How is it that Vaughan has thus far dodged all the potential cliches and familiar story tricks to keep Y: The Last Man so fresh and interesting? The solicitations for this story arc made it sound like a typical "idyllic town with a terrible secret," and that's not a bad description, but I tend to hate those kind of stories in general, and I find myself fascinated by this one. Partly it's the mystery, and Vaughan has turned out to be great at telling a mystery. Partly it's the characterization, whether it's the developing relationship of Mann and 355 or Yorick and his new friend. But mostly it's a combination of everything, art, writing and production, that continues to make Y: The Last Man one of the first things I read when it's in my stack of books.
Part of what makes Y so entertaining is that while there's definitely a feeling of the horror of the situation, Vaughan and company keep things relatively light. A good example is the first conversation between Yorick and Sonia, which has a little bit of pop culture referencing to show the similarities between the two. Or the cantankerous speech of Lydia toward the end. Or some of the conversation between 355 and Mann, such as Mann's misunderstanding of what she is supposed to do with the gun. Though the setting and some of the events are definitely dark, the story is still fun to read.
That doesn't mean there's not a creepy or dark element to the book. The dark secret that is being hidden in the town plays across the faces of the women thanks to Pia Guerra, and I was rather shocked and dismayed by our first look at Agent 355 in this issue as well. Also, the continuing saga of Hero fascinates me. I know that some feel that her role in the story pushes coincidence to the limit, but it doesn't seem like too much of a stretch based on what little we know of her, and I'm loving the conflict between Hero's devotion to Victoria and what she knows is right.
Pia Guerra's artwork continues to impress as well, and while I've made comparisons to Steve Dillon's work, this issue also reminded me of Charlie Adlard, who has a similar style and way with faces and normal people. Guerra does a terrific job of making the relatively normal situation of a small town feel a little creepy and foreboding, not to mention showing a lot of the inner turmoil that Hero is facing through her expressions and the way she acts. This book wouldn't be as strong if it weren't for Guerra and Marzan Jr. on the artwork.
Recently, Don and I wrote a feature on our "Best of 2002" and Y: The Last Man pretty much swept the "new in 2002" categories. If it keeps up at this level, it will definitely be in the running for the "Best of 2003" as well.
