GOOD-BYE TO Y II: BRIAN K VAUGHAN, II

[MattBrady]

by Zack Smith

Warning: This interview discusses the death of a major character in the book’s last few issues. If you’re just picking up the trades…you might want to wait before you read this.

Newsarama: Brian, I’ve encountered a lot of women who’ve gotten into comics because of Y. Given the premise of the book, perhaps it’s not unexpected that it would acquire a large female fan base, but did you anticipate this?

Brian K. Vaughan: I actually did, and I think it’s entirely because of Pia Guerra. Not because she happens to be a woman, but because she’s an unbelievably talented artist who draws performances that everyone can relate to, and creates storytelling that is absolutely accessible to anyone, even if the only comics you’ve ever read are the Sunday funnies.

I’ve said this a million times, but I think the idea that female readers require certain story elements to enjoy a comic is horseshit. I always hear, “Oh, you need 60 percent romance and a strong female protagonist and blah, blah, blah.” What the fuck is a “strong female,” anyway? As opposed to what?

I think it’s stupid to presume that just because you don’t have a penis you’re automatically not going to like hardcore action or graphic sex or gory horror, all of which Pia happens to dig and excel at drawing. For the most part, women love the exact same things that guys do – great stories that are well told with cool characters.

But because so many female readers are new to this medium and don’t have the same codependent relationship with the characters guys like me grew up loving and continue to tolerate any amount of abuse from, the only things women tend to dependably dislike are convoluted continuity, confusing artwork and lousy writing.

Like all human beings, I also think they hate being pandered to, which is why nine times out of ten, I gave my girlfriends Preacher before I gave them some well-intentioned “girl comic.” Seriously, is there a woman alive who doesn’t love Preacher?

So yeah, I though that as long as Pia and I told the story we wanted to tell the way we wanted to tell it, the book would hopefully spread like a venereal disease through relationships, to steal an observation from Neil Gaiman for the thousandth time.

NRAMA: What women in your own life were a major influence on the women in Y? Did you ever run scenes or characters by them?

BKV: Not other than the women who happened to work on the book, no. If I can use my imagination to convincingly write talking lions or walking plants, I hope I should be able to write my fellow human beings without their input or guidance, regardless of their gender.

NRAMA: Now, Brian, you’ve made it clear you like to let your work speak for itself. That said, I've had a lot of people ask me to ask you this: Why did you decide to kill 355?

BKV: I’m not really sure how to answer that, other than it’s what the story demanded. I will say that it was the one time in the series that Pia lobbied hard for a stay of execution, but in the end, she really put her soul into 355’s final scene, which is why it’s a largely wordless affair. Her artwork said it all.

NRAMA: Speaking of Pia’s art, when I spoke with her, she named the “Safeword” storyline as the one that was the most fun to illustrate. That's definitely one of the most experimental stories in the book, but also one that gets to the emotional core of the series. You’ve said it was a story that spontaneously arose from discussions with Pia, but it feels like a very necessary story in the run – particularly in the last few issues, where it reflects Yorick's relationships with 355 and with Alter. What do you feel you accomplished with "Safeword" and did it affect the way you approached the story?

BKV: I think I knew Yorick so well at that point that I was starting to take for granted that other people, other characters in the book, weren’t as aware of what was driving him as I was. I don’t think every character needs to be laid emotionally bare since secrets have power, but that storyline – born out of a brilliant suggestion from Pia –seems to be what a lot of us needed to start understanding Yorick, even if we didn’t always like him.

NRAMA: Now, one character we didn’t get a chance to discuss last time was Dr. Mann. She's definitely one of the twistiest characters in the series, this combination of brilliant scientist and everywoman who's constantly defying the reader's expectations. And of course, she’s one of the few that gets a happy ending. What were the challenges of constructing that character's history, and were you inspired by anyone you knew in real life?

BKV: I guess all of the characters in Y contain attributes stolen from various friends and family members, but Dr. Mann was definitely the hardest to write, just because she has so little in common with anyone I’ve ever even met, much less with me.

