Waiting for BKV

It's amazing how a simple premise and brilliant storytelling can create a mass fan following. This is exactly what happened when Brian K. Vaughan (known simply as BKV on most fanboards) released his multiple award-winning series Y: The Last Man. The idea was simple enough: what would happen if all the men on earth suddenly ceased to exist? What fans were treated to was the story of Yorick Brown, the only man to survive a sudden inexplicable "gendercide," causing all the men on earth to die all at once. The story takes us across the globe in search of what was caused the death of all men but not women, and why Yorick was the only man not affected. It also is a wonderful take on a world with only women and how politics, crime, business, relationships, and day-to-day living would be without an opposite gender to work with, or procreate. Y: The Last Man won two Eisner Awards (the Oscars of graphic novels), one for best writer in 2005, and again for best series in 2008.

Fans have since been treated to a multitude of amazing series from the young writer, but Vaughan now has nothing new in the works and fans are eagerly awaiting for what's next from BKV.


Vaughan received plenty of praise for his 2007 release Pride of Baghdad, the story of 4 lions escaping from a zoo that has been torn apart in the bombings of the Iraq war. The story is an amazing allegory for people living in freedom and those choosing to live under dictatorship in the belief that life under rule is better than a death in the grasp for freedom.

To further his resume Vaughan has written major comic superheroes, such as Batman and X-Men. Vaughan maintains, however, that he prefers to write for characters of his own creation, such as Runaways, a comic series readying itself for a movie adaptation.

This past August, Vaughan released the final issue of his highly acclaimed series Ex Machina, a story of Mitchell Hundred, an engineer who, through a freak accident, obtains superpowers allowing him to communicate and control electronic machinery. The story, spanning 50 issues, reflects on his past as an attempted superhero, 'The Great Machine', trying to help the citizens of New York City. Soon after realizing his attempts at doing good have no real affect on peoples lives, Hundred decides to take up politics. Thanks to 'The Great Machine' saving the 2nd tower from collapsing on 9/11, Hundred reveals his identity and rides this sudden wave of popularity into the mayor's office. Ex Machina is primarily a political story mixed with superhero subtleties, making for a wonderfully creative and rewarding read.

As eager fans picked up the final issue of Vaughan's work this past August, there is an uncertainty as to when their beloved BKV might return to them. During a 4-year stint writing for the hit TV show Lost, Vaughan was forced to write less for his beloved graphic medium due to time constraints. Now that the TV show has ended after a decade-long run, and all of Vaughan series have come to an end, there is a void on the shelves of comic book shops everywhere.

Despite interviews promoting the end of Ex Machina, Vaughan has not committed anything to fans in terms of what to expect in the future, nor when. Fans are now waiting and hoping not to have lost Vaughan to the calls of writing in Hollywood. Hopefully this is not the end of the road for the best writer of graphic novels today.

Come back BKV. Comics need you.

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