Science Fiction Books

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores

Brian Vaughan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Final TPB offers lukewarm conclusion to an enjoyable series 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This tenth "Y The Last Man" trade paperback collects the final six issues (#55-#60) of the acclaimed Vertigo/DC Comics series. Yorick, 355, Hero, the two Beths, the Russians and the Israeli soldiers converge in Paris as the main plotline concludes in Issue 59. Issue 60 is set sixty years in the future and also features some intermittent Yorick flashbacks. The resolutions in Book 10 seemed disappointing compared to previous plot segments. Pia Guerra pencils all six issues and her artwork remains consistently outstanding (page 152 is especially moving). I've read that New Line Cinema plans to finish filming the Y movie in 2008.

Graphic Reader 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Over all I enjoyed the book, although I did feel that the ending was a little rushed. Still would recommend it to anyone who likes a good story.

great series, but... 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 4 people found this review helpful.

the series as a whole was great, but MAN what a let-down at the end... really felt like the writers just said "screw it" half-way through paris and just hacked together an out of place and ill-fitting ending.

No Greater Wrath.... 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Plague? Black Magic? Terrorism? Act of God? Could / would something simultaneously kill every mammal possessing a Y chromosome? Even unborn mammals in the womb? Well, according to Y: The Last Man, on July 17, 2002, that's exactly what happened...with the exception of one male human being and one male Capuchin monkey.

Y: The Last Man chronicles the life of Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand as they are thrust into a female-only society. And society is in chaos. The realization that the planet is doomed without a reproducing, intelligent species is not lost on its inhabitants. Some accept their fate; some fight to find a way to reverse the annihilation; and some even denounce any fight to survive as opposition to God's will.

Hence, to some, Yorick Brown is the ultimate opposition to God's will....A sole human male survivor. So when Yorick teams up with a government agent and a genetic scientist on a journey across the country to get to a laboratory to find out 'what makes him different', or to try to discover if there's a genetic 'solution' to this disaster, you can bet the band of travelers run into some hostile forces.

The stories are delivered in 10 Volumes, with Volume 10 seemingly being the wrap-up of this compelling series. Volumes 1 - 5 are very well told, exciting, twist-filled and keep you pressing on for Volume after Volume. Volumes 6 - 10 start getting a little (just a little!) long in the tooth, as perhaps more of an attempt drag the story out and keep a great revenue generating series alive, but nevertheless, Writer Brian Vaughan keeps readers compelled to press on.

A hardcover compilation of (only the first few???) volumes of the story will be released in late 2008: Y: The Last Man, Book One, Deluxe Edition; I strongly recommend starting with this Book compilation, or at minimum, with Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1) in order to stick with the chronology of the story.

Rumor has it (according to [rumored] Director D.J. Caruso) that a movie adaptation will come out in three films...the first of which could be released as early as 2009 (with [rumored] Shia LaBeouf as Yorick).

The storyline is not without some controversy....Well, I see no controversy, but I'm sure that certain narrow minded groups might view the nature of a population unable to civilly function without men a bit 'controversial'. Hopefully, Hollywood will maintain the integrity of the series and not dumb down this fabulous tale that the authors created.

The Force Unleashed (Star Wars)

Haden Blackman

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Editorial Review:

LucasArts' game The Force Unleashed, is poised to be the Star Wars event of the year. The game-play promises to be stunning, but we think it's the story that will blow you away. Revealed here are the origins of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, the deadly missions on which he was sent to track down and destroy Jedi, and the awesome decision he is forced to make that will, literally, change the way you look at the Star Wars saga!

Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1)

Brian K. Vaughan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

No Greater Wrath..... 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Plague? Black Magic? Terrorism? Act of God? Could / would something simultaneously kill every mammal possessing a Y chromosome? Even unborn mammals in the womb? Well, according to Y: The Last Man, on July 17, 2002, that's exactly what happened...with the exception of one male human being and one male Capuchin monkey.

Volumes 1 through 5 of Y: The Last Man chronicle the life of Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand as they are thrust into a female-only society. And society is in chaos. The realization that the planet is doomed without a reproducing, intelligent species is not lost on its inhabitants. Some accept their fate; some fight to find a way to reverse the annihilation; and some even denounce any fight to survive as opposition to God's will.