When you’re a barely educated film school student, it’s not always the best idea to tackle writing the smartest bioengineer on the planet, but I really enjoyed having a character along for the journey who was constantly annoyed by the protagonist.

Now that I think about it, most superheroes could probably benefit from having a sidekick who hated their guts…

NRAMA: Now, regarding Dr. Mann’s arc…the (possible) explanation of what caused the plague in “Kimono Dragons” is…well, even Yorick seems bummed out by it. I actually found Alter’s (probably false) explanation involving 355 more interesting, as it casts 355 in a more tragic light and provides a better explanation of why Congresswoman Brown would ally herself with Alter.

A few questions regarding that – did you intend for Dr. Matsumori’s explanation to be the definitive reason for the plague, and if not, is this a situation where it’s not why the plague happened but that it happened is what’s important to the story? Of all the possible explanations, which one is your personal favorite?

BKV: We promised to reveal the true explanation of what caused the death of all the men, but we never promised to tell you when we were revealing it. It may have been Dr. Matsumori’s theory, it may have been Alter’s, and it may have been hidden in a single panel somewhere in our first twenty issues that only one or two readers ever noticed.

All I’ll say is that the true reason behind the Plague is absolutely revealed somewhere in the first fifty-nine issues. I’ve always had my own definitive answer, but much as readers might think they want to know, it’s never really been what the book was about, so their interpretation is probably just as interesting as my intent.

NRAMA: The explanation of the plague does fit in with one of the stylistic choices of the series – the constant reversal. In this case, you start the series expecting this big reveal about the plague, but as it goes on, the cause becomes less important than seeing the characters through their journey.

You’re constantly reversing readers’ expectations about the plot and characters from page to page, or even panel to panel, up to and including the last issues, where several arcs play out in a very different way than anticipated. In a way, the narrative of the series constitutes one long magic trick. Do you agree or disagree with this assessment, and if you do agree, was this intentional on your part?

BKV: Well, reversals are an important part of any drama, but “twists” for the sake of twisting have always felt kind of empty to me. Surprising people is relatively easy, but I think good stories have a responsibility to do much more than that.

So yeah, people hoping for a huge Shyamalan swerve with our final issue are probably in for a big disappointment.

OR ARE THEY…?

NRAMA: [laughs] I’d like to get a better understanding of how you see Yorick’s relationship with Beth, which is one of the driving themes of the series. On the one hand, it’s this sweet, romantic soulmate relationship where the guy is willing to travel the world to get to his girlfriend, but on the other hand Yorick’s clearly idealized their connection, and is putting himself and the future of the planet in jeopardy by making this journey. Given the events of the last few issues of the comic, I’m wondering if you see Yorick’s overwhelming need for Beth as a positive thing in the long run.

BKV: Again, this will be touched on in the last issue, but certainly, no matter how smart and worldly you might be, almost everyone is naïve enough to believe that the first time you fall in love might be the last. You just can’t imagine it ever ending, and yet it almost always does. Probably nothing short of the death of a child will ever hurt as much as that first heartbreak, but that’s the price of admission to being a full-fledged member of the human race.

NRAMA: Have you read The World Without Us, and if so, what did you think?

BKV: Not yet, but my brother-in-law just gave it to me for Christmas. Looks awesome, but I have to finish Miranda July’s new book of short stories first.

NRAMA: What are some issues affecting women worldwide that you didn’t have room to cover in the series?

BKV: Almost all of them? There are nearly as many important issues affecting women as there are women, so we didn’t even come close. In the end, Y is primarily the story of the last boy becoming the last man, and the countless women responsible for that transformation.

NRAMA: Y found a lot of fans in collected form. Do you credit the collections for the book finding an audience, and do you feel it would have made it for all 60 issues if there hadn’t been regular collections?

BKV: Sure, we’ve always been a Top 100 book, and our monthly sales have been remarkably consistent for the last several years, so we would have made it to issue #60 even without the collections.

But no doubt, at least ten times more people around the world have discovered our book thanks to Vertigo’s aggressive trade program than through the “singles,” or whatever we’re supposed call monthly comics this week.

