Originally published by
DC Comics'
Vertigo imprint in the summer of 2002,
Y: The Last Man is a serialized
graphic novel in the vein of such classic Vertigo titles as
Sandman,
Preacher and
Transmetropolitan.
Written by Brian K. Vaughn (creator of the Swamp Thing series starring Tefe Holland) and drawn by Pia Guerra, Y centers around a plague that has killed every mammal on earth with a Y chromosome except for two ... a professional escape artist named Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand.
Although the set-up of the series borders on cliche, Vaughn avoids the obvious "repopulate the earth" route in favor of examining the sociological implications of the human race losing an entire gender. Planes flown by male pilots drop from the sky, the bodies of the dead rot in office buildings and suburban homes, militant feminists bomb sperm banks, and the surviving women in government battle for control of civilization. All the while, Yorick tries to locate his girlfriend who has disappeared somewhere in the Australian Outback and stay one step ahead of forces that would seek to control him.
Initial sales for the series exceeded DC's original print run, with the first two issues selling out. For the first time since 100 Bullets debuted, the folks at Vertigo had a hit on their hands.