Y: The Last Man #13

History

Y: The Last Man was conceived by Vaughan in his early twenties and pitched to Vertigo editors Heidi MacDonald and Karen Berger only after Berger encouraged him to develop an original property rather than take on existing characters; Vaughan has said he submitted a detailed story bible to convince them the book would be a serious examination of gender rather than genre exploitation. Artist Pia Guerra, who had spent years trying to break into Vertigo, was brought in by MacDonald and became a full co-creator, actively shaping character design and story elements alongside Vaughan throughout the run. Issue #13 was edited by Will Dennis with Zachary Rau as assistant editor, and carried a cover painted entirely by J. G. Jones, who was the series' primary cover artist; the interior art was by the regular team of Guerra (pencils), José Marzán Jr. (inks), and Pamela Rambo (colors).

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published July 16, 2003 (on-sale date) with a September 2003 cover date, under the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics; rated Mature Readers.
• Titled 'One Small Step, Chapter Three' — the third installment of a five-chapter arc (issues #11–15) later collected in Y: The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step (trade paperback, 2004), and subsequently in Y: The Last Man: Book Two, Absolute Y: The Last Man Vol. 1, and the Y: The Last Man Omnibus.
• Written by Brian K. Vaughan; interior art by Pia Guerra (pencils) and José Marzán Jr. (inks); cover painted by J. G. Jones; colors by Pamela Rambo; letters by Clem Robins; edited by Will Dennis.
• Core plot: Alter Tse'elon's IDF commandos use an exploding tractor as a diversion to abduct Yorick from the Oldenbrook, Kansas pathogen-proof bunker; a helicopter firefight injures Natalya Zamyatin and kills two of Alter's soldiers; Agent 355 radios Alter to offer a trade — Yorick for the two male astronauts aboard the descending ISS Soyuz capsule.
• The issue reveals the 'terrifying, true motivation' behind the Israeli pursuit of Yorick — that Alter is maneuvering to give Israel a decisive geopolitical advantage she believes will be necessary for the Jewish people's survival in a post-plague world, deepening her from antagonist to ideologically-driven tragic figure.
• Alter Tse'elon (first appearance: Y: The Last Man #1, 2002) is described in series lore as 'Alter' — a Yiddish-rooted nickname meaning 'Old Man' — whose real given name, Yedida, was not revealed until issue #59; this issue uses the name 'Yedida Tse'Elon' in its story synopsis, an early in-story use of the hidden name.
• Natalya Zamyatin and Ciba Weber (astronaut, revealed in a later issue to be pregnant) are recurring supporting characters introduced earlier in the 'One Small Step' arc (issue #11); this is one of their earliest substantial in-story appearances as they become integral to the arc's resolution.
• The series as a whole earned the 2003 National Comics Award for Best New Comic and the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series, with the run eventually collected across ten trade paperback volumes and five hardcover Deluxe editions; the FX on Hulu television adaptation aired September–November 2021.

Cast · 7 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Y: The Last Man

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#1 1st appearance — Yorick Brown