NRAMA: What positive reaction from a fan meant the most to you? Conversely, was there a negative reaction that made a big impression on you?

BKV: I enjoyed all of the reactions, good and bad. It was cool to read a guy saying the book was misogynist garbage while Ms. Magazine said we were a triumph of feminism, or the dude who ripped up his first issue for being “Zionist propaganda” while other people dropped the book for being “anti-Semitic hate speech,” or getting the Eisner Award at the same time critics were saying we jumped the shark.

The opposite of love isn’t hate it’s indifference, so as long as the book made people feel something, I felt great.

Those occasional “meh” reviews did make me eat a lot of Oreos though.

But at the end of the day, as much as I enjoyed reading people’s reactions, I only ever wrote the book for myself. Early on, I know a lot of people really hated our “Comedy & Tragedy” two-parter about the troupe of female playwrights and actors, but rather than changing directions, Pia and I kind of doubled down and ended up doing a lot more issues like those, ones that were seemingly “off the spine” of our central adventure, but which we always felt were what Y was really about.

And every once in a great, great while, I’ll meet someone who tells me that those theater issues were their absolute favorites, and it reminds me that I’d much rather write something that only one person loved than something that one hundred thousand people kinda liked. And the only way to do that is to always tell your story your way, which Pia and I did with every issue over the last five and a half years or so, no matter what readers were saying.

NRAMA: Why, in your opinion, do you feel Y connected with fans as widely as it did?

BKV: Again, all credit to my collaborators, and not just the illustrious Ms. Guerra. José Marzán, Jr. inked every single panel of all sixty issues, and brought a real unifying style to wonderful guest artists like Goran Parlov, Goran Sudzuka, and Paul Chadwick. Clem Robbins is one of the best letterers of all time, and somehow made my goofy dialogue “sound” realistic.

I think Lee Loughridge showed that a “mature readers” book can still have vibrant, beautiful colors. And Massimo Carnevale’s covers speak for themselves. Will Dennis and Casey Seijas kept this whole team on the path, and it was just an awesome family of people working hard on something they loved.

NRAMA: How did it feel to write the last page of the last issue – to have “The End” right there in front of you?

BKV: Well, one of my first writing teachers told me that if you need to type “The End” to tell your audience they’ve reached the end, you probably don’t have much of an ending.

But yeah, writing that final panel was very strange, a mixture of relief and depression, but it didn’t feel like really saying goodbye since I still had to see the last of Pia’s pencils and the last of Clem’s letters and so on. It probably won’t sink in until after I’ve held the last issue in my hands.

MySpace and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are throwing a big Y: The Last Man “wrap party” at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles on February 8th, so if you want to witness me weep like an Oscar clip, that’ll probably be the place to see it live.

NRAMA: You’ve said Ex Machina will probably run 50 issues, and you’re in the 30s now. With that book 3/5 over, your run on Runaways finished, and now Y ending, would you take on a long-term comic project again?

BKV: I love serialized storytelling, so I’d definitely like to write another ongoing series, but probably not until after Tony Harris and I have wrapped Ex Machina… which is still going strong, for you displaced Y readers looking for something new to read.

For now, I’d like to try to get a few more original graphic novels off the ground, since many of the new ideas I happen to be passionate about right now are more self-contained. But we’ll see, anything can happen.

NRAMA: Obviously, the writers' strike has put a crimp on things, but any comments at this time about the Y movie and how they're approaching the story?

BKV: Nah, everything’s in carbonite freeze right now because of the WGA strike. New Line was nice enough to let me take a stab at writing a draft of the screenplay, and I’m really proud of what I wrote and very grateful for the opportunity, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll be used, or that the film will ever even be made (*).

And to be honest, that’s fine with me. Pia and I made a nice amount of scratch from the deal, and it might be fun to see a live-action version of our characters, but I never saw our series as glorified storyboards. Comics are obviously a unique medium with lots of strengths that film and television will never have, and I only ever envisioned Y as a comic.

