What's surprised me most about this story arc and the series in general is how quickly Vaughan has advanced one of the major plotlines: the encounter between Yorick and his sister. It's brought a hectic, even desperate quality to the pacing of the book, and in the process, it's reinforced the cataclysmic nature of the core premise of a world robbed of men. This issue is both explosive and quietly dramatic all at once, and it makes for riveting, enlightening reading. Vaughan offers up a well-researched script, but more importantly, it's entertaining.
Hero has led Victoria and her fellow Amazons to Marrisville, Ohio, where she has found her brother Yorick -- the last man on Earth -- hiding out in a community of one-time female prison inmates. Yorick finds himself between a town full of women condemned for past sins and a small troop of women committing new ones with their violent philosophy in the new world. Yorick comes up with a plan that could still lead to humankind's redemption and revival, but it requires an unthinkable sacrifice.
Upon first glance, the visuals here seem pretty simple, but a second and third reading reveals something. Pia Guerra juggles an expansive cast of characters in this issue, and she maintains clarity without the benefit of flashy super-hero costumes. The diversity to be found in the many female characters reinforces the realism of the book. Guerra isn't rendering a world full of super-models in tights, but real women... wrinkled, emaciated, flabby. I'm also struck by how one can see the strength in all of the Marrisville women just by looking at them. Their determination would shine through even if the book was devoid of dialogue.
Again, Vaughan offers an accessible read despite being in the midst of a story arc. Good thing too... the buzz on this title continues to grow, and I expect more and more readers are picking it up every month. The reason is clear: Vaughan examines individual and braoder (no pun intended) social gender issues, and he does so with great intellect and from a wide arra of perspectives.
The drama here teeters on the edge of being over-the-top, but it works. Yorick's farewell to Sonia and his climactic confrontation with his sister, on their own, could come off as just being too much, even corny. But in the context of this issue, they serve as an excellent balance with the protagonist's usually casual attitude in previous issues.
Yorick and Hero symbolize to opposing views in a new world. Hero is all about anger and despair, about blindly clawing for something to hold onto and to believe in, without caring for its substances. Yorick represents a possible solution, a glimmer of the wonderfully impossible in a field of chaos and harsh realities. Hate faces off against hope in this climactic issue, and it makes for shocking, emotional reading.
