Y The Last Man
A review of Y: The Last Man: Unmanned by creators Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Pia Guerra (penciller) and José Marzán Jr. (inker). Colors by Pamela Rambo. Clem Robins, letterer. Cover art by J.G. Jones. These issues (#1-10) were originally published by DC/ Vertigo Comics in 2002 and 2003. The new DC Compact Comics paperback edition was published by DC comics in 2025.
The DC Compact Comics series are paperback reprints of some high quality material published by the company over the years. This particular graphic novel format reprints the comics at a slightly smaller size than they were originally published but this allows for a very affordable price tag. For example, this volume costs less than ten bucks, which is a great deal for over 200 pages of full color story and art. I do hope it is successful because while this volume includes the first ten issues of Y: The Last Man, the series originally ran for a total of sixty issues, which would necessitate 5 more volumes to be forthcoming in this reprint series. I do like the matte paper stock that is similar to the original comics. While the smaller size did necessitate me needing my reading glasses (the lettering is quite small), overall the book looks and feels like a classy package that you’d want to have on your shelf. It also reprints all ten of J.G. Jones’ stunning cover paintings that resemble paperback covers of the 1960s/ 1970s without the title treatment overlays. Nice!
I absolutely loved this series when it was originally released and was curious how it holds up now after nearly 20 years. I was not disappointed. Good storytelling is simply that and you can’t get better than the synergy this team brought to this sprawling science-fiction epic. Illustrator Pia Guerra was basically unknown before landing this gig with Vertigo Comics but she comes in fully formed and her art is in full service to this story. All of her characters are unique and instantly recognizable which is important because this story certainly has a lot of players. Also, as a sidenote, having a woman illustrate a story about a post apocalyptic world run by women, seems like a smart choice. That being said, Pia’s art feels very much in the tradition of mainstream comics, albeit without the misproportions, it still feels tough and grounded in realism. I’m not sure she did a ton of mainstream work after this series ran its course, but that’s okay because what a body of solid cartooning work it is. I believe she now does more editorial types of illustrations/ cartoons for magazines such as The New Yorker.
Yorick, the story's titular antihero, is literally the last man on earth after a plague suddenly wipes out earth’s entire male population. Prior to this happening, Yorick, a recent college graduate, is feeling a bit lost as to the direction his life will take. An amateur magician/ escape artist with a goofy sense of humor, Yorick is feeling slightly agoraphobic and misses his girlfriend who is living abroad. When the entire male population dies out, Yorick is mysteriously the only male mammal remaining…well, not exactly. His male pet monkey, Ampersand, has somehow survived as well. Wearing a gas mask and a cloak as a disguise, he heads out into the new world and so the story begins.
Vaughan flexes his skills as a writer, jumping across time and space in his storytelling to give us a full cast of characters, no two alike. In this book we are introduced to Agent 355 who works for a secret government agency and acts as his bodyguard. There is also Jennifer Brown, Yorick’s congresswoman mother who becomes the new President of the United States. Later in the book we meet Hero, Yorick’s intellectual sister who has become a revolutionary. There is also Doctor Mann, a geneticist, who believes her experiments were the cause of the plague. All of these characters, and more, drive the story forward in short installments ending on cliffhangers that made you want to grab the next issue when this was originally being serialized. It works just as well as chapter breaks. Because I was never bored here and didn’t have a problem reading through this book in one sitting. It’s mostly because, sci-fi or not, this is a character driven story with a lot of nuance, and even humor at times. I found the dialogue to be easier to read than most other Vertigo comics of this era. It may be because Vaughan’s popular culture references hit home with me, but more so I just think this thing has a nice pace to it that never feels rushed.
There is little to no narration. Vaughan writes dialogue like a playwright, and a very good one at that. There are lots of surprises to this story, but also there are subtle moments that feel grounded and spot on.
If you’ve never read this series, the DC Compact Comics series is definitely a good place to start. Y: The Last Man is definitely one of the most intriguing series from the early 2000s. Check it out! Your purchase here helps support comicartandbooks.com.