'Y: The Last Party' report

Fans and pros alike showed their admiration for Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s just-concluded Vertigo series “Y: The Last Man” at a fundraiser benefit Friday evening for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. The event raised more than $11,000 for the fund, which defends the First Amendment rights of the comicbook industry.

That the end of “Y,” which concluded its acclaimed five-year run with issue #60 last week amid a flurry of press and positive reviews, could prompt such an event at all was in itself the topic of much discussion. “This is a weird thing, because we’re not really used to doing these sort of events,” said series editor Will Dennis. “Suddenly comics are like the hot chick in the room and we don’t know what to do with ourselves.”

On hand to celebrate was Vaughan, who also works as the story editor on the TV’s “Lost,” along with his wife, playwright Ruth McKee; penciler Guerra, who flew down for the event from Vancouver; colorist Lee Loughridge; “Lost” exec producer Damon Lindelof; Boom! Studios' Ross Richie, Mark Waid and Chip Mosher; Grant Morrison; Geoff Johns; Top Cow’s Matt Hawkins; Percy Carey (aka MF Grimm), writer of the graphic novel “Sentences”; Eric Lieb of Fox Atomic Comics. The event was a joint production of MySpace Comic Books and Meltdown, and was sponsored by Vertigo, Dark Horse, Image Comics, Top Cow and Monster Energy.

Joss Whedon, creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly,” praised the series in a humorous keynote talk. “These two people are telling a story that is, as I later found out, concise; it’s compact; it’s one thing; it’s not endless; it’s not, ‘Well, maybe if he just forgets about Mary Jane we can keep telling this.’ It’s more like a novel than it is like a franchise, for which I’m eternally grateful.”

Overseeing the event was MySpace’s Sam Humphries and CBLDF’s Charles Brownstein. The VIP reception featured a chance to look at artwork inspired by Y that will be auctioned off starting next week on eBay to benefit the CBLDF and — in honor of the comicbook’s simian co-star, Ampersand — a live monkey in a cowboy hat.

Humphries said ticket sales for the event raised $8,000, to be augmented by the art auction. He also says the CBLDF will be among the first to try out a new technology from MySpace Impact — the company’s charitable arm — that will allow it to raise money directly off its MySpace profile.

That total was augmented by the auction of a page of original art from issue 36, donated by Guerra, that quickly soared in price on bids from Mark Waid, DC VP of publicity David Hyde and finally sold to Hawkins for $2,000.

Vaughan and Guerra then took questions from the audience, with Vaughan giving crowd-pleasingly funny and self-deprecating responses. “As you know, I’m a writer who likes to have bare boobies, severed heads and I like to use the word ‘douche’ over and over again. So it’s really sophisticated fare for mature readers,” Vaughan said.

When asked if their work on the series ever made them cry, Guerra said it was especially tough to illustrate the final issue. “The scene with Ampersand in the woods, I cried all night,” said Guerra, who is next drawing a “Doctor Who” comic for IDW. “I went through Kleenex like crazy!”

They also discussed the impact of 9/11 on the series. Guerra was set to start drawing the first issue on that day, while Vaughan, who lived in New York at the time, says it made the book funnier because humor was his natural reaction and defense against the tragedy.

A final auction was held for a truly unique item: a straightjacket emblazoned with the Y logo. Vaughan says they were custom made for the people who worked on the book, with only one extra for the auction. The item was sold to Fox Atomic’s Lieb for $1,200.

“I hate the fact that we need a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, but we do so that terrible books like 'Y: The Last Man' can be read,” Vaughan said. “So thanks to everyone who came out to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund — you’re definitely not douches.”