Y: The Last Man

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Y: The Last Man is a comic book series written by Brian K. Vaughan and published by Vertigo, about the sole survivor of the spontaneous, simultaneous death of every male on Earth. The series has received considerable acclaim from a wide array of critics.

The series' art is handled primarily by series co-creator Pia Guerra. Much has been made of the fact that Guerra is a woman, but Vaughan insists that her gender is incidental. He says that Guerra's work simply fit best with what he had in mind for the series.

The series is planned to run for 60 issues.[link][link]

Contents

1 Story Synopsis
2 Main Characters
3 Trade Summary
4 Future Stories
5 Movie Adaptation
6 External links
7 Trade Reference

Story Synopsis

Y: The Last Man is Vaughan's attempt to subvert the classic male fantasy of being the last man on earth. In the series, something (speculated to be a plague) simultaneously kills every mammal possessing a Y chromosome - including embryos, fertilized eggs, and even sperm - with the exception of Yorick Brown, a young amateur escape artist, and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand.

Society is plunged into chaos as infrastructures collapse and the surviving women everywhere try to cope with the loss of the men, their survivors' guilt, and the knowledge that humanity is doomed to extinction. Vaughan meticulously crafts the new society that emerges out of this chaos, from the conversion of the phallic Washington Monument to a monument to the dead men, to the genesis of the fanatical ultra-feminist [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Daughters of the Amazon|Daughters of the Amazon]], who believe that Mother Earth cleansed itself of the "aberration" of the Y chromosome, to male impersonators becoming valued romantically and professionally.

Over the course of their journey, Yorick and his friends discover how society has coped in the aftermath of the plague. However, many of the women they encounter have ulterior motives in regards to Yorick. Though the subject matter of the series is entirely serious, Y: The Last Man is also noted for its humor. Yorick in particular is a source of one-liners, although the other characters have their moments as well.

Main Characters

Main article: [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man]]

[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Yorick Brown|Yorick Brown]], a young amateur escape artist, is the last man on Earth.
[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Agent 355|Agent 355]] is Yorick's intelligent, tough-as-nails bodyguard that works for a mysterious US government agency. Her real name has never been revealed.
[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Doctor Allison Mann|Doctor Allison Mann]] is an expert geneticist, seeking to discover the cause of the plague and why Yorick survived.
[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Ampersand|Ampersand]] is Yorick's Capuchin monkey and the only other male mammal to survive the plague.
[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Beth Deville|Beth Deville]] is Yorick's girlfriend. When the plague hit, she was engaged in anthtropological work in Australia.
[[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Hero Brown|Hero Brown]], Yorick's older sister, joined the [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Daughters of the Amazon|Daughters of the Amazon]] after the plague.

