Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Pia Guerra
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
From its first issue this book has been amazing, and I feel a bit sad that this wonderful story is coming to an end. I don't mind one bit that Y The Last Man is now on a bimonthly schedule. My sadness gets stretched this way.
Vaughan is a master in bringing us heart-warming scenes, and the first three pages of this issue with 355 touched me deeply. This bad ass agent shows a soft side that makes this saga so understandably human. She has been through a lot and made a hard decision to leave Yorick to be with Beth, his fiancé. She puts aside her own feelings for Yorick, but has a hard time doing so.
The pages that follow show why Vertigo is purely for mature readers because there isn’t anything left for the imagination. Yorick and Beth finally found each other, and Vaughan didn’t take the easy way out and instead made this an explicit scene. I can imagine that many readers or reviewers will protest that this scene is overly sexual, but people this happens in real life when two lovers haven’t seen each other for five years. Pia Guerra and Vaughan must be admired for these profound pages, without the Hollywood style of covering up every form of human skin. If this isn’t your cup of tea, go read Superman! That’s why I love this book. Vaughan and Guerra take risks and push dogmas to the far end of this narrative.
Speaking of Pia Guerra and her art, she is in top form. Every panel counts and it just amazes me that she can do so much with just a few drawing lines. Her style is clean and clear, but her emotions and facial expressions are dead on. Her art can be viewed as great character studies which make Beth and Yorick come to life not just by their warm dialogue.
For some, this issue can be an anti-climax for a breathtaking comic run, but you have to keep in mind that this series isn’t about building up to an enormous climax. This also isn’t a jumping on point for new readers. Start at the beginning and you will love what’s at the end of the tunnel.
Brian K. Vaughan is in high demand as a storyteller, and rightly so. Y The Last Man must be viewed as profound literature, and I will go even further to label this as a new great American novel.
You don’t have to feel ashamed of putting these TPBs between Philip Roth and Don DeLillo on your book shelves. Roth and Delillo would have wished they had come up with this Great American Novel.
For more information about this reviewer, go to www.martijnform.com
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