Ex Machina, Vol. 3: Fact v. Fiction

Ex Machina #3

by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris (Illustrator), Tom Feister (Illustrator)

Set in our modern-day real world, Ex Machina tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America's first living, breathing superhero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually tiring of risking his life merely to help maintain the status quo, Mitchell retires from masked crime-fighting and runs for Mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide! But Mayor Hundred has to worry about more than just budget problems and an antagonistic governor, especially when a mysterious hooded figure begins assassinating plow drivers during the worst snowstorm in the city's history! Suggested For Mature Readers. Collects Ex Machina issue #11-16

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Politics

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Brian 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.

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite sure where this series is going, but for now I'll keep on reading.

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In volume three, BKV finally digs into Mayor Mitchell Hundred's past and it's fantastic. We get to see his parents and his (presumably Vaughan's) love of comics in some much-appreciated meta fiction. And Vaughan continues to hint at Hundred's sexuality, but that still remains a mystery. The action, dialog, and artwork don't disappoint. A masterful series!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very well written and illustrated volume collects issues eleven through sixteen of the book and has three self-contained stories. Mitchell Hundred is a superhero who communicates with and can control machines telepathically; it's set in an alternate 2002 where one of the towers has fallen, the other saved. He's also recently become the mayor of New York. In the first, single-issue, he orders crack down on fortune tellers, but that arc isn't pursued. The second, titular story is a three-parter, in which he decides to fulfill his duty as a civil juror just as another, mysterious robotic hero arises in the city. We learn more about his past and his associates. It's very well done, if perhaps just a tad too political. The third one, Off the Grid, is also quite good, as we (and Hundred) learn more about his past, which wasn't at all the way he believed it was. Vaughan's dialog is often quite amusing, and always entertaining. It's an altogether excellent series, one that fits together with scattered little odd bits and pieces from all over. Note: not appropriated for kids.

[Aldo Haegemans · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many things Yet to be revealed. But that's What makes it good!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally see what's up with Bradbury.

And still with the conspiring against Hundred.

Good twisty plot about pot and firemen.

Then I get a jolt of Canuck love:




Between this reference and his later Stand On Guard For Thee series, I wondered if Vaughan had a Canadian bloodline. Turns out it's close - his wife is from Ottawa, Canada's capital city. No wonder I like this dude so much.

[David Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a few years, but I finally got around to the 3rd volume of Ex Machina. Read the first two via my digital library. They never got any more volumes, and now they do not have the first 2 anymore.

But I stumbled across Volumes 3, 4, and 5 on Comixology Unlimited. Yeah for me.

Each volume is packed with up to 10 issues. This super-hero mayor of New York City seems to have one odd ball adventure after another. With both real life and comic book problems and characters.

I will wait a week or so and then get on with Volume 4.

[Licha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol. 3 of 10

Each installemt still deals with political issue of the week but it is getting better as it progresses. My excitement to read them? Meh, still not reaching for the next volume before I even finish the current one.



Quote:
Mitch: You said dad was a saint. You said he was Atticus Finch!
Mom: He was, nine days out of ten. But maybe Atticus used to beat HIS wife. Thirty chapters of good deeds never tells you a
man's whole story.



Recap to remind myself. ****Warning: possible spoilers ahead****:

--There's a new wanna-be hero in town trying to fill in on the Great Machine's absence. Aside: I don't know that I like The Great Machine as a superhero name. It doesn't roll off the tongue nicely.

--Mayor Mitch Hundred is playing jury duty in this issue. Of course he's going to run into a problem here. One of the potential jurors recognizes TGM and wants TGM to cure him of his ailment. While serving in the war, this juror came upon a chasm where he detected something (maybe the same thing Mitch saw in the river that gave him his powers?) Unlike Mitch, who got the power to talk to machines and control them, this juror constantly has machines talking to him all at the same time. The noise is driving him mad. Knowing TGM is not going to help him, he takes the oldest juror member, an elderly lady, hostage.

