What do you think?
Rate this book
Ex Machina #7
Ex Machina, Vol. 7: Ex Cathedra
Former superhero Mayor Hundred has been summoned to Rome to meet the one person he never imagined he would - the Pope. But with Hundred in the scope of an assassin, and questions raised about his political influence and rise to power, will New York's most controversial mayor soon be saying his prayers? Collects Ex Machina issues #30-34
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2008
4 people are currently reading
534 people want to read
About the author
Brian K. Vaughan
1,062 books14.1k followersBrian K. Vaughan is the writer and co-creator of comic-book series including SAGA, PAPER GIRLS, Y THE LAST MAN, RUNAWAYS, and most recently, BARRIER, a digital comic with artist Marcos Martin about immigration, available from their pay-what-you-want site www.PanelSyndicate.com
BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.
BKV's work has been recognized at the Eisner, Harvey, Hugo, Shuster, Eagle, and British Fantasy Awards. He sometimes writes for film and television in Los Angeles, where he lives with his family and their dogs Hamburger and Milkshake.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 6, 2011
"Ex Machina" is a series that puts a number of hot potato political issues into its issues - protesting illegal wars, legalisation of cannabis, gay marriage - and now Vaughan has Hundred confront the role of religion. Vaughan shows Hundred as the progressive mind that we all hope Obama is, fighting against anti-abortionists, abstinence, and the use of stem cells, just as Hundred was for gay marriage, for legalising marijuana, and against the war in Iraq (all good things I agree with and I'm sure mirror Vaughan's world view too).
Volume 7 of the excellent series "Ex Machina" sees Pope John Paul II inviting Mayor Mitchell Hundred aka the Great Machine aka the white Obama, to the Vatican for a tete a tete, little realising there's a Ruskie assassin with a remote control that'll control Hundred into killing the Pope.
The story might seem tantalising but having read the previous 6 books I can say I never felt Hundred was going to kill the Pope. I thought he was going to overcome his attempted mind control, defeat the bad guy, and share a few witticisims with the Pope - which he did. The bad guy is... well, it's a comic book so that's what the villain is - comical and nasty in a very cliche way. He's bald, Russian, and kills someone in every scene he's in - he even wears an eye patch!
The weak assassin storyline and the views on religion aside, there's nothing else to the book - which is unfortunate. It's over all too soon and in the final part of the book we see Vaughan giving one minor character in the series - Commissioner Angotti - an entire issue to let the reader see her backstory (to be honest I'd forgotten who Angotti was and had to be reminded). Basically it's padding to fill out the book.
"Ex Machina" is a great series so I was always going to read "Ex Cathedra" but it's far from Vaughan and Harris' best and hopefully the next book will contain stronger storylines and less cliche characters. This one's mildly entertaining but all too missable and irrelevant to the overall series structure.
Volume 7 of the excellent series "Ex Machina" sees Pope John Paul II inviting Mayor Mitchell Hundred aka the Great Machine aka the white Obama, to the Vatican for a tete a tete, little realising there's a Ruskie assassin with a remote control that'll control Hundred into killing the Pope.
The story might seem tantalising but having read the previous 6 books I can say I never felt Hundred was going to kill the Pope. I thought he was going to overcome his attempted mind control, defeat the bad guy, and share a few witticisims with the Pope - which he did. The bad guy is... well, it's a comic book so that's what the villain is - comical and nasty in a very cliche way. He's bald, Russian, and kills someone in every scene he's in - he even wears an eye patch!
The weak assassin storyline and the views on religion aside, there's nothing else to the book - which is unfortunate. It's over all too soon and in the final part of the book we see Vaughan giving one minor character in the series - Commissioner Angotti - an entire issue to let the reader see her backstory (to be honest I'd forgotten who Angotti was and had to be reminded). Basically it's padding to fill out the book.
"Ex Machina" is a great series so I was always going to read "Ex Cathedra" but it's far from Vaughan and Harris' best and hopefully the next book will contain stronger storylines and less cliche characters. This one's mildly entertaining but all too missable and irrelevant to the overall series structure.
