Broken Frontier

As the final year of this gendercide tale begins, Yorick and his gang find themselves in China preparing to split up. Of course, nothing is that simple for this group.

Yorick has discovered that his girlfriend Beth has been taken to Paris, so he, Ampersand and Agent 355 plan to leave Dr. Mann in Hong Kong to finish her cloning work and possibly find those with the knowledge of what caused the pandemic plague that wiped out theY-chromosome. Before they can depart on this voyage, though, Ampersand must mate to see if he can pass along the "survival gene" to his progeny for Mann to harvest for future male generations. Then there’s Dr. Mann’s lover, Rose--an Australian agent who has been secretly keeping tabs on Yorick for the Navy--who’s been divulging secrets in her sleep. All the while, Dr. Mann is struggling to survive a mysterious something of her own.

It is impossible for me to heap any more praise upon the creators of this title. Brian K. Vaughan’s popularity among the writers in comics has risen to elite status over the past four years due in no small part to his work on this title. His ability to piece pop culture references and little factoids into something that actually drives the story forward has become as much a mark of Vaughan’s style as his gut-wrenching and sometimes anger-inducing cliffhangers. The characters that he has brought to this title over the years should seemingly be limited considering that the book deals with one man and women the world over. However, each character, no matter how long they remain in the book is easily identifiable as their own person--there are no cookie-cutter types here.

Co-creator Pia Guerra is back on the book after the last arc was handled by her artistic doppelganger, Goran Sudzuka. Guerra’s work is marked by highly expressive individuals and imaginative sequencing; the soft facial features she gives her characters bring a stark contrast to the harsh reality of the world she’s helped craft. As for their contribution, Zylonol Studios’ muted, earthy colors bring out the post-apocalyptic desperation that the world must now face. Altogether the art of this book makes it look and feel as though it is really happening in some alternate reality.

It’s never too late to jump into this book. Even with all the great titles currently being released under the Vertigo banner, Y: The Last Man stands above them all. If you’ve yet to experience it for yourself, pick up the first trade or eight (since you’ll most likely want to anyway) and see what I’ve been raving about for a long while now.