Y the Last Man # 1

Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Publisher: Vertigo
Published: September 2002

Y are all the males dead? More like why ask Y?

Just one year after September 11, Vertigo releases the apocalyptic Y the Last Man. The issue is set in a reality that has a mysterious "unknown something" kill all the males on the planet. The first issue introduces the players: Yorick the last man, Beth his girlfriend, Agent 355, Senator Jen Brown (Yoricks mom), Dr. Mann, and Alter.

The story unfolds in the manner of a countdown. The comic opens with all the men dead or dying. The story then jumps back 29 minutes earlier. In this time we meet Yorick who is an unemployed English Major and amateur escape artist/magician. At this time he is talking to his girlfriend Beth, who is in the Australian Outback. We then are introduced to Senator Jen Brown, who in a quick conversation with a fellow male senator tells him she is going to oppose abortion rights in Mexico. Agent 355 is a just that, an agent for the US government, on a secret mission. Dr. Mann is a pregnant scientist who is her own baby's father. Alter is an Israeli military combatant. Oh, and Yorick has a monkey named Ampersand.So there you have it. A rag tag group of characters who will be forced into each others paths, with plenty of sex and opportunities for more sex. I mean, come on, he is the only guy left on Earth. Oh wait, I forgot, Yorick is hopelessly devoted to his long distance girlfriend Beth and plans to propose to her. Well, there goes the plenitude of sex and opportunities for more sex.

I really liked this series. The characters are extremely interesting, and the events that unfold because of the gendercide are well thought out and plausible (in a comic book kinda way of course). All round a great series for the OCD in all of us, 'cause once you start reading Y, you won't be able to stop.