y: the last man

y: the last man
unmanned
cycles
one small step
safeword
ring of truth
girl on girl
paper dolls
kimono dragons
motherland
whys & wherefores
brian k. vaughan/pia guerra/jose marzan, jr.
graphic novels/science fiction/thriller
vertigo
published 2003

From Shelfari: When a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome, unemployed and unmotivated slacker Yorick Brown discovers that he is the only male left in a world inhabited by women. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on Earth. With a gang of feminist extremists and the leader of the Israel Defense Forces hunting him, Yorick's future, as well as that of the human race, may be short-lived.

Like most good books, Y: The Last Man had its valleys and peaks.  Yorick was not my favorite person most of the time, especially in the first few books.  He was kind of irritating and single minded.  Stuck on this romantic fantasy that his girlfriend was waiting for him in Australia and he really just needed to get to her.

The books had their tense moments and, most definitely nearing the end, very technical kind of science moments (that I would tend to zone out on).  Many sad moments, with very few triumphs.  Even when it was over, when the journey could end and the worst had past, there were no smiling faces.

There were moments when the crazies made sense and other times when I was ashamed that I shared the same gender as some of these idiots, but then I guess both sides have them, right?

I don't want to give much away.  I want you to read for yourself, because it is worth reading.  It's dark at times, probing, forcing you to really think about what kind of world this would be.  Is it so much science fiction or more science future?  Not necessarily a plague such as this, but other aspects.

It was, in the end a series written by a man who was trying his best to get into the head of women.  Did he do it?  Sometimes.