Motherland by Brian Vaughan

First Published: Y: The Last Man magazines 49-54, 2006-07
Edition Read: DC Comics, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1351-0
Series: Y: The Last Man 9

The only appropriate reaction to this volume of Y is “……wait, what?”

For those of you who watched the final season of Sopranos, remember that moment when the screen went blank without warning? Remember how you jumped up and shook the TV, desperately trying to re-establish whatever connection had broken and robbed you of the ending? That’s how I felt when I finished reading this volume, though, unlike for Sopranos, I didn’t have the feeling that, somehow, the ending was appropriate and almost perfect. Instead I had the feeling I had in those first, panicked moments of black screen “Who stole my story!!”

Now, there is one more volume, so I don’t want to pre-judge the ending of this, on the whole, excellent series. But the ending of a series like this is the crucible. With a build up like this series’ there needs to be one hell of a pay off. Otherwise you end up wishing that the smoke monster would just eat Jack and be done with it. (Today seems to be a TV references day.)

SPOILERS BELOW!

But, come on, what the hell? We shall tell you how the plague was caused! Magic-like-pseudo-religious-non-scientific-doesn’t-understand-the-first-thing-about-evolution-psychic-connection-nonsense! That’s satisfying, right? Also, evolution travels at the speed of light…..as a shock wave. Are you fucking kidding me? Now, there is a chance that, yes, Vaughan is fucking kidding me. He gave himself an out. This could just be the rambling of an insane whack job with the real explanation  still to come. I’m ok with that, if that’s what happened. So…..next complaint.

Ok, all we need to save the world is this one monkey, so you, last living man, you can just trundle off to Paris now. Ummm….what? He’s the last man on earth (essentially). He doesn’t get to wander off to Paris for a romantic weekend. How can they be sure, I mean completely sure, that the solution is in the monkey’s poo? It’s an excellent theory, sure, but until it is completely confirmed, separating the last man and the geneticist is crazy talk. What is that theory is wrong or something time sensitive needs Yorrick? At the very least he should be locked in a palatial cell somewhere so that he can be protected …. and re-populate the planet. They’ve already lost 4 good breeding years with only a girl (useless!) to show for it. It was all part of this volume’s attitude of “ok, we’re done here, time to go home. Bye!” that just kind of came out of nowhere.

Volume 10 had better fix all this, Vaughan, or I’m coming for you.

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