So it’s always a little disheartening when people tell me that they’ll be crushed if Y never becomes a movie or an HBO series or whatever, like the comic was just the means to an end. The only destination that ever mattered to me was issue #60.

NRAMA: Any last words for your fans?

BKV: Look, I wrote sixty issues of a comic book that sold okay and that a few people dug, but veteran creators like Chuck Dixon have probably done that a dozen times over without ever begging for fanfare, so I hate to make a big deal out of our series reaching its conclusion.

But Y really did mean a lot to me, so I’m enormously grateful to everyone who ever picked up an issue.

Thanks.

(*)Newsarama Note: In speaking to USAToday’s Whitney Matheson, Y film director D.J. Caruso (who’s had "preliminary discussions" with Shia LaBeouf to play Yorick) said he sees Y as a trilogy of films, and has already blocked out the first movie to encompass the first 14 or so issues.

It’s not over yet! Y Week continues tomorrow with an in-depth interview with series artist and co-creator Pia Guerra…and stay tuned for a special bonus round with Brian K. Vaughan where he discusses Logan, Ex Machina and more. Plus, keep your eye out for more Y features this week at Newsarama!

[rwe1138]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

BKV: Look, I wrote sixty issues of a comic book that sold okay and that a few people dug, but veteran creators like Chuck Dixon have probably done that a dozen times over without ever begging for fanfare, so I hate to make a big deal out of our series reaching its conclusion.

But Y really did mean a lot to me, so I’m enormously grateful to everyone who ever picked up an issue.

Thanks.

Thank you for bringing us such an original, engrossing series. Y should rightfully go down in history as a must-read in the medium of comics.

[Ravager]

Even though I know little about the series, this would make a really cool film. Hope it happens

[jedifish]

I'm not commenting on the article, since I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but just want to say I'm really kind of pissed that I decided to get up to speed by buying the trades last Winter, and then they decide to go bimonthly and so Vol. 10 comes out a year after Vol. 9. I thought that was a terrible thing to do to the fans.

[almostcrimes]

Originally Posted by jedifish

I'm not commenting on the article, since I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but just want to say I'm really kind of pissed that I decided to get up to speed by buying the trades last Winter, and then they decide to go bimonthly and so Vol. 10 comes out a year after Vol. 9. I thought that was a terrible thing to do to the fans.

It's better that the issues came out every two months because then Pia Guerra was able to draw all the issues and there wasn't a need for a fill-in artist. You can always buy whatever single issues you need to wrap up the story and buy the trade. I collect both single issues and the hard covers for Runaways.

[Blackbeard]

Originally Posted by BKV

Thanks.

You're welcome.

Seriously, Y has been one of the most consistent, enjoyable books I've ever read. So "thanks" right back at ya.

[Reagunn]

Can someone please tell me what caused the plague?
Brian may think it doesn't matter but it really does.
Without a satisfactory explanation of that the whole series just becomes silly and I don't have time to go back and scrutinize all 59 issues.

[Bane122]

Originally Posted by Reagunn

Can someone please tell me what caused the plague?
Brian may think it doesn't matter but it really does.
Without a satisfactory explanation of that the whole series just becomes silly and I don't have time to go back and scrutinize all 59 issues.

No it doesn't become silly.

There were two possible reasons plainly given near the end of the series... pick one.

[neftones]

Originally Posted by Reagunn

Can someone please tell me what caused the plague?
Brian may think it doesn't matter but it really does.
Without a satisfactory explanation of that the whole series just becomes silly and I don't have time to go back and scrutinize all 59 issues.

Wow, talk about not getting it.

BKV, you're the man.

[Evil Rick Shea]

Y has been my favorite series of the last five and a half years and I'm both absolutely thrilled and saddened to read the last issue tomorrow morning. I've been waiting for this moment for years, but I'm really going to miss my regular dose of all my favorite characters. Hats off to Brian, Pia, Jose and everyone else who's helped make this book the best thing on the shelves for the last several years.

