Set Description:
Brian K. Vaughan's career had a fairly rough start. Sure, he was fortunate to be offered work at Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse early in his career. However, Brian's run on Swamp Thing was not successful (Brian thought that he had possibly ruined the series). It was not apparent that Brian was one of the next great voices in comics prior to 2002.
Brian's career took a major turn when he pitched an idea to Karen Berger at Vertigo: suppose all of the men on earth but one died one day. What would life be like for the last remaining male? Vertigo green lit the project and issue 1 was published in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history.
Pia Guerra did the primary pencil work on the book, but would be spelled at times by Paul Chadwick, Goran Parlov, and Goran Sudzuka. JG Jones painted the cover for the first 17 issues. Aron Wiesenfield painted the covers to issues 18-22, and Massimo Carnevale painted the covers for issues 23-60. Jose Marzan Jr. Inked all 60 issue.
Y: The Last Man was a critical success from the get go and was nominated for the Eisner for best new series in 2003, but lost to a little comic named Fables that you may have heard of (the critically acclaimed Gotham Central was also nominated that year).
Y: The Last Man continued for 60 issues before concluding in 2008. Along the way, Brian won 2005 Eisner for Best writer. The only other writers who has won the award before Brian were Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Garth Ennis, and Brian Bendis. Pia and Jose won the 2008 Eisner Award for best pencil and ink team and Y: The Last Man won the Eisner for best continuing series in the same year.
To this point, Brian's other major serialized works include Ex Machina, Runaways, and Saga. All four rank among my favorites of all time. Ex Machina is my favorite of Vaughan's works, but Y: The Last Man is a close second and is generally the comic that I give to my non-comic friends as a gateway drug to the comic medium.
This run is my ode to Brian K. Vaughan's most celebrated work. My goal, which I was the first to meet, is to have an entire 9.8 SS run of the book. I was fortunate to get Brian to sign books for me at Image Expo and NYCC in 2012 (and I was fortunate that Doug Hurley, Steve Frudciante, Jackie Do, Neil Tseng, and Kyle White all agreed to carry books through Brian's line to help me get all of my books signed). DWC was kind enough to gather signatures from Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. for me at Calgary and Heroes in 2012. Rich Henn, the Signature Series ninja, gathered JG Jones signatures for me at Wizard World Philly in 2012. Books in this run were witnessed by Doug Hurley, Jackie Do, Rich Henn, and the DWC team. With the exception of a handful of books that I purchased from Kyle White and Court Gebeau, these books are all books that I hunted down on my own (I've looked through at least 12 full runs of YTLM looking for issues that would qualify as 9.8s. Issue 26 was a particularly difficult issue for me to find in 9.8 condition, as were the Double Special and the After Watchmen Editions).
When this set is finished, I hope to share some BKV like trivia and other goodies with anyone who's bored enough to check out my set. Thank you for looking at my collection.
BEWARE: SPOILERS WILL ABOUND (when I finish)
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| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 1 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 1 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674001
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Owner Comments
First appearance of Yorick Brown, Ampersand, 355, Alison Mann, Beth, Representative Jennifer Brown, Hero Brown, and Alter.
At a panel with Grant Morrison and Jonathan Hickman at NYCC in 2012, Brian K. Vaughn stated “"'Y' was about me being dumped and 'Ex Machina' was about 9-11 and 'Saga' was about having a baby.” Interestingly enough, Brian starts Y: The Last Man with a planned proposal. Yorick Brown, a struggling escape artist (if you can call having a Senator mother and a college professor father “struggling”) has just adopted a petulant pet monkey named Ampersand and is about to propose to his girlfriend Beth, who’s in Australia.
While this is happening:
- Colenel Alter is shooting rubber bullets at stone throwers in the West bank.
- Culper Ring agent 355 has secured the Amulet of Helene
- Dr. Allison Mann is about to give birth to her clone
- Yorick’s sister Hero is getting it on in an ambulance
Before Yorick can ask Beth to marry him, the phone goes dead because…
EVERY OTHER MAN ON EARTH (save Yorick and another surprise survivor) HAS DIED!
Collecting notes: This is one of 4 SS 9.8s that I’ve been fortunate enough to own. The other three ended up with collectors who I very much enjoy (Jon Jesperson, Julio Pech, and Alex Hopf). I believe that this copy was originally a 9.8 blue label that I cracked 3 times to add signatures.
I’ve stolen the scan of my friend Felix Lu’s original art to issue 1. Felix is a fellow Bay Area resident who is among the most passionate YTLM art collectors I know (Greg Kessler is also a huge YTLM art fan whom I’ve been lucky to get to know). I hope that Felix doesn’t mind.
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones (with Amp head sketch) - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 2 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 2 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1119299005
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Owner Comments
First appearance of President Margaret Valentine.
In a 2003 interview with Nolan Reese (available at: http://www.asitecalledfred.com/interviews/18.html), Brian explained that:
“I worked really hard on that first issue, because I know these days you don’t have the benefit. I know Neil Gaiman always said with SANDMAN that it took about eight issues to really find his footing and for SANDMAN to really find itself. But these days, if you don’t knock it out of the park in the first issue people won’t come back for number two. So I did want to front load the first issue, with hints of things to come.”
