Twofer: Brian K. Vaughan – Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: Ring of Truth / Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy

55. Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: Ring of Truth by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, José Marzán, Jr. (2003)
Y: The Last Man, Volume 5

Length: 192 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Graphic Novel

Started/Finished: 21 May 2010

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? Because I’m not going to stop in the middle of the story, especially when it’s as good as this one.

Summary: In the first part of the story, Yorrick deals with sin, sex, and survival with a girl in a church. Once the Trio has finally made it to San Francisco, Dr. Mann thinks that she might finally be able to understand why Yorrick is the only man to survive the plague… but unfortunately he and 355 have been set upon by renegade Culper Ring agents who are after something else entirely.

Review: Good stuff; this is the end of the first half of the series, so it makes sense that we finally start getting a few answers and that a few loose ends get satisfactorily tied up. Of course, this volume also brought up a bunch more questions, and gave plenty of hints about where the story is going to go from here. What else can I say… the plotting’s tight, the writing’s good, the worldbuilding’s fantastic, the art ranges from very good to totally gorgeous, and the series as a whole is moving along nicely while still maintaining a few tricks up its sleeve. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Read it! (Well, after you’ve read the first four, but still.)

This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: Hello…? Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret.

62. Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan, Adrian Alphona, David Newbold, Craig Yeung, Brian Reber (2003)
Runaways, Volume 1

Length: 144 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Graphic Novel, Young Adult

Started/Finished: 06 June 2010

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? I was hunting for graphic novels to read, looking for authors I knew, and they had Volume 1 on the shelves.

Summary: A lot of teenagers have problems with their parents, but for this group of kids, their problems aren’t issues about curfews and allowances. Instead, a group of six teens find out that their parents aren’t the socially-conscious do-gooders they’d always imagined; instead, they’re a league of supervillans bent on world domination. The kids want to fight back, but a teenager’s power is pretty limited, even when their parents don’t control the police, city government, and the media. However, these kids are not about to take things laying down… and it turns out they have more than a few powers of their own.

Review: I’m not normally hugely into superhero comics, but this one just charmed my socks off. It’s a cool concept, it’s fast-paced, it’s smart, it’s slick, and it’s funny. I like the artwork, which is a nice blend of clean lines and plenty of detail, and very colorful to boot. The kids are kind of a Breakfast-Club-slash-United-Colors-of-Benetton mix of archetypes, but it feels organic to the league-of-superheros theme, and also has the bonus of making them easy to tell apart right from the beginning. I also really liked that the kids weren’t all bestest friends to start with; watching them squabble among themselves is just as much fun as watching them fight their parents. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: I’m really glad I picked this series up, and I think that most teens and adults who are at least conversant with superhero tropes will get a kick out of it as well.

This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Just One More Page, Reading Rants!, YA Reads
Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: “Daredevil, what’s the sit-rep?”

Advertisement