Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra (p), Jose Marzan Jr. (i)
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
The Plot:
As Yorick finds the point of Agent 711's exercise isn't to have sex with him, we see he's brought to a tank of water where she proceed to drown him, in a bid to discover the truth of the matter. However, while Yorick confesses to having thoughts about killing himself, he manages to get away from her, only to discover that the entire thing was a suicide intervention, as Agent 711 had come to recognize that Yorick's reckless behavior was the result of a death wish. As the issue ends we see Yorick has found something that has quelled his thoughts of suicide.
The Good:
While I didn't care much for how this issue arrived at this point I will confess I did enjoy the revelation that Agent 711 was able to recognize a dangerous pattern in Yorick's behavior, and if nothing else it does explain some of his more reckless actions in previous issues. The issue also manages to once again revisit one of the more interesting corners of this book's past, as I have to say I always felt that this book's early issues didn't really spend as much time as they should've giving us Yorick's initial reaction to the newly changed world, and while this arc hasn't offered up much, the brief looks have been as powerful as I expected them to be, with this issue being a wonderful examination of the question of when he was confronted with the scope of the tragedy, did Yorick ever think about killing himself? Now the scene where he gets his hands on a gun and puts it to his head, shouldn't really be all that powerful, as we know going into this scene that he doesn't pull the trigger, or if he did than the gun wasn't loaded, but I have to say this scene was utterly convincing in its delivery of Yorick's suicidal intentions. The issue also manages to inject a couple interesting mysteries into the mix, as we're left to openly wonder what did Yorick see in his vision that made him decide to start fighting back, and the final pages introduce another group that looks to be dogging the heels of Yorick's group, but in a nice change of pace it would appear that thing group isn't gunning for Yorick, but rather it's Agent 355 who should be keeping her head up.
First off I have to saw I love the cover images to this series, as while they will on occasion spoil the surprise inside, for the most part they remain some of the most powerful images to grace the stands, with this issue's shot of a drowning Yorick being no exception, As for the interior art I have to say it's refreshing to get a hero who looks downright ordinary, as Yorick looks like he's made it through his entire life without touching a weight set, but he also doesn't look sickly, which is a balance that many artists seem to have a problem with. In fact one of more endearing qualities about Pia Guerra's work is that her work manages to capture the everyday quality of the world Yorick moves through, as while he's encountered some extraordinary elements, for the most part this book has a solid sense that it's set in the real world. I mean they aren't huge details but I like the fact that Yorick looks like a drowned rat when he emerges from the water, or that you can see the puddles on the floor from where he was walking.
The Bad:
Imagine if Kathy Bates’ character in the film "Misery" had revealed her true intentions had been to help her favorite author overcome his writing block, or Jack Nicholson revealed he had been testing the strength of his marriage after he had chased his wife around the winter-bound resort with an ax in "The Shining". There is a point where a writer can't asked the readers to accept that a character had a helpful motive guiding their actions, and Brian K. Vaughan crossed this line with the cliffhanger arc at the end of the first chapter. Now I realize that he could probably argue that agent 711 was dealing with a serious crisis, and as such the problem required the big guns. However, the impression I was left with is that he was trying to play with the dramatic tensions that come with this type of plot, but when it came time to deliver the big dramatic finish he suddenly jumped back across the line, and hoped the readers would make this jump back with him. Now normally I would be reluctant to reveal much about this book's plot twist but frankly I can't voice my objections to it without discussing it, and frankly I found the twist actually dampened my enjoyment of the story, so I don't feel all the obligated to preserve it. In the end I found myself disappointed that Brian K. Vaughan felt he could play with all the plot elements that come with a story where a character is being subjected to the attentions of a clearly disturbed individual, but when the story arrived at the scene where our hero fought back, he decided to reveal the entire situation had been an elaborate psychological test. One also has to wonder how Agent 711 would've explained her actions if the others had come back early, or if Yorick's desire to live hadn't kicked in.
You've Been Punk'd:
This issue marks the first time I've been truly disappointed by a creative choice that Brian K. Vaughan made on this title, and while it's not enough to make me back away from my belief that this is far and away one of the best titles on the stands, it did leave me a bit concerned. I mean this issue reveals that the torture that Yorick has been suffering though in this current arc was an extreme form of therapy, and while the idea that Yorick has given serious though to killing himself, and his reckless behavior in previous arcs has been an extension of his death wish is an interesting one, I found the means that Brian K. Vaughan used to take us to this point didn't feel right. I mean he's asking readers to believe that Yorick wouldn't be angry at the treatment he's just undergone, as his eye opening vision actually has him apologizing to Agent 711, only moments after he discovers it was all a test. In the end it felt like Brian K. Vaughan was trying to cheat us out of the real ending, and while I'll concede it was an unexpected revelation, it's one that I found to be dramatically unsatisfying. Still, there are moments in the issue that I found quite enjoyable, such as the visit back to the first time Yorick left his apartment building after the plague hit.
What did you think of this book?
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