Interestingly, after putting all of that work into issue 1, introducing a majority of the characters who would be key players until the end and ending on among the most dramatic notes ever (Brian K. Vaughn writes cliff hanger endings, if you didn’t notice), Brian decided to follow it up by skipping two months into the future. Yeah, totally conventional. Then again, while Brian grew up a comic fan, he attended film school at NYU. He was well versed in a variety of storytelling structures. Anyway, we find Yorick has somehow managed to get himself from New York to Washington DC…. and manages to almost get hit by a dump truck. Of course, Amp escapes, takes his mask, exposes him as a male, and he is subdued by a woman. Good thing Yorcik is an escape artist.
Meanwhile, his mom is about to become President. No big deal. Yorick manages to find his mom at her new office in the White House. He sneaks up on her and she basically kicks his ass. His mom realizes that Yorick is important and decides that he must find Dr. Alison Mann to see if she can clone him and possibly save the human race.
Of course we’re reading a Brian K. Vaughn book, so that means that we have an attack on the White house and another epic cliff hanger.
Interestingly, Brian was accused by some critics of “hating women” (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9jT0RP643w) based on his depiction of women in YTLM. What I find humorous about this accusation is that the last man on earth (Yorick) is a pansy. His elderly mom manages to take him out quite easily and we see other female characters prove to be physically and mentally stronger than Yorick. If anything, I think that Brian’s trying to tell us that women very well may be the fairer and more competent of the sexes, which I find to be totally sexist. As a male, I am offended.
Collecting notes:
This book was much more difficult to find in high grade than issue 1. I subbed more 9.6s of issue 2 than 9.8s. This was a copy that I found on my own.
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 3 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 3 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674005
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Owner Comments
In this issues departure from the previous issue’s epic cliffhanger, we see agent 355 driving the new president to DC. Unfortunately, the drive gets delayed… by a massive pileup caused by the death of all of the men. Looks like they’re traveling on foot.
Back in DC, the Republican women (namely, the widows of the now deceased Republican Representatives and Senators) have opened fire on Representative Brown and the other Democrat women in the White House. Yorick’s mom locks him up in a fallout shelter (it turns out that it’s not very difficult to trick Yorick Brown). An argument between the Democrats and the Republicans turns into some accidental bloodshed, which is resolved by the newly anointed President of the United States and, to some extent, Yorick. (Interestingly, the truck that 355 uses to bring the President to the White House is the same one that almost hit Yorick in issue 2).
After the madness is resolved, Yorick, 355, Representative Brown, and the President meet and decide that Yorick will travel to Boston to find Dr. Mann (of course, all Yorick wants to do is find his girlfriend).
And our cliffhanger: a mysterious woman has called Alter to let her know that there is a male survivor named Yorick Brown. How will Alter react?
Collecting Notes:
This was not a terribly difficult issue to find in grade (Issues 4 and 7 are the two issues in the first 10 that I consider to be the easiest to find in 9.8 condition). This copy was one that I dug up on my own.
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 4 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 4 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674007
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Owner Comments
First appearance of the Amazons and Victoria, their leader.
In the previous issue, Brian had left us with an Alter cliffhanger… and then proceeds to never mention those two pages in all of issue 4. Typical.
Issue 4 starts off with something that we see often in YTLM: Yorick getting his ass kicked. This time, the Amazons, who were referenced in issue 2, are punishing Yorick.
How’d that happen? Well, as we saw in issue 2, Yorick is pretty good at escaping and getting himself into trouble. In this case, 355 is escorting Yorick to Boston, but Yorick wants to stop by the Washington Monument, which has been turned into an impromptu monument, to pay tribute to all of the fallen men. 355 tells him no, but of course Yorick distracts her (using Amp… a trick we see again in issue 60) and goes anyway. While there, he confronts some Amazons, a group of women celebrating the death of all of the men on earth. He reveals that he’s a man and they, unsurprisingly, try to kill him. Luckily, 355 is basically a ninja and saves him.
In typical Yorick fashion, he basically announces that they’re headed to Boston. This info gets to the leader of the Amazons, who predictably decides that Yorick must die and seeks volunteers who know Boston well. Who volunteers? Why, Yorick’s sister Hero, who we haven’t seen since issue 1.
Collecting Notes:
This was among the easiest issues in the series to find in grade. This copy was one that I dug up on my own.
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 5 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 5 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674010
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 6 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 6 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145344009
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - NYCC - 10/13/2012 - Witnessed by Jackie Do
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 7 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 7 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145344010
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - NYCC - 10/13/2012 - Witnessed by Jackie Do
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 8 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 8 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145079002
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 9 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 9 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145079001
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 10 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 10 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674019
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 11 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 11 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674020
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 12 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 12 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145083002
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Owner Comments
Purchased from Kyle White.
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 13 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 13 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1117674023
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - Image Expo - 2/14/2012 - Witnessed by Doug Hurley
JG Jones - Wizard World Philly - 6/1/2012 - Witnessed by Rich Henn
Jose Marzan Jr. - Heroes - 6/22/2012 - Witnessed by DWC
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 14 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 14 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145344013
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - NYCC - 10/13/2012 - Witnessed by Jackie Do
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| Slot: |
Y: The Last Man 15 |
| Item: |
Y: The Last Man 15 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1145344014
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Owner Comments
Signature notes:
Brian K Vaughan - NYCC - 10/13/2012 - Witnessed by Jackie Do
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