All of the Men are Dead

With B.P.R.D. done for a while but me still finding myself in the comics shop waiting for new issues of Joss Whedon's run of Astonishing X-Men to pop up (and also a big $1 sale this past week), I've stumbled into a few comics series worthy of note.

I did pick up an issue of Street Fighter, and I have to admit... I like it. There are special edition covers for this series that are unquestionably frameable for anyone who grew up through the 16-bit era of video gaming. A yoga-flaming Dhalism in bronzing foil finish is truly a thing of beauty. Indeed, it does not stop there. Inside though, the comic manages to capture the spirit (in all its absurdity and grace) of the games. There's certainly an effort to tie all the characters together in some type of sensible plot, but there doesn't seem to be any hesitation to have a couple random characters brawl simply to prove who is the greatest fighter.

Also of note is the fairly new underground series Wanted, which is an edgy coming-of-age/armageddon comic about super-villains launching a gang war against each other after killing off all the super heroes in the world. Sure, that sounds cool, but hang on half a second as I reveal to you one of its supporting villains: Shithead. Shithead is made of the fecal matter of the 666 most evil people from history. And, if that doesn't convince you to read Wanted... nothing will.

But the book I simply cannot stop thinking about is Y: The Last Man, the story of a "plague" which has wiped out everything on Earth with a Y chromosone. The series completely relies on its story to propel the reader; there is nothing particularly flashy about its art or action. One of the things I really loved about Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that by the time it had run its course it had practically exhausted the vampire mythos, approaching it from just about every direction one could imagine, from straight gothic horror to metaphorical satire to whatever else. What the crew of Y is doing with its series is reminiscent of that. If it could happen in a world with only one man, it will probably happen in Y. Despite its simple framework and pacing, it is an expansive exploration of a worst case scenario everyone has played with briefly in their heads. I highly, highly encourage you to pick up the first book or in the very least enjoy the first issue in pdf form here.