Trade Summary

Unmanned (issues #1-5)
*On July 17, 2002, a mysterious plague strikes, killing every male animal on earth except for [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Yorick Brown|Yorick]] and his monkey [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Ampersand|Ampersand]]. Two months later, Yorick arrives in Washington, D.C. and finds his mother, [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Representative Brown|Representative Brown]]. The [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Margaret Valentine|new President]] assigns [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Agent 355|Agent 355]] to escort Yorick to Boston, the last known location of the geneticist [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Dr. Allison Mann|Dr. Mann]]. They hope that Mann can study Yorick, discover the reasons behind Yorick's survival, and help repopulate the world. Three days later, [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Alter Tse'elon|Alter Tse'elon]], new chief of the general staff for Israel, is informed of Yorick's existence. Israeli soldiers destroy Dr. Mann's lab, forcing her, 355 and Yorick to travel to California to her backup lab. All the while, Yorick is more concerned with finding his girlfriend [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Beth Deville|Beth]], on vacation in Australia, to whom he proposed over the phone the instant the plague hit.
Cycles (issues #6-10)
*The three main characters hop a train and find themselves in a strangely idyllic town in rural Marrisville, Ohio run by criminals. After only a brief rest, Yorick meets and is instantly attracted to one named [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Sonia|Sonia]], a convicted drug dealer. The [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Daughters of the Amazon|Daughters of the Amazon]], including Yorick's older sister [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Hero Brown|Hero]], track Yorick to Marrisville and threaten to destroy the town if they can't kill the last man alive. In the end their leader [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Victoria|Victoria]] dies at the hands of Sonia before she can kill Yorick. Hero kills Sonia and Yorick asks the town people to lock up the Daughters of the Amazon.
One Small Step (issues #11-17)
*In Oldenbrook, Kansas Yorick, 355 and Dr. Mann help a Russian woman named [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Natalya Zamyatin|Natalya Zamyatin]] who races to recover [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Vladimir and Joe|two male]] and [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Ciba Weber|one female]] astronauts forced to return to Earth after being trapped inside the International Space Station, the day the plague hit. In Oldenbrook, the four meet twins named [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Heather and Heidi Hatler|Heather and Heidi]] who are geneticists working in isolation. After Alter Tse'elon acquires Yorick for her nation, 355 tells Alter of the two men coming down in exchange for Yorick. Alter tries to use a surface-to-air missile to kill the astronauts but is stopped by Yorick. Both male astronauts die, but [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Ciba Weber|Dr. Ciba Weber]] is pregnant. The three go back on the road, leaving Natalya and the Twins to look after Weber and her unborn baby.
*Comedy & Tragedy has a travelling group of actresses find [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Ampersand|Ampersand]] and put him on a play called The Last Man.
Safeword (issues #18-23)
*Yorick and co. travel to Allenspark, Colorado, where 355 and Dr. Mann fix up Ampersand while retired Culper Ring [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Agent 711|agent 711]] forces Yorick to confront his survivor guilt.
*In Widow's Pass, the story is in Queensbrook; eight well-armed women from Arizona have cut off the interstate making travel to Dr. Mann's lab in California nearly impossible. Note:(This story is nine months after the One Small Step arc. In Oldenbrook, Kansas Ciba just gave birth to a male baby, who is being kept in the hot suite until the geneticists can confirm there is no remaining trace of the plague in the air.
Ring Of Truth (issues 24-31)
*Tongues Of Flame has Yorick and company finally reach California. The story takes an interlude wherein Yorick leaves a sleeping Dr. Mann and 355 behind to examine a nearby church. There he meets a second girl named [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Beth II|Beth]] to whom he describes the events of "Widow's Pass." After a brief sexual encounter they are threatened by Amazons, whom Yorick scares off using parlor tricks. Yorick then leaves Beth to continue his journey to San Francisco.
*Hero's Journey tells The backstory of Yorick's sister Hero, including the day the Plague hit, how she became a member of the Amazons, what happened after "Cycles", and ultimately, how unbalanced she is.
*Ring of Truth tells how after two years of roaming the country Yorick reaches San Francisco. Dr. Mann finally discovers the answer to how Yorick & Ampersand survived the Plague. Yorick's sister Hero tracks him to San Francisco. A new adversary swoops in and steals a major key to the cure.
Girl on Girl (issues #32-36)
*Yorick and company begin a new quest to retrieve the stolen Ampersand. They join a ragtag band of female sailors on a voyage to Australia aboard an old cruise ship named "The Whale". Yorick falls for the [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Kilina|ship's captain]], and the relationship between Dr Mann and 355 takes a new turn. Alter Tse'elon, former Chief of General Staff of the IDF, manages to escape court martial by shooting the [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Sadie|judge]].
*Boy Loses Girl brings the backstory of how Beth Deville met and fell in love with Yorick and her life before and after the Plague hit. In the end, Beth has a cryptic dream that convinces her that Yorick is alive.
Paper Dolls (issues #37-42)
*Yorick is caught by a [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Paloma West|reporter]] while looking for his girlfriend in Australia. He finds out that Beth left to Paris. Alter Tse'elon shoots and kills Yorick's mother.
*The Hour of our Death shows how Hero delivers a letter from Yorick to Beth II (from Tongues of Flame), who is eight months pregnant with Yorick's child. The two women go on the road together back to Kansas.
*Buttons tells the origin of Agent 355, Yorick's loyal protector. A stand-alone issue in which the secrets of the mysterious Culper Ring and its most famous female agent are finally revealed.
*1,000 Typewriters Explores the past, present and future of Ampersand, Yorick's missing pet, including how the male monkey ended up with Yorick, as well as where has the animal been since he was kidnapped by [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Toyota|Toyota]].
Kimono Dragons (issues #43-48)
*Yorick and his companions finally reach Japan in search of Ampersand, the key to mankind's return. Dr. Allison Mann and her lover [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Rose|Rose]] come face to face with Toyota, who was Dr. Mann's father's lover. Yorick and Agent 355 find and rescue Ampersand with the help of [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#You| a P.I.]] from the hands of the [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Epiphany|new Yakuza boss]]. Dr. Mann finds a cure for the plague and sent it to Ciba's Son. [[List of characters in Y: The Last Man#Doctor Matsumori II|Allison's mother]] is kidnapped by Toyota.
*The Tin Man tells the "Secret origin" of Dr. Allison Mann and her quest for cloning herself.
*To close the trade, there is the origin of the Alter Tse'elon.

Future Stories

This article or section contains information about a scheduled or expected comic book release, or a series already in progress. It is likely to contain tentative information and the content may change dramatically as the product release approaches and more information becomes available.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Promotional information about upcoming comic book storylines follow. Details and publication status subject to change prior to publication.

Issue 48 brings the "Secret origin" of Alter Tse'elon.

Motherland (Issues 49 - 53) Yorick Brown and Agent 355 go looking for Beth. Dr. Allison Mann goes to China to finally find the people responsible for the global gendercide.

Movie Adaptation

The film rights to the series have been acquired by New Line Cinema, and as of April 2006 Vaughan has been given the chance to write the screenplay. There is no scheduled release date. [link]

External links

Trade Reference

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