Y: The Last Man Vol 1: Unmanned

The world changes in a moment when the Y chromosome is wiped off the face of the earth in the fall of 2002.  All sperm, fetuses… any males are gone. What is the cause of this “gendercide?” A mystical necklace, a cloning experiment, a magical ring… In NYC, the West Bank, Jordan, and Boston, factions are ready to capitalize on this catastrophe, especially when people find that there is one man remaining. In the middle of proposing to his long-distance girlfriend, Yorick Brown loses contact with Australia…

Yorisk is a witty amateur magician who is on the run… from the many people who are out to get him. The anarchy-driven rioters and the Republican enemies of his mother, who is a member of congress. This is a witty character sketch, a thoughtful dystopian premise, and… I forgot to talk about the monkey. Y has a pet monkey, kind of the opposite of Curious George.

So… this graphic novel. Some love it and some think it’s a bit misguided, but most can agree that it is fast-paced and has  good premise. I kind of swayed toward the “eh” side. I agree with “most,” but think the follow through didn’t do it for me.

The art is fun with some good angles and a variety of panel types. The colors are bright and contrast well with the characters and themes.

I’m sorry I don’t have a lot to say about this one. I was a bit disappointed after hearing so much about it. It is almost 20 years old now, so has time kind of taken its toll?