Hence, to some, Yorick Brown is the ultimate opposition to God's will....A sole human male survivor. So when Yorick teams up with a government agent and a genetic scientist on a journey across the country to get to a laboratory to find out 'what makes him different', or to try to discover if there's a genetic 'solution' to this disaster, you can bet the band of travelers run into some hostile forces.

The stories in Volumes 1 through 5 (of 10 so far) are very well told, exciting, twist-filled and keep you pressing on for Volume after Volume. Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores comes out June 24th, 2008.

Rumor has it (according to [...], 1/29/2008, A chat with ... 'Y: The Last Man' director D.J. Caruso by Whitney Matheson) that a movie adaptation will come out in three films...the first of which could be released as early as 2009 (with Shia LaBeouf as Yorick).

The storyline is not without some controversy....Well, I see no controversy, but I'm sure that certain narrow minded groups might view the nature of a population unable to civilly function without men a bit 'controversial'. Hopefully, Hollywood will maintain the integrity of the series and not dumb down the fabulous tale that the authors created.

Y: The Last Man Vol. 2: Cycles

Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The plot thickens and the fun continues 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The first book in Brian K. Vaughan's Y: THE LAST MAN set up the premise: all the males in the world of every species have died except for loser named Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand. In the chaos that follows American society is oppressed by totalitarian Amazons, who are marked ideologically by an intense detestation of all things male (in later books they will even try to tear down structures they imagine are male) and by their ill-informed attempt to mimic Amazons by cutting off one breast (actually, there is no good evidence that the mythical Amazons removed a breast so as to be better archers, and I've been told by women who are actually good with a bow that there is no physiological reason to need to do so).

In this book Yorick, Ampersand, the mysterious Agent 355, and Dr. Mann begin their continent wide journey to Mann's San Francisco genetics lab, where she hopes to find a cure for the plague that has killed all males. Along they way they are pursued by the Israeli military, stay awhile in a small town filled with escaped prison inmates, and encounter a group of Amazons, including Yorick's sister Hero.

If you push the book very hard, all kinds of problems arise. I choose not to push the book very hard. But let me indication the ways someone so inclined might push. First, Vaughan depicts an entire society that has collapsed almost completely. The implication is that society is not merely male-dominated, but male-driven. One fantasy I have whenever I go on vacation is that when I return, my office will have collapsed into chaos. Instead, when I return, things are pretty much like I left them. I believe much the same thing would be true were all men to suddenly vanish. Yes, there would be interruptions, but none total and complete. Second, no one seems to sense the need for either Yorick or Ampersand to play any kind of active role in replenishing their species. This is just silly. If I were placed in such a role, I would feel it incumbent to help any way I could (and I truly do not mean that in any kind of salacious way). That Yorick would feel it possible to maintain a relationship exclusively with his girlfriend Beth is incredible. Third, are the Amazons in any way believable? Can we possibly believe that mass groups of women would delight in the disappearance of all males? I could go on, but I tend to read Y: THE LAST MAN like I watch HEROES: I avoid any tough questions. This is why for me Y: THE LAST MAN fails to stand up to the very best long graphic sequences, like Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN or why HEROES fails to measure up to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER or BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: neither can stand up to the hard questions. Still, taken with your critical eye blinded, this is enormous fun.

Star Wars Legacy, Vol. 3: Claws of the Dragon

John Ostrander, Jan Duursema

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Powerful Ending to a Great Story Arc 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Cade Skywalker is a rebellious and emotionally broken former Jedi. Sought by the evil Sith that now rule the galaxy, scheming factions of the Empire, and his own former teachers, Cade heads to Coruscant, the stronghold of his enemies, to try and make amends for the wrongs he has committed.

Claws of the Dragon is the most powerful and action-oriented addition to the Legacy series so far. Bringing together the various threads and backstories from Shards (Volume 2), CotD presents an excellent story filled with battles, scheming, and death that will rock the Star Wars Legacy universe. As well, the origins of such characters as Darth Krayt and Morrigan Corde are revealed.

CotD is my favorite entry in the SW:L universe so far, and I highly recommend it to both graphic novel enthusiasts and Star Wars fans. Volumes 1 and 2 should be read first, however, as Volume 3 builds significantly on the previously-established storylines.

