When three surviving astronauts decide to return to Earth despite the unknown plague that killed every human male but one, they realize they could carry the fate of the world in their hands. So far as they know, there are no men left on Earth, but there are two in the capsule -- one American, one Russian -- along with an American female.

But the re-entry doesn't go quite as planned, and by the time the fire goes out, the world's future is still uncertain. But a new avenue of hope opens up in a surprising way.

One Small Step is the third volume of collected comics from Y: The Last Man, and it certainly cranks the tension up a notch as various plot threads -- the astronauts, Yorick Brown's cross-country quest, an all-female Israeli military unit on his trail, a government safe house and a stage full of amateur dramatists -- come to a head. Readers will finally get some of the answers they've been waiting for, although there's still plenty of mystery to keep the book interesting for issues to come.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
6 May 2006