Evil Rick Shea
Famous Faces & Funnies
West Melbourne, FL

[Special K]

Even though I'm a trade paperback guy, I read and enjoyed the interview above (spoilers be damned!). Though I am waiting for the trade, I think I'll pick up the last issue in celebration of a job well done by all! Thanks!

[Reagunn]

Originally Posted by neftones

Wow, talk about not getting it.

That was exactly the point of my post, I didn't get it.
Why can't you just answer my question?

[Reagunn]

Originally Posted by Bane122

There were two possible reasons plainly given near the end of the series... pick one.

I know that there are possibilities, I just want to know which one fits this statement.

BKV:"All I’ll say is that the true reason behind the Plague is absolutely revealed somewhere in the first fifty-nine issues."

I don't want it to be a choose your own adventure.

[Wingman]

The way I see it the reason for the gendercide is probably a self-selection depending on the readers' beliefs.

You have a very scientific reason given by Alter in #59. (the government-controlled bio-weapon-gone wrong-theory).
You have a sorta science / sorta mystical reason given by Dr. Matsmori. (the 'clone-killing-men-like-monkeys-or-whatever thing)
And you have a fully mystical reason given by the those crazy cloaked and hooded ladies back in the "Ring Of Truth" tpb. (the whole 'amulet of helene being removed from jordan' thing).

I'd probably lean towards the first one myself.

[TerriG]

Dammit, what a great run. I'm one of those girls that got (back) into comics because of this series.

Sad to see it go, but glad to know that there's a beginning, middle and end to this story. Way to go BKV!

[Reagunn]

Originally Posted by Wingman

I'd probably lean towards the first one myself.

So would I, but I'm just a completionist, after reading a 60 issue story I'd like to know what really set it all off, even if it's goofy.

But thanks for actually trying to help.

[jsimms555]

I'll definitely miss this book, loved it.

It's also a mistake to make movies about Y: The Last Man. A series on HBO would be PERFECT. It would be better than The Soprano's

[Reagunn]

Originally Posted by TerriG

Dammit, what a great run. I'm one of those girls that got (back) into comics because of this series.

We were having this exact conversation just yesterday in my LCS.
We always hear about how we need to get kids back into comics, but it was agreed by everyone in the store that the real target, the one that would benefit the industry the most, is women.
This conversation began when someone noticed that, in a rather busy store, there were more girls than guys, which of course is a cosmic anomaly in a comic book shop.

Now, just because this book is done, don't leave again.

[OM]

Originally Posted by bkv

Seriously, is there a woman alive who doesn’t love Preacher?

...Considering the subject matter, I suspect that there's quite a few Nuns who'd answer negatively

Originally Posted by Reagunn

Without a satisfactory explanation of that the whole series just becomes silly and I don't have time to go back and scrutinize all 59 issues.

...This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I'll give you one of the most classic examples:

...Once upon a time, John Byrne was a fantastic artist, an excellent writer, and his ego hadn't yet totally destroyed his reputation and his fan base. He was writing Fantastic Four back then, and had decided to let Sue get pregnant again. Months went by with all sorts of speculation about whether the new kid was going to be a boy or a girl. Comic book fans even had betting pools going on the gender, which Byrne and then-editor Mike Carlin - familiar name to controversy, no? - were keeping really, really secret. Word was that they hadn't even told the EIC, which IIRC was Jim Shooter. Shortly before everyone expected the birth, Byrne not only had the baby go through the same problems that Franklin had while being born, Reed wasn't successful in saving the baby. And that's where the s'hit hit the fans.

Byrne and Carlin not only didn't tell us whether it was a boy or a girl, they flat-out REFUSED to tell anyone.

...I met Carlin at a con not long after this, and we got into a friendly, but spirited debate. At the end of it, he agreed with my view of the situation - the fans shouldn't have been shafted like that - but he and Byrne decided never to reveal what gender the baby was supposed to be. It was mostly Byrne's doing, but as we've seen long since not only have other writers decided it was a girl, but they've even pulled one of the few universally-accepted retcons I can recall by using Franklin to bring Valeria back to existence.

