Customer Reviews

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 9: Motherland

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not ready for "Y: The Last Man" to come to an end, yet volume nine of the series, "Motherland," makes it pretty clear that conclusions are just around the corner.

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's excellent Vertigo series has set Yorick, the last man, on a global mission of science and personal salvation. His constant companions are Ampersand, his pet monkey and the other surviving male; Dr. Allison Mann, a genetic scientist with many secrets; and Agent 355, a government bodyguard and assassin who keeps her secrets under lock and key. Also along for the ride is Rose, an Australian spy and Allison's lover, whose loyalties are still unclear.

More answers come to light in this book, as the apparent architect of the man-killing plague comes to light and Yorick discovers he isn't the last living man after all. Meanwhile, 355 mixes it up with a ninja, Allison starts bleeding and Rose makes an uncomfortable call home. In Paris, Yorick's missing girlfriend Beth may be waiting, while back in the United States Yorick's sister Hero, the mother of his child (a different Beth), a Russian agent and a former astronaut duke it out with modern Amazons. There is an unexpected parting of ways, a surprising death or two, a couple of emergency surgeries and some wild monkey sex. Portions of this book will keep you on the edge of your seat, while others will knock you back on your butt. And all of these threads seem to be converging, although it's still anyone's guess how things will turn out in the end.

I fear the next volume will be the last, so I am reluctant to read it -- but I hope it's published soon!

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

Brian K. Vaughan's compulsively addictive series is wheeling to a close, and when reading Motherland, the ninth collected volume of the series, this becomes all the more apparent. Things come to a head as Yorick, his pet monkey Ampersand, Agent 355, Dr. Mann, and Rose search for Dr. Mann's kidnapped mother, and learn that Yorick indeed is not the last man on earth. More secrets of the plague that wiped out the men are revealed as everyone makes more shocking discoveries, and 355 and the ninja named Toyota face off in a fight that one of which won't walk away from. In the meantime, Yorick's girlfriend Beth awaits him in France, while his other Beth and sister Hero are on the run. There is also a one-shot devoted to the super-model turned garbage girl that Yorick had a run in with way back in the first volume, which is interesting as well. While it's clear that the series is headed towards a close, Vaughan doesn't rush through things and keeps the book well paced. Co-creator Pia Guerra offers the same brand of artwork that you'd come to expect by now, so take it or leave it. All in all though, Motherland is another excellent volume in the Y: The Last Man series, and here's hoping the end is as great as the whole.

For those who have read the series this far this will be unnecessary. I love this series and highly recommend it to anyone. The only 'issue' I have is that it appears, to me, that they are now using 'filler' with a twist. I generally don't have problems with stories that are inserted just for their own sake, i.e. they are good stories (the story, text and graphics are as good as ever). However, belief can be 'suspended' for only so long before the yawn factor sets in and plot-twists (giving nothing away) can only take so many turns before you think you are watching a day-time soap.

In summary, fans and long-time readers will buy - because they have to - but casual readers COULD consider buying one 'particular' episode/chapter and not really miss anything. As to which episode to buy, well that would be telling.......

Jon

I've been reading Y The Last Man for years now (always the graphic novel collections) and the story continues to grow stronger with each new volume. While one might believe the story of the last man on earth would become repetitive over time, the writers and artists make sure to not only keep the story fresh by adding depth to existing characters and introducing new ones, but also to bring a visual variety as the characters move around the world.

I'm a pretty avid comic reader, and Y The Last Man takes the cake for my favorite series yet.

Y is the male chromosome.

Y is the Yorick Brown.

Y is the last man.

In this graphic novel series, we follow the adventure of Yorick, the last know man alive after a sudden plague wipes out the mass of male humanity - and all the male mammals except for Yorick's helper monkey-in-training, Ampersand.

I cannot give you an accounting of the individual books. After reading the initial book on a Tuesday, I had to go and get what I could to finish reading the series. I was able pick up all but the last volume. Having read through the next eight volumes, I sit and wait for the final volume to be sent to me. I can't wait.

I want to know just what caused the plague. I want to know if there's a cure. I want to know if our hero (not our Hero) finds his love. The narrative is compelling and I fell in and I need a resolution. I have to give credit to the collaborative team behind the creation and continuation of the series. I literally couldn't put the books down and I was at a loss when I had to stop with the story arc unfinished.

Read these books, they might not be deep, but they sure are entertaining.

As the series races to its conclusion, this collection showcases so many different aspects of the world that now exists. So many of the mysteries are coming to a head and then there are two great issues involving charcaters that we met previously. SO good! Vaughan and Guerra have created such a world, not just a story. Great stuff!

I can;t say anything that hasn't already been said, so all I can say is that this was a enjoyable volume, and a good continuation of the Y series.

Although I like the previous issue better than this one, Motherland has it's own perks as the story starts to wrap up for our protagonists. Things get a little strange when one of the characters becomes fatally injured, and Yorick almost REALLY dies this time though not of his own occord. I still have no complaints about this series, there's a damn good fight scene, a couple questions finally get answered, and Yorick is still one of the coolest protagonists in graphic novels.

Volume 9 collects issues #49-54 of the Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra series. As in the previous TPB, Guerra pencils a four-issue story arc and Goran Sudzuka pencils a pair of one-shots. In the "Motherland" segments the action alternates between a Hong Kong laboratory and rooftop and more on what caused the plague is revealed. Vaughan also progresses the Hero and Alter subplots as the characters converge on France. Issue 53 introduces a new and confusing subplot in Arlington, Virginia and Issue 54 is a filler Hollywood story. I enjoyed the main story arc more than those of previous TPBs but was disappointed with the one shots. Still, I've enjoyed this series enough to immediately order the subsequent TPB upon its release.

It feels like the end.

Like Lost, Brian K. Vaughan's "Y: The Last Man" is a sweepingly epic series made up of huge mysteries that only get more mysterious with each new volume. Over the course of the first eight books, there has been a lot of build-up with only a few of the major questions answered. That, however, changes with this volume: "Motherland."

In his best effort since the fifth book, Vaughan finally answers the big question: How and why did all the men die out? The explanation seems shaky at first, but through scientific reasoning and considerable build-up, BKV makes it work. And the payoff is phenomenal. This is the stuff we've been waiting nearly fifty issues for, folks, and it'll keep you reading until you hit the last page. When I picked this book up, I planned to read the first issue and then go to sleep. However, I just couldn't put it down until I finished the main story line of the book (the first four issues). We get a history and origin for Toyota, a final confrontation between Toyota and Agent 355, a conclusion to the Dr. Mann/355/Yorick journey, and so much more.

The final two issues in this book are one-shots. Earlier in "Y: The Last Man," Brian K. Vaughan made some iffy one-shot issues (the two-part 'Comedy and Tragedy' from book three comes to mind), but at this point, he has such control over the story that he can veer off from the main plot without losing consistency. The first issue catches up with a minor-minor character, Waverly (the chick who gathered the bodies), who we haven't seen since the first book of the series. The story is poignant and probably shows Vaughan at his least subtle, but the parallel he shows us at the final page is really breath-taking. The final issue catches up with the acting troupe from the aforementioned "Comedy and Tragedy" two-part, and Vaughan handles that story way better here. This one-shot is probably one of his best, as it works as the conclusion to "Comedy and Tragedy," a nod to the writing process, and a metaliterary nod to comics as well.

All in all, it's one of the best volumes of what could very well be the best comic series of all time.

9/10