Do I have your attention now?

In this first part of our DOUBLE SIZED second installment, we’re going to take a look at the first collection of one of my personal favorite series- Y: The Last Man.

Be Warned, Minor Spoilers Ahead.

Written by then “newcomer” Brian K. Vaughn, and featuring art from the underappreciated Pia Guerra, the first collection, “Unmanned”, shows just how much creative muscle these two have to flex.
Taking place in the real world (read: no capes), Vaughn takes no time to remind you how the book gets its title. Though, this book is much more than the story of one man.  Briefly, a who’s who of the most important characters in this volume.

Yorick Brown (right): The title character. Son of a congresswoman. Self-made escape artist.
Agent 355 (middle): Government appointed bodyguard. Seriously bad ass. Member of the Culper Ring.
Dr. Mann (left): Leading bioengineer. Hoping to use Yorick to complete her research on cloning.
Ampersand (far right): Yorick’s monkey. Also a male.

“Unmanned” does an amazing job of flipping the world you thought you knew on its head. Vaughn lets no detail escape you in the set up of his universe. Knowledgeable in politics and pop-culture, Vaughn doesn’t dumb down anything, nor does he sound self-important. Pia Guerra’s ability to capture emotion in two dimensions makes every small moment resonate even more than a lesser artist would.

Like I said earlier though, this is more than a one-man show. Each and every issue has multiple subplots running. Some of which to this day have yet to be completed. Vaughn has crafted quite a world for his characters to live in. Little moments like this one make you appreciate how much he understands if the world weren’t believable, the entire premise would fall flat.

This whole collection feels like a two-hour premiere for a new TV show. That’s not a bad thing. “Unmanned” does a great job of sucking you in, making you want to know what happens next. It’s fitting that JJ Abrams liked Vaughn’s writing so much he hired him to write for LOST. Just like I can’t wait for the next episode of LOST, I can’t wait for the next issue of Y.

Sadly, this month marks the final issue of Y: The Last Man hitting the stands (#60, or roughly 5 years, for those counting). Honestly though, you won’t be disappointed one bit by a single one. Start now. By the time you get to the end, the final volume should be collected in trade.

You won’t even know you’ve been reading a socio-political commentary at all.