...And that's what I fear is going to happen with regards to BKV's refusal to state flat out whether it was the amulet, the disease, or just some bad KFC every male happened to eat. Fans love the book, but they've also been followiing the series to the conclusion, and what caused all the males to die *is* part of said conclusion.

...As for which I believe, until BKV admits it himself, I'm sticking with the bad KFC.

[Bullet_Train]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

by Zack Smith

BKV: We promised to reveal the true explanation of what caused the death of all the men, but we never promised to tell you when we were revealing it...it may have been hidden in a single panel somewhere in our first twenty issues that only one or two readers ever noticed.

Was the amulet being removed from Jordan comment a one panel comment? Or was it between panels. I really hope it wasnt on a label or scrawled on the wall. Why do I feel Im gonna be going through the first 20 issues with a comb? With all our new info we should be able to read certain things in a new light so...get to checkin peeps.

[NSB agent]

Isn't Y: To the Last Man moot...Since science now says it's possible for women to bear children without men??

[Dallas Bar]

Originally Posted by NSB agent

Isn't Y: To the Last Man moot...Since science now says it's possible for women to bear children without men??

Might be, but there will be genetic erosion

Doesn't matter, has DR Strangelove gotten dated because the Soviet Union collapsed? No, because it dealth with prime humanity, and used sarcasm to show. The same upholds for Y.

Thanks for all the laughs and the tears, BKV,

[OM]

...Well, either someone's gotten a copy early, or some troll has vandalized the Wikipedia article. Highlight to read, possible spoilers, tho:

Set sixty years later an elderly Yorick reflects on missing scenes from his past while in a strait jacket because he wanted to kill himself. He is visited by Yorick 17 a 22 year clone of himself, one of many. Realizing through the course of the flashbacks that there is no future for himself in a world as weird as this one he jumps out the window, which all assume means his death. In reality he throws off the strait jacket and is freed, a most satisfying and confusing ending to the

...So I guess we'll see tomorrow, huh?

long running series.

[joaokamikaze]

I would buy 60 more issues... Thank you and Pia for a great series Brian.

[GenerallZodd]

Originally Posted by OM

...Considering the subject matter, I suspect that there's quite a few Nuns who'd answer negatively

...This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I'll give you one of the most classic examples:

...Once upon a time, John Byrne was a fantastic artist, an excellent writer, and his ego hadn't yet totally destroyed his reputation and his fan base. He was writing Fantastic Four back then, and had decided to let Sue get pregnant again. Months went by with all sorts of speculation about whether the new kid was going to be a boy or a girl. Comic book fans even had betting pools going on the gender, which Byrne and then-editor Mike Carlin - familiar name to controversy, no? - were keeping really, really secret. Word was that they hadn't even told the EIC, which IIRC was Jim Shooter. Shortly before everyone expected the birth, Byrne not only had the baby go through the same problems that Franklin had while being born, Reed wasn't successful in saving the baby. And that's where the s'hit hit the fans.

Byrne and Carlin not only didn't tell us whether it was a boy or a girl, they flat-out REFUSED to tell anyone.

...I met Carlin at a con not long after this, and we got into a friendly, but spirited debate. At the end of it, he agreed with my view of the situation - the fans shouldn't have been shafted like that - but he and Byrne decided never to reveal what gender the baby was supposed to be. It was mostly Byrne's doing, but as we've seen long since not only have other writers decided it was a girl, but they've even pulled one of the few universally-accepted retcons I can recall by using Franklin to bring Valeria back to existence.

...And that's what I fear is going to happen with regards to BKV's refusal to state flat out whether it was the amulet, the disease, or just some bad KFC every male happened to eat. Fans love the book, but they've also been followiing the series to the conclusion, and what caused all the males to die *is* part of said conclusion.

...As for which I believe, until BKV admits it himself, I'm sticking with the bad KFC.

Well then Carlin was wrong and so are you.

It's one thing when there is a bait and switch pulled with regards to a detail that people want to know. It's another thing when it's intentionally left vague by the author. With the latter, you're just going to have to get over it. It's creative license. It's not FOR you to know no matter how much you want to.