It is a serious difficulty to keep myself from just grabbing one of these series of graphics novels and devouring it from end to end over the course of a lazy afternoon. Because, well, they’re just so damn fun. But if I did that, I’d end up doing a shoddy job of this, plus in most of the cases I’d reach the end of the line and be stuck waiting for something new to come out months from now. Which will probably happen in some cases anyhow, but the more I can put it off, the better. If I run out of these, I might have to start coming up with new stuff that hasn’t been recommended to me externally, or maybe reread the Malazan series since two more books are out now but I have only the vaguest of ideas how the series was going when I finished the most recent-to-me book sometime last year. None of which would probably be much of a tragedy except insofar as change is terrifying and to be avoided at all costs.

For example, what if every male mammal on the planet suddenly died? That would be a pretty big change, and I for one would not approve. Heck, Yorick and his capuchin monkey survived that holocaust, and he doesn’t even approve. Of course, I can understand why not, but at least he didn’t die. Nevertheless, being the last man comes with its own sets of problems. Between government agendas, vengeful lesbian amazons on motorcycles, and cute self-sufficient women who hope he will give up on his nomadic search for a girlfriend on the literal other side of the planet, his hands are pretty full. And that’s not to mention the agent assigned to protect him who may be falling for him, or the Israeli spies in hot pursuit for undisclosed reasons, or the second, well, maybe third-worst family reunion I’ve seen in a comic. (Come to think of it, comic writers have a problem with family reunions, apparently. ‘Cause this by rights should have been the worst one, and yet.[1])

If there was a particularly deep thought buried in Cycles, I missed it. (I mean, sure, there’s a couple of puns there which you can probably spot yourself, but nothing below the surface pertaining to the seasons or the life cycle or anything like that. At least, not to my somewhat trained eye.) But no big; if there’s not another deep thought beyond the initial premise-setting events in the entire series, there’s still enough sheer entertainment value watching Yorick deal with all the twists and turns his life is taking as he tries to get to his girlfriend while everyone around him wants to clone him, study him, screw him, or murder him to last me for books and books yet. Also: I’m not saying who, but somebody ends up with an axe protruding from the skull. You can bet that’s entertainment!

[1] In case you’re wondering, I’m thinking of Preacher: Until the End of the World and of, well, probably several events in the Sandman series.