Note: Star Wars Legacy, Volume 3: Claws of the Dragon collects issues 14 through 19 of the comic book series.

Editorial Review:

"Claws of the Dragon" - one hundred years after the events in Return of the Jedi, Luke's descendent Cade Skywalker is captured by the Sith, Emperor Darth Krayt unveils his true identity, and a secret chapter in the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi is revealed. When Cade attempts to rescue the Jedi he turned over to the Sith during his days as a bounty hunter, the last Skywalker soon finds himself in the clutches of Darth Krayt. There, Cade must confront his past and decide once and for all: will he remain the Emperor's prisoner or become his thrall? Learn whether the Skywalker line lives up to the triumph of Luke or returns to the tragedy of Anakin!

Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 1

Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, Ethan Van Sciver

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Worth the wait. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I don't usually enjoy reading comics week to week or month to month, so I always wait for collections to come out. This is one comic that I would have wished I had read every new issue.

The Best Event of '07 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Geoff Johns is the current king of DC mythology. As he completes the second leg of his Green Lantern trilogy, it's obvious that Johns has learned from his mistakes in INFINITE CRISIS, because this book is the most accessable event to be written in years.

The only GREEN LANTERN book I'd ever read before this was Johns' excellent "Rebirth" arc from a few years ago. This is so much better. I had little knowledge of the Lantern Corps and its history going in, but coming out I felt like I knew everything there was to know. I was never lost, and no one should be when they read this.

Despite the contribution of four different pencilers, the art is good throughout and, like the writing, never confuses the reader. So, Kudos to Van Sciver, Reis, Gleason and Unzeta for a job well done.
The one qualm I have with this package is that this is only the first half of the story. You'll have to buy Volume 2 separately, and DC doesn't appear to have any 13-issue giant edition ("Absolute" or otherwise) on the horizon. Until that time, this is the best way to enjoy 2007's best comic book event.

Highly recommended for longtime readers as well as those just interested in reading a great comic.

Editorial Review:

The Sinestro Corps has declared war on the Green Lanterns in the smash-hit epic of the summer!This blockbuster story sold out one comic book issue after another, leading to many reprintings to keep up with demand! Legendary Green Lantern Hal Jordan has returned to the Corps and has once again pledged to defendEarth and the rest of Sector 2814 from evil. But now his arch-nemesis and former mentor, Sinestro, has assembled an army of his ownone dedicated to spreading fear throughout the galaxy.

Y: The Last Man, Volume 9: Motherland

Brian K. Vaughan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Issues #49-54 of the Vaughan/Guerra series 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Volume 9 collects issues #49-54 of the Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra series. As in the previous TPB, Guerra pencils a four-issue story arc and Goran Sudzuka pencils a pair of one-shots. In the "Motherland" segments the action alternates between a Hong Kong laboratory and rooftop and more on what caused the plague is revealed. Vaughan also progresses the Hero and Alter subplots as the characters converge on France. Issue 53 introduces a new and confusing subplot in Arlington, Virginia and Issue 54 is a filler Hollywood story. I enjoyed the main story arc more than those of previous TPBs but was disappointed with the one shots. Still, I've enjoyed this series enough to immediately order the subsequent TPB upon its release.

Editorial Review:

Featured in The New York Times and on National Public Radio,Y: THE LAST MAN is the gripping saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed andunmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the worldafter a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Ychromosome.Accompanied by his mischievous monkey, Ampersand, and themysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to findhis long-lost girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on earth.This volume of the critically acclaimed series features Yorick and Agent355 preparing for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with hislost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wipedout half of humanity is revealed!

Y: The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step

Brian K. Vaughan, Brian V. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"One Small Step" B+ / "Comedy and Tragedy" C- 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This trade paperback is really made up of two different stories. The first one, "One Small Step," is a continuation of some of the plot lines that began in Volume Two. As the three cosmonauts who were not on Earth when the plague hit, two of them male, prepare to land, a tip from a misguided woman lead the militant villain Alter to Yorick. There are many different plots at work here, and they're all interesting, but none of them were as gripping as the plot lines of Volume Two (the women of Marrisville, the face-off with the Amazons, Yorick realizing what his sister has become).

