Well, some didn't like the ending. I did. Kinda.October 10, 2008 Brian K. Vaughan, Y: The Last Man: Whys and Wherefores (Vertigo, 2008)
The end of Brian K. Vaughan's celebrated Y: The Last Man came all too early, and all too abruptly. Still, despite a resolution that reeks of "how can we tie up all these threads in the amount of time we have left?", Vaughan does a creditable job of it. It's going to be tough to say goodbye to this bunch. ****
WowOctober 7, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I used to think that Brian Vaughan was possibly one of the best comic book writers ever. Now I know he IS the best. Y has been an incredible ride, but often great journeys can make for disappointing endings. Not here. Everything that had been building in the previous 9 volumes pays off here. It's beautiful, sad, human, joyous and completely satisfying. Pia Guerra's art never looked better. It started off very good and grew in beauty and subtly. She interacts with Mr. Vaughan's writing so flawlessly that words are often not necessary. I love this series and I love this book. This is why I still read comics.
At the end of the line, with an unexpected tear in my eyeSeptember 20, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I find to disagree with the majority of critical voices here. Thinking of it, I find it hard to define what "a pushed ending" really is, but if it's like this last volume, I want to see more of it. There is no real traditional storybook ending here, no riding into sunsets arm-in-arm, or an Orwellian dark endnote. Instead, Y: Last Man wraps it up in a very lyrical, and most of all, incredibly sad way. It's to mr. Vaughan and mrs. Guerra's honour that they can pull of this (to me, anyway) satisfying action-and-romance-ending to the global "roadmovie" Y has been, while still managing to tie up all knots beautifully without opting for the predictable spectacular last twist which it seems almost everybody in the audience is expecting these days. Personally, I found # 9 to be the only vaguely disappointing volume, with the revelation of the cause of the dying men - which mr. Vaughan in all his controlled and incredibly smart writing even comments on in this volume (Pointing his finger at me smiling: "What did you expect, really? Aliens?").
The artwork of mrs Guerra is like it's been for the entire run - beautiful and relatively simple, without the over-the-top colourings and digitalized shadows that I personally feel "drowns" so much of comic art today. Her drawing hand has been a perfect companion to mr. Vaughan's subtle pen, all the way.
Here's one humble reader hoping mr. Vaughan keeps spending just some of his future bright writing career doing some comics. Because this is a milestone and easily one of the best titles of the decade. Y: Last Man always had more brains than most, but with this last volume, it also showed to have the biggest, aching heart. At least, it almost made me cry, which I rarely can say about any book, comic, film or TV series nowadays.
Not a fairytale endingSeptember 9, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
*spoilers ahead*
If I think on it too long I can't help but feel just a little let down by the ending of this series. But, that said, doesn't mean that I'm altogether unhappy with the ending or that I think it should have been done differently.
All mysteries are not fully revealed. I have to think that perhaps that was intentional. We don't always get all the answers in life, right? Society and periods in history (some more than others) are messy and complicated and convoluted and full of holes that never get completely filled in and smoothed over. And just like in life, we don't always get the most reasonable, justifiable answers to those complex situations. So my feelings of let down are not so much with the writer and how things came together (or didn't) but just that things didn't turn out rosier.
My feelings about the explanation of the plague are mirrored by Yorick himself when he says, "As far as answers go, it was vaguely unsatisfying." To which Beth asks, "Is there any explanation that would have been satisfactory?" Yorick: "Um, aliens? I would have also accepted witchcraft or anything involving nanobots." I think that Vaughan is letting readers know here that he knows that the grand reveal really wasn't all that grand, that it wasn't a mistake or an oversight but it was meant to be that way. The series' strength is most definitely in it's characters. And character development is what Brian Vaughan seems to do really well.
My only real qualm is that Yorick's character wasn't more redemptive. He loses so much and goes through so much and manages to maintain his sense of humor and optimism through the entire series, right down to the very last chapter, but excluding the very last chapter. It's rather disheartening. But then again, a human reaction that feels true to life. It's an anti-fairytale conclusion. And a fairytale, this definitely is not
Great series, poor ending.September 5, 2008 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I thought that overall the series was great. An interesting concept, well written, and decent art. The ending however was not up to the overall quality. I didn't expect a fairy tale ending -- but I did expect something interesting and fair to the characters we have followed through 10 volumes. Meh.