September 14, 2017
Not sure if I'm getting bored with the series or what, but this volume didn't exactly develop the story or character very much. If anything it was a "let's do a spy story." Eh. Might need a break.
July 19, 2015
Vol. 7 of 10
This one was all about religion, mainly Catholicism. Mitch is about to have a big meeting with Pope John Paul II. Some lab rats are part of an experiment to control Mitch’s brain through a joystick. This volume was a little too blasphemous for my taste. Nothing to recap as I’ve basically summed it all up right here.
This one was all about religion, mainly Catholicism. Mitch is about to have a big meeting with Pope John Paul II. Some lab rats are part of an experiment to control Mitch’s brain through a joystick. This volume was a little too blasphemous for my taste. Nothing to recap as I’ve basically summed it all up right here.
August 24, 2017
Weakest book So far
June 18, 2024
This is my favorite volume in the series. Part Demon in a Bottle, part Daredevil, part 007 villain. It's a super fun arc within a long series.
January 2, 2021
3.5 stars
A good volume with some good conversations about morality, but I think the Russian assassin villain was a bit uninspiring.... curious what the final 3 volumes will bring....
A good volume with some good conversations about morality, but I think the Russian assassin villain was a bit uninspiring.... curious what the final 3 volumes will bring....
March 28, 2009
Graphic Novel. Hundred goes to visit the Pope. Sigh. You got me. I'm bored. The initial premise of this title had a lot of promise, but the stories Vaughan is giving me are weak and don't take advantage of the world he's built. He somehow manages to make Agnotti boring in her own origin story, and Agnotti is awesome.
Two stars, but only because Hundred has such beautiful eyelashes. I'm glad it'll be a while before the next trade is out. I need some time to recover from the disappointment.
Two stars, but only because Hundred has such beautiful eyelashes. I'm glad it'll be a while before the next trade is out. I need some time to recover from the disappointment.
April 7, 2009
Love the series, but this is one of the weaker volumes in terms of writing. Art is consistently great, but my evaluation is limited by the material.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the hell out of it.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the hell out of it.
May 29, 2022
It’s interesting to see how Vaughan is slowly preparing us for the end of the series, and does so by exploring religion here - a theme he will try again with more success in Y The Last Man. It’s a shame that the villain is a bit cartoony, but I’m more and more seeing this as the series in which Vaughan tries out his skills as a writer within a pulpier framework. It’s definitely fascinating to see him slowly come together as a writer
August 3, 2018
I enjoyed this volume better than I did the last two. It really helps to read it all at one time (or as close to that as possible). If you take long gaps between chapters or so, the book isn’t as good. On to the next one!
January 13, 2022
Mayor Hundred is invited to visit the Pope, not knowing that someone out there has gained control of the mayor's mind and wants him to be a papal assassin.
Meh. The discussion of political issues that has held my interest in the other volumes is a bit lacking here.
Meh. The discussion of political issues that has held my interest in the other volumes is a bit lacking here.
June 3, 2017
Delves deeper into the mystery of Hundred's origin and his personal demons. Want to finish the series to see how it ends.
April 12, 2018
This one was okay. I’m just in it now for the long haul.
August 17, 2018
Excepcional!
September 25, 2018
More super heroes mixed with politics, this time with a heavy dose of religion mixed in. Continues to be an interesting series. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
June 18, 2019
I enjoyed this one.
Though there are some odd bits. What's the deal with the gorilla at the start of issue 2?! How is that related to anything else in the whole volume?
Though there are some odd bits. What's the deal with the gorilla at the start of issue 2?! How is that related to anything else in the whole volume?
January 29, 2022
Enjoyable. Not as eventful as past arcs but still very fun.
September 9, 2024
A fun story about Mayor Hundred meeting the pope.
March 9, 2017
Ex Cathedra started out so promising but with only three volumes left I'm beginning to worry about Vaughn's ability to bring this saga (see what I did there?) to a close. Mayor Hundred travels to the Vatican to meet the Pope while Russians are plotting to hack his brain in an attempt to get him to assassinate the Holy Father.
While the art is sufficiently trippy, the substance comes up short. The Vatican's astronomer could've been an interesting character as a man of faith and science. He even wonders if Mitch might be the Antichrist, and that could've been a great opportunity to explore why people fear what they don't understand. But that's all brushed aside fairly quickly.
