Standing At The Crossroads

Today, Vicki read the first collected volume of Y: The Last Man, at my suggestion. I told her not to start on the second volume if she finished the first - hey, I get first dibs! - but I also said that if she wasn't totally hooked by the end of the first one, she'd probably never be.

She's now firmly hooked.

Tonight we were discussing the contents of what we'd both read, and commenting on how just how smart the writing is. For example, the words on the page often take on multiple meanings based on what images they're combined with, what immediately precedes or follows them, or who's saying it. One example involves a shot of Yorick Brown, standing at a specifically-shaped intersection, torn between two choices. The intersection just happens to be configured like the letter "Y" (with him standing at the crossroads), although it's possible that you might not notice that if you're not paying attention. Since the next choice he has to make represents a significant turning point - one way or the other - in his life, it's only fitting that we're reminded that he's not only a "Y" himself ("Yorick") but also the last human "Y" chromosome left on the planet.

Stuff like that is there to be found on nearly every page. Really, really excellent comic fare, this Y: The Last Man.