If you haven't read "Y: The Last Man", you need to. It is, hands down, my favorite comic book series of all time. The plot centers around a mysterious illness that suddenly kills everything on the planet that has a male chromosome.
Except for one man - Yorick Brown and his monkey named Ampersand.
Written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated (mostly) by Pia Guerra, this book has everything. It's extremely engrossing, funny, at times very sad, and has one of the most original ideas which is executed perfectly. Vaughan takes an idea that many would make pornographic and treats it realistically. Yorick's journey to uncover answers has so many twists and turns that it took 60 issues to complete the story.
One of my favorite things about the series is the character of Agent 355. She aids Yorick in his journey to both find his (possible) fiance, and to also arrive at a laboratory ran by Dr. Mann, the other main character of the story. Dr. Mann was experimenting with some dangerous stuff involving cloning when the illness struck. She knows that the answers to the epidemic lie in her lab, and as long as she can get Yorick and Ampersand there, they can hopefully find a cure.
Agent 355 is an extremely strong female character (and also black) and is probably even cooler than the main character himself. Vaughan explores her motivations and past over the course of the series and really cares about her. She is by far the coolest, most competent, and respectable female character I have ever seen in any medium.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Last Man on Earth...and a Monkey
Posted by David at 10:06 AM
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3 comments:
It's interesting . . . I have a (male) friend that labeled the series as sexist when it first came out because there was a team of women working with a garbage truck in a bikini. He saw that as gratuitous skin. I didn't get that impression, but I see his point.
Vaughn really explored gender roles with this series. 355 was a terrific character, and I have the feeling that she could have taken a more prominent role in the storyttelling. I don't know how, but that's my aftertaste - wishing there was more 355.
I know what you're talking about - but if I remember right, it was just one woman driving the garbage truck, and no bikini lol. But there are criticisms that can be made, don't get me wrong. I'm probably way to quick to defend the book.
I totally agree about 355. She was the best part of the series by far. I was a little surprised that I became so attached to her.
He made us really connect with her, which added to the impact of issue 58. There are about two times in 30 years of comic reading when I went audible with a "No!" This was one of them.
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