Y: the Last Man volume 10: Whys and Wherefores

By Brian K Vaughan, Pia Guerra & JosÃ© MarzÃ¡n Jr. (Vertigo)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-903-1

Some sense of disappointment is probably unavoidable when an acclaimed and beloved serial finally ends, but at least there’s a sense of accomplishment to savour and if you’re lucky perhaps a hint of more to be said and an avenue for further wondermentâ€¦

When every male creature on Earth suddenly dropped dead, only student Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand survived in a world instantly utterly all-girl. Unexpectedly a crucial natural resource, the wilful lad was escorted across the unmanned American continent to a Californian bio-lab by a government super-spy and a prominent geneticist, but all he could think of was re-uniting with his girlfriend Beth, trapped in Australia when the disaster struck.

With his reluctant companions Agent 355 and Dr. Allison Mann – who were trying to solve the mystery of his continued existence – the romantically determined oaf trekked from Washington DC to California, getting ever closer to his fiancÃ©eâ€¦ or so he thoughtâ€¦

Each of his minders harboured dark secrets: Dr. Mann was crucially connected to the plague and the lethally competent 355 had hidden allegiances to organisations far-more far-reaching than the First Ladies of the remaining American governmentâ€¦.

Also out to stake a claim and add to the general tension were renegade Israeli General Alter Tse’Elon and a post-disaster cult called â€œDaughters of the Amazonâ€ who wanted to make sure that there really were no more men left to mess up the planet. Further complications included Yorick’s sister Hero, who stalked him across the ultra-feminised, ravaged and completely dis-United States and the boy’s own desirability to numerous frustrated and desperate women he encountered en route to Ozâ€¦

After four years and incredible adventures Yorick (a so-so scholar but a proficient amateur magician and escapologist) reached Australia only to discover Beth had embarked on her own odyssey to Paris. During the trek Dr. Mann discovered the inconvenient truth: Yorick was only alive because his pet Ampersand (an escaped lab-specimen) was immune and had inoculated his owner via his disgusting habit of chucking crap which Yorick didn’t always avoid. He didn’t keep his mouth closed enough eitherâ€¦

With this book, reprinting issues #55-60 of the award-winning series, comes to a final full-stop in ‘Whys and Wherefores’ wherein the various cast members all rendezvous in Paris. As well as Yorick and 355, his sisterÂ Hero is there, having successfully escorted baby boys born in a hidden Space sciences lab to the City of Lights as well as Yorick’s baby daughter and the determined would-be mother who raped him to conceive herâ€¦

Also on scene and hungry for blood is General Tse’Elon with a dwindling squad of Israeli commandoes: rapidly diminishing because of their leader’s increasing instability and her habit of killing anybody who crosses her.

At long last the Last Man is reunited with his long lost true love, only to find that she wasn’tâ€¦

Tragically though his actual one-and-only is forever lost to him when Tse’Elon captures him and the babies, leading to a shocking final confrontationâ€¦

For the last chapter ‘Alas’ the action switches to Paris sixty years later. Thanks to cloning and gene manipulation the human race is secure and other species are returning too. Men are still rarer than hen’s teeth though, as the women seem to prefer girl babiesâ€¦

The geriatric Yorick is saviour of humanity, but since he keeps trying to kill himself he has to be locked up and constantly guarded. In a desperate attempt to cure his seeming madness the leaders of the matriarchal new world – which suffers just as much from most of the problems and stupidities of the old – have brought in the best of the Last Man’s seventeen viable clones to talk him round and find out what’s bugging him. However the intervention doesn’t go as planned and the old escapologist has one last trick up his straitjacketed sleeveâ€¦

Illustrated by Pia Guerra & JosÃ© MarzÃ¡n Jr. these concluding adventures are packed with revelation, closures and disclosures plus some moments of genuine painful tragedy, so keep tissues handy if you’re easily moved.

The last of Y the Last Man is as controversial and challenging as ever it was: perfectly providing an ending to everything; lifting you up, breaking your heart and still leaving the reader hungry for more. And that’ just the way it ought to beâ€¦

Share this:

One Reply to “Y: the Last Man volume 10: Whys and Wherefores”