I guess I'm disappointed in how the last few volumes has failed to move the overarching plot forward at all. Remember how Kremlin and January are secretly working to undermine Mitchell's administration in an attempt to get him to suit up again? That was introduced three volumes ago and there's been absolutely no payoff or forward progress whatsoever. I wouldn't mind Vaughn taking these little detours so as long as the main story doesn't stall or spin its wheels but that's what's been happening.
Ultimately we'll see how the whole thing closes out, but if Vaughn can't stick the landing (and I'm starting to worry he won't) then sadly this will be a memorable if somewhat half-baked series.
While the art is sufficiently trippy, the substance comes up short. The Vatican's astronomer could've been an interesting character as a man of faith and science. He even wonders if Mitch might be the Antichrist, and that could've been a great opportunity to explore why people fear what they don't understand. But that's all brushed aside fairly quickly.
I guess I'm disappointed in how the last few volumes has failed to move the overarching plot forward at all. Remember how Kremlin and January are secretly working to undermine Mitchell's administration in an attempt to get him to suit up again? That was introduced three volumes ago and there's been absolutely no payoff or forward progress whatsoever. I wouldn't mind Vaughn taking these little detours so as long as the main story doesn't stall or spin its wheels but that's what's been happening.
Ultimately we'll see how the whole thing closes out, but if Vaughn can't stick the landing (and I'm starting to worry he won't) then sadly this will be a memorable if somewhat half-baked series.
February 20, 2017
3.5
this series only has 3 more books left in the series, it goes up and down with the consistency of how good the storyline is
this series only has 3 more books left in the series, it goes up and down with the consistency of how good the storyline is
July 16, 2013
"Ex Cathedra"
Mitchell gets summoned to the Vatican to meet the Capo of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II. Meanwhile, a villain fit for a James Bond movie (complete with receding hairline and eye-patch!) plans to - get this - hack into Mitchell's brain and have him assassinate the Pope. Heck, even the assassination plot seems out of a James Bond movie. Needless to say, the plot fails, the Pope lives, and the villain dies - by biting on some sort of poison capsule. Oops. Maybe I should've marked this last bit as a spoiler. Somewhere along the way, as Mitchell fights the attempted hack into his brain, he has a vision. He believes God told him he's going to be President of the United States. This particular thread will play a big part in the series finale. Fair warning.
"World's Finest"
Basically the "origin" issue of Commissioner Angotti, who she is & how she came to be. Comic book fanboys will not miss the Vaughan's nod to the cape-and-cowl set with the title of this stand-alone issue, and the riff on the Bat-Signal (adapted to the Great Machine's insignia) on the very last page.
Of note are Angotti meeting her dickbag husband, foiling a bank robbery, and encountering Pherson, who can talk to animals - that is, make himself understood and, most importantly: obeyed) just like Mitchell can "talk" to machines and "hear" them too.
Mitchell gets summoned to the Vatican to meet the Capo of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II. Meanwhile, a villain fit for a James Bond movie (complete with receding hairline and eye-patch!) plans to - get this - hack into Mitchell's brain and have him assassinate the Pope. Heck, even the assassination plot seems out of a James Bond movie. Needless to say, the plot fails, the Pope lives, and the villain dies - by biting on some sort of poison capsule. Oops. Maybe I should've marked this last bit as a spoiler. Somewhere along the way, as Mitchell fights the attempted hack into his brain, he has a vision. He believes God told him he's going to be President of the United States. This particular thread will play a big part in the series finale. Fair warning.
"World's Finest"
Basically the "origin" issue of Commissioner Angotti, who she is & how she came to be. Comic book fanboys will not miss the Vaughan's nod to the cape-and-cowl set with the title of this stand-alone issue, and the riff on the Bat-Signal (adapted to the Great Machine's insignia) on the very last page.
Of note are Angotti meeting her dickbag husband, foiling a bank robbery, and encountering Pherson, who can talk to animals - that is, make himself understood and, most importantly: obeyed) just like Mitchell can "talk" to machines and "hear" them too.
