by Teresa Jusino
Wherein I summarize and review “Cycles”, the second book in the Y: The Last Man series…
New Characters: The train robbers, Sonia, the Women of Marrisville, Natalya, the astronauts
“Cycles” begins with Yorick, 355, and Allison buying passage on a train out of Boston by trading their motorcycle. After a run-in with thieves, a train jump, and a head injury for 355, they end up in Marrisville, Ohio, an idyllic, efficiently-run town that is the first model of order Yorick has come across since the gendercide. Ironic, considering that it is populated entirely by former inmates at the nearby women’s prison. Yorick falls for Sonia, the woman who found him and shares his affinity for David Bowie, and kisses her, but decides to remain faithful to Beth, whom he still wants to find.
Meanwhile, the Amazons are still out looking for Yorick. They come across a Russian woman, Natalya, who swears that she knows “where the men are”, but when she tells them that they are “in space”, they dismiss her as insane. Hero still bears the guilt of killing someone, but she remains completely in Victoria’s thrall. After savagely gaining intel from the train robbers about the last man, and realizing that it’s her brother, Hero leads the Amazons to Marrisville.
The Amazons hold the town hostage until they produce Yorick. Yorick, touched by the lengths the Marrisville women have gone to in helping him despite his mistrust of them, surrenders himself to the Amazons. Victoria pulls a gun on him, but before she can kill him, Sonia throws an ax at her, slicing her skull and killing her. Hero, in a fury, kills Sonia with her bow. Yorick, enraged by both his sister’s new personality and Sonia’s murder, takes up the fallen gun and holds it on Hero. Standoff. After a tense few moments, Yorick decides not to kill her, which upsets Hero as she seemed to want to die. Yorick, frustrated by the Marrisville Women’s apprehension about locking the Amazons in the penitentiary, storms off. Allison accuses the Amazons of burning down her lab, but Hero denies it.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Army - led by Alter – has stolen a Black Hawk from a US Army base. Alter is on the radio with the mysterious American who is helping her track Yorick, and the voice tells Alter that Yorick is in Marrisville, but that he won’t be there long.
And as Yorick and 355 leave Marrisville by train in the middle of the night, and Hero uses an escape artist trick she learned from Yorick to get out of the cell in which she was eventually locked, a space station hangs 220 miles above them…carrying a woman and two men.
Oh, and 355 admits that she wants Yorick, albeit when she’s coming out from under anesthesia.
REVIEW (Cycles): The exploration of the ways the gendercide has affected women that Vaughan began in “Unmanned” is able to continue in more depth as he juxtaposes the harsh, disorderly life of the Amazons and the organized, Mayberry-esque idyll of the Marrisville community. It’s interesting that the multi-racial, abused, lower-income women who were criminals when men were in the world, have taken this opportunity to better themselves, ridding themselves of weapons and imprisonment and learning to appreciate each other’s strengths and specialties. Meanwhile, the Amazons, seemingly made up of well-educated, mostly white, middle-to-upper class women have degenerated into vicious killers with an ambiguous, high-minded goal.
Giving Yorick a brief love interest in Sonia was not only sweet, but was important in highlighting what will be an important issue for him – will it become less likely that Yorick will remain faithful the longer it takes him to find Beth? And does it matter? The interpersonal relationships between characters are given more attention in this volume, and there are some lovely scenes amid the trio of Yorick, 355, and Allison as they form a stronger bond. Hero also evolves into a more complex and intriguing character in these issues, and watching her battle her demons becomes a worthwhile focus. Lastly, the reveal of the space station, and the men on it, was amazing. Suddenly, the story has become so much larger and infused with hope. Cycles propels the series in exciting new directions, and is a fascinating read in its own right.
Earlier Reviews (for reference): Issue #1, Issue #2, Issues #3-5
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TERESA JUSINO entered the world kicking and screaming in 1979 and hasn’t stopped screaming since. An actress, writer, and producer, Teresa’s work has been seen in several venues and mediums. As an actress, she has appeared at various venues in NYC and regional theater. As a writer, her work has appeared in Elmont Life newspaper, and on the sadly defunct website, CentralBooking.com. She is also Associate Producer for a New York theater company, Stone Soup Theater Arts, and is producing a reading series for them that runs through January. As a geek, Teresa loves Star Trek, Lost, comics, and anything Joss Whedon ever touched. Also, she has a fangirl *squee-ing* crush on Brian K. Vaughan. Yes, she knows he’s married.
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TERESA JUSINO was born on the same day that Skylab fell. Coincidence? She doesn't think so. As a writer, her work has appeared in Elmont Life newspaper, and on the sadly defunct website, CentralBooking.com. She is a founding member and editor of The Revolving Door Commune Blog, is currently at work on a collection of short stories, and is writing a web series for Pareidolia Films called The Pack, which is set to debut this fall! As a geek, Teresa loves all Star Trek, Lost, Fringe, comics, and anything Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, and Neil Gaiman ever touched. She is also an aspiring fangbanger. 
