Geekshow

Review: EX MACHINA DELUXE EDITION VOL 01 (Wildstorm Comics)

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

True Believers – Book of the Month – November 2008

EX MACHINA – VOLUME ONE

Written by Brian K. Vaughan

Art Work by Tony Harris & Tom Feister

Published by Wildstorm Comics

Review by Ben Noblitt

Far to often I’ve found that most people cannot or will not appreciate comic books as quality writing, one writer that has been fighting against this stereotype is Brian K. Vaughan. Having already made a name for himself not only in comics with the highly successful series Y- the Last Man, Vaughan has also worked on television shows like LOST, and is making a name for himself in other media. In 2004 Vaughan introduced a new series Ex Machina, winner of the 2005 Eisner for best new series, it it has been a critical success for its publisher Wildstorm Comics.

The title of the series comes from the latin phrase, deus ex machina, which means “god from a machine”. The series follows Mitchell Hundred, a civil engineer, who becomes Mayor of New York City after an unsuccessful career as the world’s first super hero, The Great Machine. Raised by his single mother Mitchell grows up reading about fictional heroes in DC Comics, and so after a mysterious accident gives Mitchell the ability to communicate and control machines he dons a jet pack and a mask and decides to save the world.

The series is set during Mitchell’s term as Mayor, and each issue includes flashbacks to his days as The Great Machine. However the first issue begins with Mitchell alone talking to the reader, presumable after his term, we are lead to believe that his time in office does not end on a high note. Though the story does include superheroes the series does tackle much more serious issues such as censorship and political corruption. The flashbacks often tie into the main storyline as well as shed more light onto the motives and character of Mitchell.

Surrounding Mitchell is a cast of characters that not only progress the story, but also elevate it to a higher level. Though they are all secondary characters, each is developed well over the series and each is given a level of detail beyond most comic characters. There is Rick Bradbury, ex-marine, Bradbury witnessed the incident that gave Mitchell his powers and now works as his body guard. Also Kremlin, a mechanic at Coney Island Kremlin acts as sort of a mentor to Mitchell during his time as a hero. Dave Wylie is Mitchell’s deputy Mayor and acts as a counter balance to some of Mitchell’s crazier ideas. The main females in Mitchell’s life are Police Commissioner Angotti, who holds a grudge against Mitchell for his vigilante days and Journal Moore, a young female intern in the Mayor’s office.

The first 5-issues titled, The First Hundred Days, is about Mitchell’s first few days after he is elected into office, and accounts how he was elected and the end of his superhero days, as NYC is caught in the middle of a terrible snow storm. Hoping to turn his fame as a super hero into a political career, Mitchell hangs up his jet pack and runs for Mayor of New York City as an Independent. It looks as though he is going to be disappointed until Mitchell puts on his mask one more time on September 11, 2001 and saves the second World Trade Tower, after this Mitchell wins in a land slide.

Issues 5-10 titled, Tag, center around the controversy that erupts after Mayor Hundred decides to perform a gay marriage ceremony, as well as delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Mitchell’s mysterious powers. As strange symbols begin to appear all over the city, people begin to start acting strange, even for New York City. The answers to this mystery may lie in Mitchell’s past.

The real strength of this series is the fearlessness of co-creators Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. Not only were the brave enough to tackle the issue of gay marriage, but they also showcase issues like censorship and racism, when a talented young artist uses the N-word in a city sponsored art exhibit. Its topics like this that raise Ex Machina above the average comic, and what makes it special.

It would be a terrible injustice to talk about Ex Machina and not mention the wonderful art work of Tony Harris and Tom Feister. The artwork is just incredible and portrays the characters with a sense of realism and style that fits the series. An interesting fact about Tony Harris’ art work is that  he uses photographs to help plot out and plan his panels. This allows for the much richer sense of realism, which is important in a series such as this.

My favorite part of this series has to be the relationship between Mayor Hundred and Commissioner Angotti. She doesn’t like Mitchell because he was The Great Machine, however MItchell keeps her as Police Commissioner because he respects her. In the series whenever they are in the same scene it is always such a fun interaction because it seems like the don’t like each other but I think each of them respect the other, and they bicker back and forth a lot and she’s always there to keep Mitchell in check.

I’ve often heard this series compared to the television show the West Wing, however I actually feel that this series is more like a much more mature and serious version of Spin City, that is if the mayor could talk to machines. I’ve nevered watched the West Wing, so I can’t comment on whether they are alike.

So if you’re in the mood for some political drama that is funny and serious, and has a super hero twist, than this is the series for you…

Happy Reading

THIS SERIES IS FOR MATURE AUDIENCES