Y: The Last Man, Volume 7: Paper Dolls
I'm still not sure why this volume is called Paper Dolls. In the wake of the Australian submarine fiasco, Yorick and Co. are hitching a ride to Japan on that very submarine, and they've picked up a companion: Rose, a "former" Australian Royal Navy spy. I say former because of course she's still active, and her true mission is to infiltrate Yorick's group, now whether that's to protect or to hurt him is still up in the air. Meanwhile, Yorick cannot stand that they are stopped in Australia and he isn't allowed to get out and look for Beth. It's taken him three years to get here, so 355 relents and gives him 24 hours on the mainland before the sub is set to leave for Japan. Yorick doesn't find Beth, although he does find confirmation that she's alive and headed for Paris, but he does find a tabloid reporter who strips him naked and takes a picture of his wobbly bits to use as front page news. Paper Dolls is followed by three one-shots, each one filling in our supporting characters.
"The Hour of Our Death" catches up with other Beth, as Hero goes to deliver Yorick's letter. Other Beth is pregnant with Yorick's child, and she hasn't left the church in months for fear of being discovered. Hero sort of latches on to her, and we discover at the end that Yorick's letter was not a "thank you and goodbye" as Beth told Hero, but a plea to Beth asking her to be Hero's friend. It's a nice little story that still manages to have future implications. Hero takes Beth on the road to Kansas with her.
"Buttons" finally gives us 355 backstory. How she got to the Culper Ring, how she lost her family, what kind of a person she used to be . . . it's really nice.Again not sure why it's called "1,000 Tyepwriters," but in the third one-shot we learn not only what has happened to Ampersand since he was kidnapped by Toyota, but where he came from and how he got to Yorick in the first place (it was a mistake, he was supposed to go to Dr. Mann . . . but he got to her anyway because Yorick and 355 were guided to Dr. Mann by mysterious forces). The issue ends with Ampersand escaping Toyota's clutches just as she reaches her destination.