Y:The Last Man 4

On July 17, 2002, an instantaneous plague strikes the world, killing every animal with a Y chromosome. In the blink of an eye, the mammal population of the world is halved, and the planet is purged of all men--all but one. Yorick Brown, a 20-something slacker and two-bit escape artist and magician, mysteriously survives the cataclysm. Brian K. Vaughan, who would later win an Eisner Award for best comic writer of 2005, takes this fantastic premise and spins it out in myriad permutations, all of them ingenious. Civilization grinds to a halt due to the lack of male-centric positions: construction workers, airplane pilots, cops, etc. Some women are grief-stricken over the events; others, like a violent Amazon sect, believe that the plague cleansed the Earth of its repugnant male element. Male-impersonators become in demand, yet Yorick has to dress as a woman to keep from being mobbed. Vaughan populates his parallel world with a intriguing characters, thrilling plotlines, brilliant details, and a gripping mystery: how did the plague originate and can anything be done to save the future of the human race? This edition collects issues 18-23.