"One Small Step" was a good enough story, though what followed wasn't even close. Volume Three concludes with a two issue story arc called "Comedy and Tragedy" that strays away from the main plot of the series, shifting focus to a troupe of actors who are putting on a play about how women would react to the last man on Earth. Yorick, 355, and Dr. Mann only make a brief appearance in the last pages of the concluding issue. Brian K. Vaughan is a great writer, so these two issues were quite readable, but they strayed too far away from the central story. These new characters weren't even likable in the least. I don't know what possessed Vaughan to do this, but I'll be glad to see Yorick back as the central character in the next volume.

7/10

Editorial Review:

A perfect blend of humor and drama, Y: THE LAST MAN - ONE SMALL STEP is a fascinating tale of catastrophe and consequences. After a mysterious occurrence instantaneously killed every male human on Earth, twenty-something escape artist Yorick Brown suddenly found himself as the last man alive on a planet inhabited solely by females. But when Yorick and his secret service bodyguard learn of a Russian spaceship with two healthy males on board, they quickly journey to its projected landing site in Kansas to see if the rumor is true. Now as Yorick and Agent 355 wait to see if the cosmonauts will survive their return to Earth's atmosphere, a zealous faction of the Israeli military attempt to kidnap the last man for their own nefarious purposes.

Kingdom Come

Mark Waid

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 175 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful Artwork 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It's a great book, with and interesting story and wonderful artwork that really makes this one special to me.

Definitely master piece 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This comic book is one of my favorites for all time, in this story, you can see the antinomy of superheroes, just like the harvey dent saying:You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. superman is like god . but batman is like buddha.

Superman Rocks!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Want to know about what happens to Superman when he gets old? Find it in here... Nice cover, really shiny and in excellent conditions

Best Graphic Novel Ever 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Okay, I got carried away. It's technically a trade paperback.
Still, it is one of the greatest superhero stories ever told. Superman hasn't simply retired; he gave up on the world when they found Magog not guilty for straight-up murdering the Joker. The new heroes aren't just a little amoral; they battle villains AND each other, with no regard for civilian lives. Wonder Woman convinces Superman to return and create a new Justice League, Lex Luthor and other villains (along with Captain Marvel) opperate under the guise of keeping the world safe for normal humans, and Batman recruits old and new heroes who really disagree with both sides.
Most everyone makes some poor choices that culminate in an allout superhuman battle. The entire story is a reflection of Revelation, with a spiritually faltering reverend being guided through the story by the Spectre.
Every single DC fan and every curious Marvel fan should read this book.

Editorial Review:

Writer Mark Waid, coming from his popular work on Flash and Impulse, and artist Alex Ross, who broke new ground with the beautifully painted Marvels, join together for this explosive book that takes place in a dark alternate future of the DC Superhero Universe. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and almost every other character from DC Comics must choose sides in what could be the final battle of them all.

Y: The Last Man Vol. 4: Safeword

Brian K. Vaughan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good, though not quite as good as what came before 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Warning! Spoilers ahead!

This struck me as not quite as good as previous books mainly because not quite as necessary. The series at this point is tracking the journey of Yorick and his entourage from Boston to California and it is as if Vaughan decided he had to create events at the Great Divide and in Arizona to pass time before finally arriving at Dr. Mann's lab. The section where Agent 355's former colleague tortures Yorick as a form of suicide intervention is easily the worst segment of any part of the series to this point, with the possible exception of every mention of the Amazons (as a historical note, the myth that the Amazons cut off a breast in order to aim a bow more efficiently is not a part of the early progress of the Amazons). And I definitely didn't care for the ultra-right-wing Sons of Arizona that occupied the second half of the book.

Still, there were some major new revelations. Let me enumerate. 1) We learn that Dr. Mann is gay and may have an attraction to Agent 355. 2) There are members of the Culper Ring who have a different agenda than 355 and are ruthless in pursuing it. 3) Hero hasn't gone away, but is searching for her brother. 4) The pregnant astronaut from Book 3 has given birth to a son. 5) Dr. Mann did not clone her nephew, as she previously told 355 and Yorick, but herself.

While not as good as previous books, this is still a worthy contribution to one of the most compelling long series in graphic art. It is highly recommended because the series as a whole is highly recommended.