--The book starts off with one of the issues needing to be addressed being fortune tellers. It really never goes anywhere, but Mitch's involvement in 9/11 is hinted at while visiting a fortune teller. We discover Mitch was able to stop the second plane from hitting the second tower. This sounds intriguing and I'm curious to see where this is going to go.

--We catch up with Mitch's mom, now living in a tráiler home. Mom makes an incredible revelation to Mitch about his father's death.



I'm hoping we are getting a little bit closer to some background story on. Less politics would be great.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, much the same as with the first two books. I really love Vaughan as a writer, but not so much this series. Conceptually, it’s very interesting and original. An NYC mayor with superpowers. But as a story it just doesn’t do much for me – it’s simply too heavily political for my liking.
Not enough unconventional superhero shenanigans, too much mayoring. Not enough world-building – too much real world.
The writing’s great, solid dialogue and all that. The art’s great too. It reads quickly enough. It just doesn’t have the same excitement, the same wild energy, the same WOW factor of Vaughan’s other works.
Though the Wachowskis love it. They did an introduction to the books before they were sisters. About how much they like the concept. And it is a neat concept. And probably a much more fun read for fans of politics.

[Punk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Novel. Still good! Mayor Hundred orders a nonsensical crackdown on storefront fortune tellers (Egg MacGuffin anyone?), reports for jury duty, meets a new costumed crusader, and reunites with his mom. Art good! Writing...ah, Brian K. Vaughan, I am sensing your weakness. It starts with "C." Rhymes with schnontinuity? There's no hint of the artifact, and absolutely no followthrough on either this volume's costumed crusader or last volume's repeated assassination attempts, or...whatever went down in the volume before. Where'd my mytharc go? These MOTW stories are a little too self-contained. Still good! But the cracks are starting to show. I'll just have to put my continuity goggles on. They block the impulse to care about such things. See also The X-Files. (Damn, you Chris Carter, I am STILL mad.)

Uh, four stars for the usual: diverse characters, realistic dialogue, a superhero/mayor with real problems, and realistic dialogue.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shit, man, there's no justice. There's just us.

This was not the strongest volume. A mysterious robotic vigilante appears but not much is done with him.

We meet hundred's mother and get some back story, but it doesn't really add anything to the character.

A crime crackdown on fortune tellers...? Who cares?

I did enjoy Hundred's jury duty stint, but then it went off the deep end. I think it would have actually been more interesting if it was just a normal trial, dealing with normal people. Imagine if Clark Kent were in 12 Angry Men, or Tony Stark, doesn't that sound entertaining? Maybe its just me.

Overall, good not great. Felt like filler to me, nothing meaty.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mayor Hundred has jury duty and finds out more about his dead father.

I really enjoyed Hundred's jury duty storyline - he gets stuck in a case involving a bag of feces on a salad bar where both the plaintiff and defendant think he would be standing behind them. There's some fun meta stuff about comic books in this one as we see Hundred trying to find a certain issue of Superman for a friend.

I didn't like the storyline concerning Hundred's mom and dad as much but still - good stuff!

[Devon Munn · Rating 3 out of 5]

First issue was great until the ending. Other two storylines were decent

Like seeing the Romani woman correct Mitchell when he said the word "g*psy" which is a SLUR for the Romani people no matter what second definition added years after the word was created says as well as delving a bit into Romani facing systemic racism and Mitchell relating to the woman Zehala over shared guilt about 9/11 was great until he snitches her out. Although hey at least I see in a modern comic saying that the word is A RACIAL SLUR!!! Romani people deserve better

