Something about a truck accident, one little warehouse in hurricane alley and another truck accident all apparently amounts to the reason I don't have The Sword Volume 3 to read. And they say diamonds are a girls best friend? Diamonds are suppose to signify the deepening of a commitment, not the brutal interruption of a burgeoning relationship. Huh.
And who knows...this could have dire consequences! I was excited for The Sword Volume 3, even if it's in hopes of things getting back to how they were in the first volume. But in the meantime, I picked up Y: The Last Man Volume 1. And I think this could be the start of something special....
I know nothing about this comic book. I've heard it referenced in a sentence before. That sentence is usually "you might like Y: The Last Man, Nina." But I've never heard anything about the plot.
(Now although I've got the whole volume right here, I've learned a lesson or two. No more hasty acting out like my inflight rendezvous with The Sword. I'm gonna take this one issue at a time.)
And the first thing I have to say is - what great storytelling! Back when this column was called The Virgin Read I often mentioned "the question." They say that every good book, play, screenplay, movie, etc., has one question that is somehow posed to the reader or watcher, something that should show up in the first page or five minutes or so. (Now, this isn't a hard and fast rule, but it seems to be one that these stories often break, usually at their peril.) But Y poses one right on the first page, with its first few panels. It's delivered as a statement: "All the men are dead." And of course, we wonder why? What happened? How are all the men dead?
It's an immediate hook, especially with that police woman ready to blow her own brains out after saying it. She doesn't want to live without her husband? Without her partner? Has she grasped how widespread it is, and she's too terrified to continue?
What's great about this issue is not just that first question that it poses, but all the subsequent ones: What's up with Yorick's Mom and that Senator? What's the deal with Agent 355....and now that I know she's an agent, how does she relate to the Senator? What's with the amulet? How and why did that scientist woman impregnate herself with a clone? And of course, the most obvious question of all - which I can ask because of what the title proudly declares - why doesn't Yorick die? Why is he the last man?
A big hurrah for the love story, for women who kick ass, for 24-style formatting (especially since 24 has forgotten how to make it work) and for monkeys. Who doesn't love a monkey? (Except for Hit Monkey. Somebody tried to get me to buy that--really? Are you an eight year old?) The last four pages - the ones that follow the word NOW - are AWEsome. So well done. I'm intrigued by the scientist gripping her head with the dead men around her saying, "Oh God, this is my fault." It is?!?! How?!? Did birthing a clone throw the cosmic energy of the Universe off somehow? Oh, I am so intrigued! I am so excited to read more, because I get the feeling that this story pays off. It seems like it's science fiction that's just science-y enough for there to be some logic that must be adhered to, and fictional enough that I won't have any problem suspending my disbelief and play along.
Oh oh oh! This is gonna be fun!
And one last thing. Last but not least: the art! I'm usually not a fan of these kind of newsprint-ish pages. I'm not sure why, it's just a sensory thing for me, I think. Nevertheless, I didn't mind it here. And, yes, I actually enjoyed the art. It's slightly cartoonish, but just in that way that reminds me that I'm reading a comic book. All the lines and body shapes and facial expressions make sense. I'm a fan of the little details like the monkey's diaper, or the blue tint of the scientist's glasses.
Can't wait for more. And yes, okay. YES. I did peek ahead and read just the first part of the next issue. I just wanted to see if Yorick was definitely alive.
He is!
-Nina Stone, 2010
Y was pretty great, though I recall a few clunkers in there...
Posted by: LurkerWithout | 2010.02.16 at 02:31
Ah, good. I loved this series while it was running, and while it isn't necessarily an all-time classic, it's very solid, with some great cliffhangers, good characterizations, funny dialogue, and propulsive plotting. I like it. I hope you keep enjoying it, but I have a hunch you will.
Posted by: Matthew J. Brady | 2010.02.16 at 21:59
I always meant to go back and finish this series. The problem I end up having is that since I've read the first few issues, I don't want to get the first volume of the trade. If I don't get the first one, my OCD makes it uncomfortable to get the subsequent ones. I need to Man Up and see how it continues. I remember it being more than anything else, conceptually interesting.
Posted by: Sharif | 2010.02.17 at 09:03
I'm intrigued to read more...but at the same time, I'm a little daunted by my own expectation that I should now read the whole series. And honestly, I'm suddenly wondering what's going on with Cinderella. (Is that like thinking about your ex after your most current relationship has failed?)
Also - I've got Sword 3 in my hand right now, and I know I was just saying how I'm not all that psyched about it, but now that it's here.....it just feels so right
Posted by: Nina | 2010.02.20 at 08:41