Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man was a landmark comic of the 2000s. The book, which debuted as part of DC’s Vertigo line in 2002, was the story of Yorick Brown, the last male left alive on Earth after a mysterious plague (the cause of which was never conclusively identified) killed every creature with a Y-chromosome. Over the course of the next 60 issues, Yorick and a rag-tag band of women traveled the world, searching for answers, as well as Yorick’s girlfriend Beth.
Y: The Last Man was composed of ten story arcs, and here they are, ranked.
10 Volume 6: Girl on Girl
Issues #32-36
Girl on Girl, the sixth arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man, is a bridge between the book’s first half, set in America, and the second, which travels the globe. Ampersand, Yorick’s male monkey, has been abducted and taken to Japan, where researchers hope to use him to understand the plague better. Along the way, Yorick, Agent 355 and Doctor Mann encounter pirates and what is left of the Australian Navy. While light on new character revelations, Girl on Girl is still a fun and engaging read, and it is where Beth learns Yorick is still alive and sets up a major storyline that will play out throughout the book’s back half.
9 Volume 8: Kimono Dragons
Issues #43-48
Yorick and company hit Japan in Kimono Dragons, embarking on a surreal odyssey through the country, where they encounter the remnant of the Yakuza, who, post-plague, are headed up by an American pop star (yes really). Ampersand is being held somewhere in Japan, and Yorick and his friends race against time to find him. Meanwhile, Doctor Mann is reunited with her estranged mother. Kimono Dragons takes Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man beyond the confines of America, showing how the plague impacted other countries as well.
8 Volume 2: Cycles
Issues #6-10
The second arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man continues to deliver on the promise of the first, and barely gives fans time to compress from the events of previous issues. In this volume, Yorick and friends encounter the Daughters of the Amazon, a band of marauders holding the country in the grip of fear. Complicating matters is Yorick’s sister, Hero, has joined them and is now in pursuit of her brother. And in one of the series’ most unforgettable stories, Yorick stumbles across a small Ohio town holding a dark secret. While not as action packed as the first arc, or those that came after, Cycles is still an important arc.
7 Volume 3: One Small Step
Issues #11-17
One Small Step, the third arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man continues to build on the previous issues, introducing two more male survivors of the plague–but unfortunately, they are marooned in outer space, aboard the International Space Station. The astronauts, including one woman, make their way back to Earth–with shocking and tragic results. One Small Step also continues to develop the book’s political themes, as the various nations of the world jockey to gain control of Yorick and the surviving astronauts–assuming they survive.
6 Volume 9: Motherland
Issues #49-54
Motherland, the penultimate volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man was one of the most shocking, revealing that Yorick and Ampersand were not the only males to survive the plague. Moving the action largely to China, Motherland fills readers in on Doctor Mann’s background, and how her family may not only hold the key to what caused the plague, but also how to prevent it from happening again. Doctor Mann had been one of Y: The Last Man’s most intriguing characters, and fans finished Motherland with a new appreciation for her.
5 Volume 7: Paper Dolls
Issues #37-42
Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man officially went international with Paper Dolls. Yorick’s girlfriend Beth was left stranded in the Australian outback after the plague hit, and his quest to be reunited with her drove the first half of the book. In Paper Dolls, Yorick gets tantalizingly close to his goal, only to find out Beth has since left the country, but he now has more pressing matters in Japan, namely finding Ampersand. Yorick almost found Beth, but had it ripped away from him, giving Y: The Last Man a true gut-punch moment.
4 Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores
Issues #55-60
The final arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man brought the book to a satisfying conclusion. Divided into two parts, one set in the present day of the book and another decades in the future, Whys and Wherefores shows that not everyone has a happy ending–even Yorick. While society is flourishing thanks to Yorick, he himself is not doing well, finding himself in a straight-jacket in a psychiatric hospital. The book’s final issue is a poignant send-off for one of the greatest comics of the 2000s.
3 Volume 1: Unmanned
Issues #1-5
Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man kicks off in a grand fashion. The first issue is a masterclass in how to set up a massive story, skillfully introducing numerous characters who would play major roles as the story unfolds. Y: The Last Man explores many of the ramifications of a world without men, and Unmanned shows them in gruesome detail. In one issue, Yorick meets a former supermodel who, after the plague, drives a garbage truck collecting bodies of dead men to be disposed of. Unmanned introduced readers to a new kind of comic, one that would be highly influential throughout the 2000s.
2 Volume 5: Ring of Truth
Issues #24-31
The longest arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man, Ring of Truth is also one of its most important. After fighting their way across the country to Doctor Mann’s laboratory in San Francisco, Yorick’s band of adventurers can finally catch their breath. Ring of Truth answers one of the biggest mysteries of the series: how Yorick and Ampersand survived the plague. The answer surprised readers, but Ring of Truth was not done. Yorick and Hero came to an understanding after Hero shook off the Amazons, setting the stage for her arc through the book’s second half. The arc ended with Yorick and company on the road again–only this time they were going international.
1 Volume 4: Safeword
Issues #18-23
Safeword, the fourth arc of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man, saw the creative team firing on all cylinders. A theme running through the book’s earliest issues was Yorick’s depression and survivor’s guilt, and Safeword saw him work through it in a most unconventional way. Yorick had been borderline suicidal, and Safeword gave him his release. Yorick was forced to confront not only his anxiety over surviving, but deep-seated issues stretching back to his childhood. Safeword gave readers a deep look into Yorick’s psyche, and while it can be uncomfortable in some places, it is easily the best arc of Y: The Last Man.
Since Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s Y: The Last Man concluded in 2008, the book has been adapted to live-action television. Unfortunately, the series only lasted one season and was not well received by fans and critics. Despite this, the ten arcs of Y the Last Manmake for compelling reading, even 20 years later.
