It’s time to be super self-referential here; my instant reaction after reading Ex Machina #42 has to be re-said here:
The problem with Ex Machina from @WildStorm is when it’s on my pile, it ruins every other book in its wake of awesomeness. So. Damn. Good.
I think that’s the best 140 character sum up of the experience of reading this book I could come up with. The true measure of greatness that Vaughan, Harris, Clark, and Mettler have achieved is that this story is perfect as a comic book. It could be told through another medium, but it wouldn’t be told as well.
The art in #42 has to be mentioned first. I’ve always been a fan of Harris’s art, but the way he has grown in his storytelling over the course of 42 issues has been incredible. In this issue, there are 8 pages of conversation with no real action. The story, thanks to both the great flow of the actual words and primarily the story telling in the art. The first half takes place in a dark underground room, and most of the conversation features the two characters’ hands and their shadows. It’s such a brilliant device and it made the whole thing that much more exciting. There is some action in this story, however, and while it is a little more static that some artists’ work, that is actually the preferred style here. The snapshot style of his art serves the building tension beautifully. The last three pages were especially gloriously creepy, and while the reveal at the end was expected, it was still exciting to see. Clark and Mettler know exactly how to bring out the best in Harris, and these three should work together for the rest of time.
Brian K. Vaughan continues to top my favorite writer on a regular basis: himself. While Y: The Last Man has been my favorite comic for quite some time, the final year of Ex Machina may change my mind. This issue is remarkable in that it tells a solid story on its own, it fits into the current story arc nicely, revealing just enough about the past and present to keep it going, and fits in the overall 42 issue so far story, building on what has come before and setting up the future. This is comic book writing at its absolute finest. It proves that characterization is just as important as high action, and the balance between the two that should be reached in any story. Vaughan definitely rewards longtime readers, showing that he’s had an overall story in mind for Mitchell Hundred since the very beginning.
I can’t wait for more Ex Machina, and oddly, thought it is one of my favorite reads, I can’t wait for it to end. All that means is I’ll get to enjoy it all over again, and more easily share the whole story with others.
So if you’re not reading this, I’d like to know why. The book has something for political fans, superhero fans, fans of deep characterization, fans of conversation, fans of writing taking the forefront, fans of art driving the story. This. Is. Comics.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Lucas, make sure you paid yourself for using your own Tweet as the basis for a column.
May 28th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I had to skip past the article and go right to the comments, so as not to run across spoilers. I came to the party late, and I’m reading Ex Machina (and Y: The Last Man) in trade form. I’m only past trade #3 for Ex Machina, so I’ve got a ways to go!
But yeah… I loves me some Brian K. Vaughan. He writes for Lost, and he’s writing/written two of the best comic series ever. I need to check out some of his other stuff too. I understand his Dr. Strange story is quite good.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:24 am
I wasn’t planning to get into it, but let’s see if I can get the debate rolling a little bit.
I read the first EX MACHINA tpb when it came out, and maybe a couple issues that have come across my path since then. As such, my recollections of what exactly disappointed me may be vague, but I’ll admit that I do not read, don’t intend to start again, and don’t really see the quality that many people rave over.
Here’s my thoughts:
First thing, it wasn’t a bad book, but it certainly wasn’t a great book. It was okay, but okay does not in any way get you a four-year commitment.
I’ll start with the art. It took me a little while to adjust to Harris’s style; I was a huge fan of his black-ink-covered, pulpy style on STARMAN, but I quickly learned to appreciate what he was doing on EX MACHINA. The coloring never really grew on me; for a book that’s supposedly set in NYC, the color pallete seems jarring compared to the NYC out my window. Maybe it’s been addressed by the creators elsewhere, but to me, it seemed like they chose a stylized color pallete for the sake of having a stylized color pallete. It doesn’t seem to support the book’s visual and tonal style at all.
But that complain was fairly minor. The writing has moments, but nothing even coalesced into anything satisfactory. Like all adventure comics, even those masquerading as something else, EX MACHINA is extremely plot-driven, with lots of grandiose threats and plots trying to undermine the hero’s city. I never felt that Vaughan got us any farther into Hundred’s head than any average superhero comic managed.
I don’t recall the specific details, but there was some subplot involving a spunky intern who shows her sassy wisdom to solve one of the mayor’s dilemmas. Anyway, the entire subplot was, for me, beyond terrible. It was the only part of the story that I really hated. The character was too far over the top, this sort of idealized, sassy young lady that all the comic book boys could crush on, who could keep the boys in line, look good doing it, and miraculously know exactly which buttons to push to get people in line. She never felt like a character; she was pure fanboy wish-fulfillment.
The rest: like I said, not terrible, but not inspiring either. There was a big plot about a serial killer and the blizzard – it built up fairly nicely, if maybe a little obvious and a touch slow, but the ending was so meaningless. The revelation of this random, douchy kid with some delusion of grandeur, it felt arbitrary and half-thought-out. Yeah, I get it, it’s an arbitrary world, kids are disillusioned, but so what? What else is new? Tell me something about these tragedies; enlighten me, Mr. Vaughan.
The background stuff dealing with Hundred’s superhero history … eh … we’ve seen superheroes and their mysterious pasts ad nauseum. Maybe there were kernels of something interesting there, but frankly, the superhero angle was the least appealing aspect of the book to me. Wading through a largely “just okay” book to see how the dark mystery played out for four years simply isn’t in the cards.
It could just be that I think Vaughan’s over-rated. I read three volumes of Y, and thought the same thing after all of them. Eh, I’ve read worse, but there’s nothing inspiring about this book. It moves through its plot like any ordinary thriller, with non-descript supporting characters and a terribly bland hero. ESCAPISTS has some nice themes about creativity, but the love story between the two leads was so painfully obvious and by-the-numbers.
So there you have it. Anybody else?
December 27th, 2010 at 2:29 am
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March 21st, 2013 at 12:22 am
But that complain was fairly minor. The writing has moments, but nothing even coalesced into anything satisfactory. Like all adventure comics, even those masquerading as something else, EX MACHINA is extremely plot-driven, with lots of grandiose threats and plots trying to undermine the hero’s city. I never felt that Vaughan got us any farther into Hundred’s head than any average superhero comic managed.