Ex Machina #49 – Review

by Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Tony Harris (art), JD Mettler (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: It’s the return of the Great Machine as Mitchell Hundred throws down with Suzanne, one last time.

What’s Good: Well, it finally happened.  In its second to last issue, Ex Machina finally became what no one ever thought it’d be: a superhero comic.  This makes for a really remarkable issue.  Ex Machina has been such a giant twist on the superhero genre that when it finally brings back some tried and true mechanics of that very genre, it feels shocking.  It also feels downright cool.

With the Great Machine taking to the skies once more, Vaughan and Harris hit us with some classic Superman imagery that is impossible not to smile and fist-pump at.  We get Mitchell Hundred doing the Clark Kent trademarked shirt-ripping.  Then we get onlookers on the ground pointing upwards, speculating on what some flying, and noisy, speck in the sky might be.  Seeing Vaughan turn Hundred into a bona fide superhero is awesome in ways that are indescribable.  The comic, by concept alone, has tried so hard to divorce Mitchell from superheroics that it’s really satisfying to see it all reversed, particularly given Hundred’s love for comics and superheroes.  For once, his efforts even see a grateful damsel in distress and an epic conclusion.  It’s a lot closer to the stories he was inspired by and certainly a far cry from his usual bumbling efforts as the Great Machine.

Ex Machina #45 – Review

by Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Tony Harris (art), JD Mettler (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Newly evil Suzanne Padilla makes her first move while Mayor Mitchell Hundred begins to plan his future.

What’s Good: The newly super-powered Suzanne Padilla makes for an utterly fantastic villain.  Vaughan has established a great voice for her that, after what we saw last month, is surprisingly very human and all the more successful for it.  Padilla sounds not at all like the sewer-dwelling robot of the past arc, and despite her appearance, even the lettering remains the same for the most part.  In this sense, she works better as a foil for Hundred.  Essentially, Vaughan has maintained the integrity of Padilla’s character; this new villain essentially sounds like her, with the confidence and arrogance cranked to the max.  The result is a villain that is more subtle, complex, oddly likable, and easily capable of carrying an entire arc.

Beyond this, we get from this issue what we’ve always gotten from Ex Machina.  The opening Great Machine flashback is, as always, both funny and poignantly appropriate, while all three of Hundred’s conversations with his various associates showing Vaughan’s complete mastery of his characters, each of them having the same distinct voices that we’ve come to know, with the interplay between personalities feeling natural and life-like.  The best of these was Hundred’s short conversation with Bradbury, which added well-placed humor to the book.  Vaughan has the two friends discuss some truly heavy subjects (Hundred even accuses Bradbury of murder), but all of it is done in such an affable manner.

Tony Harris meanwhile puts out some very strong work this issue.  In particular, he gets a little more creative this month with his panel layouts, which was a welcome surprise.  One dialogue scene at a firing range is especially well-done, with Harris pulling off some really slick layouts that manage to be both abstract and cinematic, the entire scene feeling very fluid.  I also love when artists use the spaces between panels to convey additional information.  I also loved Harris’ work on Padilla’s new look.  When disguising her new scars, she looks like a mysterious femme fatale straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel.  However, once exposed, she looks very alien, monstrous even.  The transition from 20s noir to the menace of modern science fiction is seamless and impressive on both ends.

What’s Not So Good: There’s a longish scene early on in the book where Wylie brings up the abortion issue, essentially trying to push Hundred into making a stand on the issue of unwanted pregnancies.  It’s too early to tell where this’ll go right now, but within this single issue, this subplot really felt out in the cold and detached from the rest of the book.  In fact, were it not for the date, I’d have believed the entire scene to be another flashback.  Ex Machina has always done a great job of combining its kookier superhero/sci-fi themes with more mundane hot-button political issues, but I’m starting to worry that as we head into this final arc, the crazy stuff has gotten a little too crazy to support this juggling act.  As a result, this political aspect of the issue felt a touch out of place and a little too low-key, and all the more surprisingly placed given that the entire series is ending.

Conclusion: Another issue of Ex Machina doing what it does best.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

Ex Machina #41 – Review

by Brian K. Vaughan (writer), Tony Harris (pencils), Jim Clark (inks), JD Mettler (colors)

The Story: After a long wait, the final arc of Ex Machina begins.  Mitchell Hundred has a shocking announcement regarding his political career, dark secrets from Hundred’s past are hinted at, and an ending you won’t want to miss suggests the possible return of a character from Hundred’s past.

The Good: Though I do wish we’d see more of his writing in comics, Vaughan is still razor sharp.  Writing-wise, this is the Ex Machina we all know and love: tight and witty dialogue, enjoyable action, and great plotting.  The “conversation” between reflecting panhandler and comically “out of it addict” is great, as is Mitchell’s declared love for NYC and its people.  Vaughan’s cast of characters is as enjoyable as ever.

With this issue, Vaughan has crafted a first chapter that really does its job as the opener of a new story arc.  Several hooks are planted and several mysteries are suggesedt that will all leave you salivating for issue number 2.  What is this dreaded “white box?”  What is Hundred’s coming announcement?  It’s not all merely hooks and hints though, as Hundred’s press conference and the “uh oh” ending of the issue move the plot along, with the latter in particular introducing what will no doubt be a central conflict in this arc.

With so many hints of things to come, the only fault of the writing is that it’s left me wanting issue 42 so very badly, and that’s exactly how it should be.  It got me hooked and despite revealing very little, I’m sure curtains will begin to drop next month.  I also really enjoyed the concerns of economic crisis.  Indeed, it is only 2004 in the comic, but, as Vaughan no doubt intended,  it plays very nicely with the current recession.

The Not-so-Good: While Vaughan hasn’t missed a step, Tony Harris sure has.  Unfortunately, this issue reeks of an artist cutting corners and rushing it through.

For those that don’t know, Harris is an artist who uses photo-references.  Regardless, I’ve always been a fan of Harris’ work.  He captured the series’ tone and delivered a high degree of realism and detail.  I’ve always liked his stuff.

However, things are just off here, as some frames are just flat out rushed and end up looking sloppy (see the press conference, particularly the reporters).  At other times, the issue shows the worst of photo-referencing; characters come off as static and posed (the conversation with January), a problem I’ve rarely had with Harris before.

Even Harris’ storytelling/plotting is off-kilter.  The crucial scene between Bradbury and Suzanne Padilla is just a mess, feeling as though each character was a separate image, all of them shoved into the same frame with the subsequent interactions feeling unnatural and forced.  It’s very disconcerting, particularly when some of these characters feel reproduced from previous frames with only minor adjustments.

It also appears that Harris is having some difficulties drawing eyes.  Several times, with Hundred and the panhandler, a characters sports one eye that is freakishly larger than the other.  Even worse, the panhandler starts his scene looking exactly like Mitchell Hundred, only with a beard.  Then by the scene’s end, this is halted, leading to the poor panhandler looking like two entirely different people.  It’s a damned shame considering how great Vaughan’s writing/dialogue is in this scene.

Lastly, Mettler’s colours also are a bit off, coming across as weirdly and incongruously bright during a brief portion in the middle of the issue.  It’s almost as though he had someone else take over for a few pages.

The Bottom-line: The same great writing we’ve come to expect is accompanied by a parodic, slapped together version of the art we’ve also come to expect.  Considering how long this took, it’s a bit shameful.  Vaughan’s always excellent writing saves this from being a total disaster and makes this issue still worth picking up if you’re an Ex Machina fan, but I pray to God that Harris pulls himself together.

Grade: C

-Alex Evans