[?0?0?0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian k. Vaughan's "Ex Machina" series only improves with each volume. In a review for a pervious collection, I made a comparison between this comic and the Sorkin-written "West Wing" television show and it is strange to find that, especially three comics in, this comparison holds: we got story lines that are just dropped, characters from past issues absent, political commentary wrapped in musical dialogue, and a large ensemble working for and against may Hundred. This volume continues the back and forth narration, going from modern day and, in this case, all the way back to childhood, but what Mr Vaughan achieves with the mother material is heartbreaking and opens up more about our still rather mysterious protagonist. The artwork is gorgeous, be it the crazy colours of the courtroom or the more desaturated tones, there is always a surprise when the reader turns the page and a sense that this comic cannot get any better but refuses to let up in every way. A quick, fun, witty, and insightful read aided by lush illustrations put "Ex Machina" at the top of the superhero fable.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is still pretty strong but I wouldn't mind a little more continuity; three shorter story arcs which all feel very separate, with very little comment on prior events (aside from a passing mention of getting some heat from the gay marriage bill). Language is fruity and there's some decent violence here. The artwork is pretty impressive though there are some odd facial poses and expressions. Still, pretty good and definitely keen to keep reading.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading: more great Vaughan, with great Tony Harris pencil art, well inked and colored. I love the faces, gestures, and characters here.
Mitchell Hundred's mom!
Super duper! Recommended.
Thanks to Fulton County Public Library for the loan.

[slightlyfoxed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political plot on jury duty and Gulf War Syndrome; Hero plot on vigilantism and father origin issues.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd heard a lot of buzz about this series, and I really enjoy Brian K. Vaughan's previous work, so I decided I had to check this series out. I'll echo the same sentiment I had in my review of volumes 1 and 2: I'm just kind of disappointed. It has a lot of potential, and there are some really interesting nuggets here. The main character can talk to machinery due to a freak accident, was a crime fighter (now the mayor of New York), and he's a 9/11 hero (having saved one of the Two Towers from crashing). So as you can see, there's some interesting stuff going on. The problem is, it's just not going anywhere. The time hops make the story line more convoluted than it needs to be, and the volumes read more as a one-off, "monster of the week" scenario rather than an overarching story. I already have volumes 4 and 5, so I'll be reading those as well, but I really can't see myself going further than that.

[Brad · Rating 1 out of 5]

One-and-a-half stars.


Three different stories. (1) A psychic apparently knew about 9/11, but still Hundred decides to crack down on psychics. (2) Hundred serves on a jury, but the jury is held hostage by a schizophrenic who demands Hundred use his "powers" to fix him. Hundred speaks to the news tickers in Times Square to alert them of the situation and the schizophrenic is sniped. Meanwhile, a copycat hero is flying around the city, much to the distress of Bradbury and Kremlin who hunt him down. It turns out to be the old comic book store guy's son on a hero trip. They turn him in. (3) Hundred gets a call from his estranged mother and uses his powers to trace the call. He learns from her that she ran away because she worried she'd end up hurting him like she did Hundred's dad. (Though reported as dying in a tunnel or mine, she was killed by Hundred's mother in self-defense.) Hundred flies her to New York to live in his old apartment.

[Pruett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always funny to me reading reviews of this series that are like "it's too political" when this series is about the politics of being a NYC mayor explicitly set in an alternate post-9/11 world. The superhero angle is just an interesting political wrinkle.

To that point, it's fascinating to read this series as someone who grew up a generation or two after the Bush administration. It's like reading a conversation my parents might have had right before I was born.

The art, as always, is weirdly good. Tony Harris has an interesting realistic style that manages to skirt the edges of the uncanny valley without falling in. The writing is BKV, so it rocks, even if my 2024 brain is so titillated by reading some truly unfiltered language. The political comic ain't politically correct, which is probably the point.

Onwards!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading some heavy hitters over the summer and compared to Gideon Falls, or even Vaughn’s own Y: The Last Man, this book is calm, with no real WTF moments. I feel like that makes this book easy to underrate. That would be a mistake. It is a really solid read, more importantly it is an enjoyable and engrossing one. The visuals are comparatively subdued, in part because they take place in “the real world” but I am really enjoying Harris’ low key, realistic look.

The book was probably more revolutionary in its day (a decade ago!) then it is now but it is still incredibly strong. It is vastly superior to your typical superhero read (read a couple of those this summer too) and really that is more what the book is. Highly recommended.