July 27, 2014
Grown man topics is something you gotta deal with, No matter how many super powers you love it ain’t gonna equal up to this real shit....
Let me just start by saying this is the best “Graphic Novel” I have ever read. I wouldn’t even call this a comic. I know that there is a difference between a comic and a graphic novel but I’ve also seen the terms use interchangeably but this piece of work is too great to be called anything else. I read “Y The Last Man” so I was a fan of Brian K Vaughn (Although Under The Dome is terrible). Ex Machina exceeded my expectations.
I love reading about super powers and the fight between good and evil and all that good shit but I also love seeing real issues discussed. Ex Machina does this perfectly. The parallel NYC was amazing and Mitchell Hundred is one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen.
Vol 7 was a great volume. It had Hundred paying a visit to The Vatican and John Paul II. This volume deals with the debate on religion that was amazing. I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just say that I highly recommend Ex Machina
FYI: I’ll leave a review for all ten volumes but only change the last paragraph because the first three paragraphs were so powerful that they are relevant to all ten volumes.. LOL
Let me just start by saying this is the best “Graphic Novel” I have ever read. I wouldn’t even call this a comic. I know that there is a difference between a comic and a graphic novel but I’ve also seen the terms use interchangeably but this piece of work is too great to be called anything else. I read “Y The Last Man” so I was a fan of Brian K Vaughn (Although Under The Dome is terrible). Ex Machina exceeded my expectations.
I love reading about super powers and the fight between good and evil and all that good shit but I also love seeing real issues discussed. Ex Machina does this perfectly. The parallel NYC was amazing and Mitchell Hundred is one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen.
Vol 7 was a great volume. It had Hundred paying a visit to The Vatican and John Paul II. This volume deals with the debate on religion that was amazing. I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just say that I highly recommend Ex Machina
FYI: I’ll leave a review for all ten volumes but only change the last paragraph because the first three paragraphs were so powerful that they are relevant to all ten volumes.. LOL
March 19, 2010
This graphic novel series focuses on Mitchell Hundred, ex-superhero with the ability to telekinetically control machines and current mayor of New York City. Most of the superhero sequences take place in the past, while the current day sequences focus on Hundred governing a major metropolitan city.
Volume 7, Ex-Machina's take on "Manchurian Candidate", sends Mayor Hundred to Italy on summons from the Pope. Flashbacks explore Hundred's uneasy relationship with organized religion. The back-up story is essentially a short character sketch of secondary character Police Commissioner Amy Angotti.
Ex Cathedra continues the series' thoughtful, character-derived, "West Wing" approach to the superhero graphic novel. The main story for Volume 7 is a bit disjointed and hard to follow at times, but a careful reader will be rewarded with an entertaining, suspenseful character driven plot that seems to be setting Mayor Hundred up for some major changes.
Tony Harris's artwork for vol. 7 is, as always, gorgeous; a vibrant yet realistic, almost art deco, style that meshes perfectly with the New York City setting and Hundred's mechanistic origins.
Volume 7, Ex-Machina's take on "Manchurian Candidate", sends Mayor Hundred to Italy on summons from the Pope. Flashbacks explore Hundred's uneasy relationship with organized religion. The back-up story is essentially a short character sketch of secondary character Police Commissioner Amy Angotti.
Ex Cathedra continues the series' thoughtful, character-derived, "West Wing" approach to the superhero graphic novel. The main story for Volume 7 is a bit disjointed and hard to follow at times, but a careful reader will be rewarded with an entertaining, suspenseful character driven plot that seems to be setting Mayor Hundred up for some major changes.
Tony Harris's artwork for vol. 7 is, as always, gorgeous; a vibrant yet realistic, almost art deco, style that meshes perfectly with the New York City setting and Hundred's mechanistic origins.
November 18, 2008
What a coincidence! I just came back from Rome and now major Hundred is in Rome.
The art in this comic has developed to be really beautiful, the expression on the faces of the characters are really priceless sometimes and the violence is pretty damn graphic.
The stories in this serie has varied from very (at least to a Finnish guy like me) hard to understand political shit to sheer brilliance. In this collection, for some reason, Vaughan brings in the religious side of US people. A thing that I have never ever understand. Those people believe so hardly to god in every turn of life. And that brings down the score in my book with this collection.
