Best-loved books of 2008, #18: Favorite graphic novel completed series

Shop Indie Bookstores
Shop Indie Bookstores

Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra (Vertigo, $12.99)
(shown here: Volume 1: Unmanned -- I'll spare you all 10 book covers)
(bonus: great conversation/argument starter!)

Now that the tenth and final book in Vaughan's graphic novel epic has been released in paperback, it's a great time to start with number one. An unknown plague wipes out the male half of humankind, except for escape artist Yorick and his pet monkey, who quickly become hot commodities -- but it's not as fun (for him) as it sounds.

I've been working my way through the journey that is Y this year, and it's as worthwhile as I was told. Vaughan is my favorite writer of mainstream/adventure/hero comics, and he knows how to write snappy dialogue as well as a heck of a road trip story. Yes, he is a man writing a world of women (drawn by excellent female artist Pia Guerra), but he does a fair enough job that it's food for thought, even if you take issue with his vision. Read it for the satisfying action, the clever plot twists, the Shakespearean allusions. Then start conversations about what it would mean for politics (or the justice system, or music, or literature) if the only participants left were women.

Comments

David de Beer said…
I read this series from issue #1, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bit erratic and fumbling around in certain spots in the middle but overall a solid read. I hope Vaughn and Guerra work together again, their styles really complemented each other.

Funny thing is, in the beginning this series sold so badly that it was under threat to be shut down and after a year it suddenly boomed. Everyone I know who collects comics kept offering to buy my first 5 issues.
I'm into comics for the reading, not the collecting, so it kind of amused me how often I end up with series that turns out hot and they don't:)

Anyways, this was a good series. I'll second your recommendation of it.
3:43 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Switchblades, bicycle chains and adventuresome tailors": Colson Whitehead on Brooklyn literary culture

As a last treat before you start your weekend, you gotta read this brilliant piece by Colson Whitehead about being a writer in Brooklyn. He lives here (in Fort Greene), he loves it, but he hilariously pierces the hype about "Brooklyn writers." Sometimes it's a relief to admit it's just the same here as everywhere else. And Whitehead ends with an extended metaphor from The Warriors . What could be better? Enjoy, you kooky literati borough-dwellers. And happy reading.
Read more

Link-Mad Monday: BEA 2007 and On!

Image
Sorry about the lack of post on Friday -- the day got crazy, as is likely to happen more often as the wedding date (June 30!) approaches. I'll give a shot at recapping my BEA, with some extra linkage for fun. Wednesday Joined the rest of my fellow booksellers at the Brooklyn Marriott for a celebration of Brooklyn . Saw my old boss and mentor Toby of Three Lives and other familiar faces. And David McCullough's opening address -- man can that guy write. The author of 1776 and The Great Bridge expounded upon his own writing career, the Battle of Brooklyn, and the moment he knew he wanted to write about the Brooklyn Bridge. His previous book about the Johnstown Flood had been about the worst of humanity ("just because people are in positions of responsibility doesn't mean they're acting responsibly" he observed, presciently), and he wanted to write about the opposite, a great effort of idealism and civilization that succeeded. The bridge, he postulates, is such
Read more

House.

Image
  One of the best things about being a bookseller, wherever you are, is the possibility of developing relationships with authors that have the potential to go beyond fandom. Because of the serendipity of where I live, I happen to be neighbors to some of the contemporary greats.  It's not without its pitfalls though.  I remember having a nice chat with a nice lady named Jennifer in the bookstore sometime in Year 1, finding out she had written a book, and picking it up -- and gradually becoming aghast that I had been treating this person as a normal human neighbor, when in fact they were a terrifying genius. The book was A Visit From The Goon Squad , which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.  Luckily Jenny Egan seemingly forgave me for treating her like a regular neighbor (and for all my other faux pas, including vastly under-ordering for the Goon Squad launch party, which we've hopefully made up for by selling hundreds of copies every year since then and shipping signed copies t
Read more