Y: The Last Man has taken a real upswing in the last few issues, and the conclusion of "Widow's Pass" is an exceptional issue all around, with some very subtle but important character moments, some less subtle but equally important action and a few big developments in the overall story. Vaughan continues to shock with his willingness to muck with the characters or to show the occasional violent after-effects of a post-apocalyptic story, and Goran Parlov has stepped in for Pia Guerra and done some terrific artwork, perfectly capable of carrying the emotional consequences in Vaughan's script as well as the physical tension and actions.
Separating the main characters has worked out pretty well for Vaughan in this arc, and it allows for a terrific parallel storytelling approach in this issue. He really heightens the tension of what's going on with the characters by switching away at key moments, and when the characters come back together, the reader knows that they've all been changed by the events, but the characters themselves don't know what the others have been through.
There's a lot of great unspoken characterization going on in these pages. Why does Yorick suddenly become more confident and capable than we've seen him in the past? Why does 355 have a similar boost of ability that allows her to escape her predicament? Does 355 read between the lines when she sees Yorick again? These are questions left up to the reader's heads, and could easily be read as inconsistent storytelling, but in fact I think Vaughan is laying clues with these seeming inconsistencies. Yorick's competence comes from anger and represents something of a turning point in his perceptions, and 355's actions hint that maybe she has deeper feelings than we've been previously led to believe.
Vaughan is a talented plotter, but in these post-Bendis days, I don't know that he always gets the credit he deserves for his dialogue. Don't get me wrong, it's tough for anyone to touch Bendis's uniquely humorous rapid-fire patter, but Vaughan's characters have an intelligence and wit about them, not to mention a touch of reality, that too few scripters in comics can manage. Little details like 355's answer to the medical question, Yorick's indignant speech to the militia girl and the moment between Mann and 355 this issue are all down to the dialogue. The reason that I care about this book isn't just wanting to see what's next, although that's part of it, it's wanting to see what happens with these characters that I've become so involved in.
Of course, while I give full marks to Vaughan for the dialogue in this issue, I can't downplay the role that Parlov and Marzan Jr. play in some of the big scenes. Yorick's transformation from hapless loser to confident hero in this issue is a truly spectacular moment, both heroic and somewhat chilling at the same time, and 355's spring into action is as good as anything found in quintessential Vertigo action comic The Losers. In addition, Parlov's characters really have a lot of character in their faces, and you can read subtleties into the reaction of 355 when she first talks to Yorick about what happened. Then there's the last page reveal, a very nice design for a surprise returning character and another classic Y: The Last Man cliffhanger.