[Noah Appelbaum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it particularly is about this comic that I like so much, but I just want to keep reading it forever. It's like lighthearted former-superhero West Wing. And that includes the bad, television-y parts of West Wing (they're there; you just made yourself forget them).

The last issue with the family stuff and the two-bit, two-dimensional hick gangsters is like dumb Preacher-lite, and Hundred continues to call forth the occasional, unfortunate in-head comparison to contemporary white libertarian dingi, but I just love him and everyone else so much that I can't help but forgive the bad parts.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago, I made weekly trips to my LCBS.

Ex Machina was one of many series that I read on an ongoing basis. And it was also one of my most prized reads.

This volume contains the point at which I stopped going to the shop weekly, and, as such, contains the first stories that I had never read before.

Did I build this book up too much. Are the first two volumes that much better than this one, or is this some residual memory of a time where comic books places less of a role in my life?

I'm not altogether certain, although this book, while somewhat less impressive than the last two, is still worlds better than most.

I'll press on and I hope that you do too.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read any of the other volumes or issues. This volume seems to contain mainly independent events tied together with the same characters. The stories are ok, but they mostly read as one shots. The background built or implied in these volumes is interesting. An engineer turned superhero turned mayor of New York makes a very interesting main character. The alternate world post 9/11 is also interesting but not played up very much in this volume. I liked it enough to keep reading, but it didn't inspire me to seek out the other volumes.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

That dialogue! I swear Vaughan could write about everyday normal stuff and it would still be witty as hell and feel totally real. Let's just be happy that he doesn't write about everyday normal stuff so it's even better. Some of his other series seem to meander a bit (Saga, Y the Last Man) almost as if he's not sure how he wants to end them, but he definitely wants to keep on selling comics. That works up to a point and then it just gets kind of tiresome. So hoping that this one ends satisfactorily at some reasonable point. There was one big hint in this volume, I'm hoping it pans out and things start moving the overall arch forward.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good chapter in an interesting series. I like the fact that that focus is on the job and the challenges it has in addition to drawing on past episodes in his life so that it show his influences and the consequences of past actions. Also the writers have a secret agenda of persons unknown that gives it some mystery. The is he gay or not storyline has moved from being amusing to annoying however. I will buy further issues - it is more than just beating up the villan of the week - there is a broader context missing in other graphic novels.

[Vittorio Rainone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Le trame contro la città di NY continuano a ingrossarsi, e non si riesce a capire ancora, salvo la morte di due persone coinvolte, a cosa possano portare. Nel frattempo conosciamo sempre meglio il sindaco Hundreds, e la cosa è abbastanza piacevole. In appendice: un racconto carino, ma viene, come nei numeri precedenti, da chiedersi che c'entra con il resto. In ogni caso fumetto simpatico, forse un po' costoso per quello che offre.

[Neville Ridley-smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one. Same comments I made reviewing volumes 1 and 2 still stand.

First story was whatever. Second story about jury duty, mixed with the flashbacks about comic buying with friends was good. I love some of the stuff going on in the background - like when Raymond meets back up with the head of security. Last story was enjoyable. Nice backstory.

And no more info on the green symbol thingy from the last volume...

[Ign33l · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book hundred faces the death of her relationship secretary and then he looks back at what he has gone through and how he became the superhero he was. He defeats the guys that talks to animals (i dont remember how tbh, but it was easier than i thiugh) and then this guy that is a space traveler visits him in a weird way and warns him of an invation from people? Maybe the martians and the things that started to came out in the subway in the last volume. Lets see.

[Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a couple great issues in here – almost enough to lift the volume to four stars – but the rest is a bit bland. Nothing wrong, but just solid instead of the real gripping stuff of volume 1. I'm going to keep going, but I'm looking for more from vol. 4. There are too many great comics I haven't read to stick with interesting premise but average execution.

[Matej · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to like this comic book series more, but all the political stuff is making it hard, I'm just not feeling it.
I'm giving it a shot one more time with the next volume, but I'm afraid that it will be the last one, I think I will be sticking with the rest of the amazing Brian K Vaughan comics that I adore.