but not his worst either (Saga and Mystique). This series never sticks with me after reading some of it.

[thatnickguy]

But explaining what happened wasn't really necessary. It's like a zombie story. How it happened isn't important. It happened, now watch how the characters deal with it.

Also, I continue to not understand your hatred for Saga.

[informationgeek]

Saga is just eh, but grew worse when it hit it's fourth arc. I've always found issues with its inconsistent tone, it's terrible edgy humor (it's a dragon sucking its own cock! That's funny and weird right?!!??!?), scenes strangely being funny when they really shouldn't, The Will as a whole, it's constant death parade that makes it hard to care about anyone, and how it just meanders around. Then the fourth arc happened and the writing nosedived further in my eyes.

[thatnickguy]

The constant death is something someone brings up later on, how it's dangerous for anyone to encounter this ragtag family. And how they're willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of said family, or at least their daughter. Some deaths, I'll grant you, like The Will's sister. That came out of nowhere, but it also drove a divide between him and Gwendolyn.

The whole dragon thing doesn't bother me since it's always had a constant sexually perverse tone. Though I get the feeling that scene and a few others won't age well, similar to shocking moments in Preacher.

But the characters and their development is far too engaging for me to call it bad. I recently re-read the first six story arcs (I bought the two hardcover book collections) and found I enjoyed the series even more upon re-reading it.

[reveen]

What, is that Doctor thick? Doesnt he know anything about science? Of course shes going to carry her own clone to term! You can't fuckin trust a test subject or an intern to do it right and it makes the Nobel prize more impressive!

This is why you have government grants and top secret facilities. So you don't have to deal with some idiot with JUST a doctorate asking stupid fucking questions.

[janegray]

The ending of this made me so angry I regretted ever starting it.

[lilacsigil]

Same. And it's meant that I never read anything by Vaughan until the whole series is finished and I can ask people about the end.

[deh_tommy]

What was wrong with the ending? I genuinely don't know, I've never read the book before.

[rainspirit]

A dearly beloved character gets fridged.

[janegray]

Besides what Rainspirit said, the protagonist ends up suffering a fate worse than death.

[zachbeacon]

Having your sibling date your ex?

[lilacsigil]

It's a particularly mean, cruel fridging.

[rainspirit]

Vaughn is really, really, really bad at endings. I love his books, but the endings almost always suck. This is why I almost gave up on Saga and I'm only slightly keyed into Paper Girls.

[informationgeek]

Agreed. Pride of Baghdad is especially awful since I'm left wondering what was even the point to the ride if everyone died and nothing changed. It's a lackluster slasher movie ending.

[rainspirit]

Oh god, Pride of Baghdad was THE WORST. It felt like the best encapsulation of a Brian K. Vaughn experience. Really compelling adventure that just ends horribly for everyone.

[thatnickguy]

I don't understand the hate for that ending. It was based on a real story, anyway. Vaughan simply told it from the lions' point of view.

[rainspirit]

I can't stand animal cruelty in most instances. It's based on a real story but it's hard for me to even recall all the awful little details of a lion cub dying while crying for its parent... etc etc.

[thatnickguy]

I can't either, but the comic also takes place in the middle of a war. I didn't expect a happy ending, even if it made my tears flow like Niagara Falls.

[balbanes]

I had somehow forgotten that. Yeah, the ending was a steaming pile of crap. All of it.

[rainspirit]

This series really was one of the original gateway drugs into comics. I own the whole thing. Some parts of it haven't aged well but I think it holds up decently given it came out in the early oughts.

But god, does it ever end in tears...