But the art is good and the back-up story to police commisoner is brilliance.
Timo
The art in this comic has developed to be really beautiful, the expression on the faces of the characters are really priceless sometimes and the violence is pretty damn graphic.
The stories in this serie has varied from very (at least to a Finnish guy like me) hard to understand political shit to sheer brilliance. In this collection, for some reason, Vaughan brings in the religious side of US people. A thing that I have never ever understand. Those people believe so hardly to god in every turn of life. And that brings down the score in my book with this collection.
But the art is good and the back-up story to police commisoner is brilliance.
Timo
March 30, 2009
Brian K. Vaughan, Ex Machina: Ex Cathedra (Wildstorm, 2008)
Hundred is invited to Rome for an audience with Pope John Paul II, who senses he's about to die. Before that happens, he wants to take the measure of Hundred. Maybe a little spiritual diagnostics will figure out what the deal is with Hundred's powers where all else has so far failed? There are others in the Vatican, however, who believe Hundred to be something far darker than a miracle of technology... some interesting ideas here, and Vaughan ropes global politics into this book as seemingly effortlessly as he roped New York politics into the original books. Ex Machina is getting better all the time. ****
Hundred is invited to Rome for an audience with Pope John Paul II, who senses he's about to die. Before that happens, he wants to take the measure of Hundred. Maybe a little spiritual diagnostics will figure out what the deal is with Hundred's powers where all else has so far failed? There are others in the Vatican, however, who believe Hundred to be something far darker than a miracle of technology... some interesting ideas here, and Vaughan ropes global politics into this book as seemingly effortlessly as he roped New York politics into the original books. Ex Machina is getting better all the time. ****
November 2, 2011
International politics takes center stage in the 7th installment of Ex Machina. Called overseas for a visit with Pop John Paul II, Mitchell Hundred is unaware that Russian operatives are looking to use new technology to turn the Great Machine a murdering one. The Russian subplot barely registers in a story that challenges the scientific and religious, as Mitchell and the reader are asked about where they place their faith. Featuring an excellent cameo from the Pope, this volume does a nice job of setting things back into the fictional "real-world" environment that had been missing from the previous installment.
May 12, 2013
I guess I'm glad I read the last collection before this else I wouldn't kept going to find out what happens in the end.
This collection shows none of the complexity, nuance, and engagement with the issues that story lines previous had handled so well. The story is dull, actually, involving a Russian's plot to use Hundred to kill the pope. Since the story is unimaginative, they try to spice it up with violence and then have the Russian hire a prostitute so they can show some gratuitous nudity. And, since this isn't enough, the Russian has to talk about how he will kill her. Nothing was ever so bad some misogyny couldn't make it worse.
More than disappointing. Insulting and inexcusable.
This collection shows none of the complexity, nuance, and engagement with the issues that story lines previous had handled so well. The story is dull, actually, involving a Russian's plot to use Hundred to kill the pope. Since the story is unimaginative, they try to spice it up with violence and then have the Russian hire a prostitute so they can show some gratuitous nudity. And, since this isn't enough, the Russian has to talk about how he will kill her. Nothing was ever so bad some misogyny couldn't make it worse.
More than disappointing. Insulting and inexcusable.
August 24, 2016
Well this got weird. Hundred flies to Rome and...meets the Pope? Also he has weird religious visions with angels that have metal nipples...so confused.
The flashback we get of the Great Machine are fun as always but the current story left a lot to be desired. There is a lot of build up for what is ultimately a quick and lackluster finale.
The final issue is a standalone tacked on about Commissioner Angotti and her backstory. Guess what, nobody cares about Commissioner Angotti, and you still won't after reading this.
This is probably one of the most forgettable volumes of the series.
The flashback we get of the Great Machine are fun as always but the current story left a lot to be desired. There is a lot of build up for what is ultimately a quick and lackluster finale.
The final issue is a standalone tacked on about Commissioner Angotti and her backstory. Guess what, nobody cares about Commissioner Angotti, and you still won't after reading this.
This is probably one of the most forgettable volumes of the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews