Y: The Last Man is a 10 volume series of graphic novels written by Brian K. Vaughan. In this series, he dares to imagine what would happen if every organism, animal, etc. with a Y chromosome suddenly dropped dead...except one male human and his male pet monkey.
I recently finished reading this series and enjoyed it quite a lot. I like the way Vaughan speculates on what would happen if women suddenly inherited the Earth. What he predicts could very easily happen. You have the extremist "Daughters of the Amazons" who willingly cut off one of their own breasts. You have those selfish women who take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain. But, you also have those women who rise up to the challenge. They become leaders and protectors.
Basically, just people. It's interesting what people will do when they are forced to stare down their own impending extinction. Like Captain Kilina, for example. She rationalizes smuggling Heroin because she thinks she's easing women's pain before the end of humankind.
It's even more fascinating to think about what people will do when the possibility of salvation is presented. Namely, Yorick Brown, last man on Earth. Countless women desperate in the face of their own mortality, and only one man...a man that is stubbornly determined to stay true to a girlfriend he doesn't even know is still alive.
My only complaint in this series is that so much time passes in the volumes, and so many big things happen that we only get snapshots of. We don't get to delve deep enough into the characters, their backgrounds, and their journey. It left me wanting more, which isn't the worst thing for a series of graphic novels to do. I highly suggest reading these; they'll definitely get you thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment