Ex Machina, Vol. 6: Power Down

Ex Machina #6

by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris

Spin City and The West Wing meet Batman in this gripping superhero graphic novel series by the award-winning writer of Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughan.A mysterious new visitor arrives in New York City, with powers that may be connected to superhero mayor Mitchell Hundred's - just as Hundred's own abilities shut down during an extended citywide blackout! Can the mayor manage the ensuing chaos, keep his family safe from an apparent madman, and deal with new revelations about the nature of his barely-comprehended powers?Written by Brian K. Vaughan (Pride of Baghdad), with art by Tony Harris (Starman), "Ex Machina" is brimming with political intrigue and superheroic shenanigans! Collects Ex Machina issue #26-29 and Inside the Machine Special

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

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 2007

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

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic volume where Vaughan finally begins to reveal Hundred's origin of power, Hundred himself temporary loses his powers, and we learn just how he landed that fucking plane! Dramatic, violent, and intense.

[Licha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol. 6 of 10

This volume includes an interesting introduction at the end of the book by Vaughan explaining the process of what goes into making a graphic novel. I was a little surprised to find out that most people find graphic novels disjointed because of all the hands that go into the pot in order to expedite issues for monthly production. If anything, all the series/graphic novels I have read seem to NEED that collaboration between writer and artist to translate their vision onto paper and I feel have been successful at it. It’s a marriage of the two. I also enjoyed seeing how they have people play out the character scenes and pose as the panel is to going to be drawn. I hadn’t ever really thought about how these scenes get on paper, but I thought it was a neat process.


Recap of this volume to remind myself. ****Possible spoilers ahead****:

--We see a second possible archnemesis? This one steps out of the river swathed in an electric field, causing a blackout throughout the whole city. He is looking for Mitch to pass on information on how they got their powers, so it is unknown whether he’s a good or bad guy. His powers however are able to neutralize Mitch’s powers, so it is yet to be seen what will come of this story.

--The issue of immigration is mentioned but never concluded. Can I just say that I’m a little tired of everytime immigration is brought up it is immediately blamed on Mexicans. They are not the only people who are immigrants. People from all over Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, to name a few, immigrate to the U.S. It is not just Mexico. That joke gets a little old and I found it insulting how Mexico is the first place people point a finger to.

--We see a bit more of a glimpse into what happened on 9/11. I did question though how Mitch knew the second tower would get hit. He was already using his powers to call on some fighter jets to assist him in stopping the second plane from hitting the second tower, but these are just glimpses we see into the past without much explanation. This is already the sixth volume so I’m wondering when Vaughan is going to start tying up ends.

Overall, a good issue.

[Hamid Babayev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something wicked comes in this way..

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one opened the world up a bit beyond the political drama of the week, but now I'm unsure where it is going. Still along for the ride.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
A bridge, albeit an important one, to the back half of the series!

[Jimmy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 6 moved a little slower. It had the story of a power outage but this volume also helped to build up the backstory. 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

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume in the Ex Machina series. Finally, Mitchell's mom shows up again! We learn a little bit more about Mitchell's bodyguard, Bradbury. And a mysterious guy appears (from the future? from the past? from an alternate dimension??), which mysteriously causes a complete north east power outage. What is the connection between Mystery Guy and Mitchell's powers? It is hinted at, but we don't learn much, and it's never 100% clear if Mystery Guy can be trusted.

[Adam Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty intriguing, but this new volume still doesn't stand up to some of the earlier ones. With the introduction of a new character from a alternate timeline, things are starting to get MUCH more interesting. However, there are still more questions than answers and I'm hoping these get answered shortly.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good continuation of the series. I would have like a little more of an explanation of the mysterious man who appeared but I suppose future issues may give more information and there were lots of "clues" provided so maybe the reader is to figure it out. I particularly enjoyed the section at the back where the artist showed how he came up with the images he uses for covers and panels because I always like behind the scenes information. Looking forward to the next volume to see what happens next for Mayor Hundred.

[G. Spinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Very good not great. Love more bits about 9/11. Curious about the Zeller fellow and how he plays into this. I guess the overarching question has tilted away from “is he gay??” To “where did his powers really come from?” Obviously both questions have always been present but man they really leaned into the Fay thing early on, they’ve laid off of it considerably. Not that I’m not curious, it’s just not really relevant where he puts his dick.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

During a huge blackout, Mayor Hundred loses his powers and his mom is kidnapped.

This volume felt a bit disjointed to me. The story about who kidnapped his mom didn't make sense at times. I loved the part about the Great Machine saving the second tower from being destroyed - we get to see how he managed this. In general I tend to like the 'Mayor' moments more than the ' Great Machine' parts but I think this was because there wasn't much in the way of governance in this story.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one gave me exactly what I wanted - movement on the main story arc. The great mystery behind the Great Machine. He didn't give us a lot, but it was something, and as usual it was very entertaining. Seems like this arc will take the story away from its "urban roots", so I'm curious how he's going to handle it.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mayor Hundred deals with a power outage affecting a large part of the northeast and into Canada, which means he also has a break from his powers as he cannot hear any machines. Meanwhile, another costumed man with powers shows up to warn Hundred about those who gave him his powers before suddenly disappearing.

[Abigail Pankau · Rating 4 out of 5]

More super heroes mixed with politics. During a city-wide blackout, Hundred faces a dimension traveler who has a warning about Hundred's new powers. I find the volumes that explore Hundred's powers, and where they came from, to be more interesting.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
It was good. Maybe slightly better than the previous one? One thing I need to take note of – it helps if I just sit down and read this in one sitting (or if I have a lot of focus). This is short, and I plan on starting the next one (hopefully soon).

[Dustin Riedesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little outdated in terms of progressive political ideas, but still relevant in grappling with real-world problems from the middle. Stories are interesting and the long arc has kept me reading through all the volumes I can find oncomixology.

[Bosco Farr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continues to amaze me.

[Luke Assink · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series but this volume was a little underwhelming. It does seem like it's setting up some interesting story lines for the future though.

[Mackenzie Melo · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are now entering the zone of revelations and why's; and I'm loving it!

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

Some fun new stuff that progresses the story in this one. My only complaint is that it was too short! (Only 4 issues). Last chapter of behind the scenes extras was just ok.

[Steven W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoy the story but it is dragging a bit.

[Eugenio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series. No complaints!

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this a lot more like it…

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume had some big moments, but I’m not crazy about some of the reveals, and some of the politics and jokes here feel particularly dated.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I wanted to like this one more than I did, even if it still ended up zipping along at a nice pace. It starts with taking away Hundred's powers during a blackout caused by the appearance of a mystery man.

There's so many directions they could've went with a powerless Mitchell during a blackout! And yet it fell back on a tired hostage plot. Mystery man Zeller appears to warn Mitchell of an impending threat instead of playing the antagonist. But considering a lot of Volume 5 was also table setting it was disappointing to have more of the same in this volume when not all the pieces from the previous volume paid off.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some more information about the Machine's origin.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Power Down"

I liked this one for many reasons: (1) Mitchell (albeit briefly) loses his special abilities, (2) the visit of the alternate-Earth Zeller deepens the mystery as to Mitchell's destiny and leaves more questions than it answers (if any), and (3) we get some flashbacks of the Great Machine in action, be it in a fight simulation or grounding the second airplane on September 11, 2001.

This is where you start wondering just what Vaughan has in mind for Mitchell and the series as a whole, where he's going to take things. An alternate-Earth, or even just the possibility of visiting (or being visited by) another world certainly gives the writer a wide playing field, with a near limitless number of options.

C'est à suivre...


Inside the Great Machine

An interesting look behind-the-scenes, discussing cover designs, concept art & photos. Basically some of the creative process involved in the production of a comic book. Not exactly the main draw of this trade paperback.

Click here for a review of the next volume, Ex Machina, Vol. 7: Ex Cathedra.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 6 is a step up from the slightly disappointing preceding arc, with a new development which presumably/hopefully gives some sense of where the bigger picture is going. The political side is downplayed a tad, focussing more on the mystery, all while set in the big summer blackout of 2003. I would have scored higher except there's no resolution and only a glorified tease to his powers.

The 'behind the scenes' issue was interesting but I have to say (and this may be somewhat naive, especially from someone who's read comics for a loooooong time) but to me, using photo models for your art layouts seems like cheating. I kind of feel it should all be hand-drawn or from a physical model as reference rather than just using a photo as outline and altering some details. It may explain the weird expressions I've previously commented on.

I think this is probably me just being harsh and hey, I'm not an artist, but seeing the comparison has robbed a little of the magic.

Anyway, that aside, we've cracked the midpoint and I am intrigued as to where we're headed.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian K Vaughn is a new fav. I love this series because it is so balanced. There's not too much of Hundred using his powers, not too many outlandishly grotesque or awkward moments (although they are there to season the stew), and not too much history or backstory fighting for attention. There's just enough of everything, and by everything I mean the things that don't make it into most graphic novel stories, things that make it worth being a graphic novel as opposed to just prose. Very expressive faces, people lounging around in various states of dress, distinct exteriors of New York City, dead bodies, there's a bunch of stuff that makes these books fun to read.

But mostly it's because its about a mayor of NYC being a guy with powers, who will still use them if it's really necessary (as in any of the handful of assassination attempts), but mostly dealing with the maelstrom politics of a city like New York.

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book having just read volume 3 and volume 2, in that order. In this one the mayor has to get to the bottom of a blackout, and we see more of what he did on September 11 (and people think they stretch out the backstory in Lost!). I enjoyed this just as much as the previous books, but damn that sketchbook at the back for tricking me into thinking I still had lots of comics to go.

Credit to Tony Harris, though, he deserves the space. His work on Starman was often spectacular, and though his pages here aren't quite so ornate, they are clear, direct and just as expressive.

A nod too to JD Mettler: his or her work here as colourist is superb. Every page looks superb. Granted, Wildstorm use much nicer paper than their poor cousins at Vertigo, so everything's going to look that much brighter and more brilliant, but if the colouring was bad, that would only make it all the more obvious!