The Beginning of a Political Fall

"Ex Machina" #45 from Wildstorm (an imprint of DC Comics)

(I haven't read more than a random smattering of issues of this series and the previous one, #44.)

This is the first issue of the last story-arc of Brian K. Vaughan's "Ex Machina". The series that presented a superhero stopping one of the planes that struck the Twin Towers on September 11th 2001, the series that has an ex-superhero mayor of New York City, the series that showed a fictional mayor choose to legalize same-sex marriage in the five burroughs of NYC, is coming to a close in four months.

How will this beautifully ordered insanity end? Reporter Suzanne Padilla was imbued with the third formerly unknown 'superpower' in the last issue: Mayor Mitchell Hundred the 'superhero' can psychically control machines, Phearson the 'supervillain' could psychically control animals (before his death), and now we have a new wrinkle in the form of Ms. Padilla now being able to control people. Scary.

Honestly, not much happens in this issue. It's mostly set-up and drum-beating. Mayor Hundred and his main aide Dave speak about abortion and whether or not a government has the right to openly support any form of birth control. Tony Harris's art isn't at its best in these pages. His figures look stiff and his scenery blurry. The flashback? An especially brilliant one. 'The Great Machine', Hundred's nom-de-tights from his short time as a crime-fighter, flies out to the Roosevelt Island tram-car stuck over the river and discovers... a woman about to give birth! Trapped on the Roosevelt Island tram, how will the Great Machine get out of this one? As always the flashback story could be a great story all by itself, but is made relevant when tied-in with the main storyline. The art is also really solid in these pages.

In the middle, a conversation between Mayor Hundred and the Police Commissioner of NYC about the (very, VERY) unusual activity of last issue. Read my review to get a better idea.

Suzanne Padilla then shows herself and when asked: "The Mayor. You're... you're gonna kill him, aren't you?" she replies "Don't be ridiculous. I'm going to kill everyone on the planet."

Then we see the title of this final arc of the series: "Pro-Life" Part One. Is Brian K. Vaughan a smart wanker or what? Just look at his smug little smile. He knows it. In the physical comic, this statement is immediately followed by the preview pages for Wildtorm's upcoming "Planetary" #27, that series' final issue. What more could you want?

(Brian K. Vaughan and his little smile.)

Well, a bit more story to begin with. I never realized until reading this how badly Vaughan is guilty of 'writing for the trade' as they call it. I have no doubt that by the end of this arc everything will be wrapped up pretty well. But as someone coming off of the crazy action conclusion of an arc and to find myself thrown into the slow-moving nothingness of a beginning of an arc... You have to understand. I HAD TO DIG JUST TO HAVE SPECIFIC EVENTS TO WRITE ABOUT FOR MY REVIEW. Last month I could barely contain all the information I had to give you. This is a problem in my mind. If you want to tell 150-page-sized stories. Do that. Write a series of small "Ex Machina" graphic novels. GO STRAIGHT TO THE 'TRADE'! I'll read them if they're good! Don't split a big story into little parts with a huge imbalance of story elements. Judd Winick does this too, only worse. An issue of meat- followed by an issue of fluff- followed by an issue of meat. An issue of character work- followed by an issue of action- followed by an issue of character work. Is it so hard to build your plot with multiple spikes of rising action? Jeez.

And Harris needs to be more careful. His style leans toward stiffness in the way the characters stand. They need to have a flowing dynamic pose (like he usually does) to look alive.

THE LONG AND SHORTBOX OF IT? This is pretty good, slightly uneven material. I hope BKV has the plan to carry this out smart and exciting and Harris's work will be fluid and striking, like most of "Ex Machina" has been! I'll be reading and reviewing the last four issues here.

UPDATE: 9/20/2oo9

I bought a copy of "Ex Machina" #34 on the street the other day and read it on the train. It is an excellently constructed issue giving us a quick version of the life story of the very interesting character, Commissioner Amy Angotti. And I only paid a buck for it! That is perhaps the single best thing about living in New York. Comic-books sold on the sidewalk. Amazing.

Oh, more importantly, it gives great illumination to me about the scene in which Hundred talks with her. I now see that some long-term threads were added to there, and I enjoyed it more. It made the whole issue feel less... empty.

So my ignorance shouldn't account for the quality of this issue. This is the final story-arc of a four or five year-old series. Not everything is going to make perfect sense to me since I haven't read every issue of the series. I revise my statement to "very good, if slightly uneven material".

That is all.

Looks Like I Was Wrong


The presence of Loki in the image above suggests that this is, in fact, the part of the event that drove JMS off of Thor; I can only hope it's awesome as it looks, and furthermore that it represents more than just a Dark Avengers issue.

Gorga's Looking Forward... (9/16/2oo9)

Hey a little celebration for me because I opened the boxes from Diamond at the store today and didn't fuck anything major up for the first time. YAY for me!

Among the many things I opened and laid out in a complicated process required for my job were the things I plan on buying:

The requisite Spider-Man:
"the Amazing Spider-Man" #605
Well... I am so damn behind on this title I don't know what to say anymore. I've got reading to do children...

"Ex Machina" #45
Issue #44 was so damn cool that I can't wait to read this!


Now I'm very curious about:

Amazing Spider-Man Presents: "Anti-Venom: New Ways To Live" #1
We'll see if Spidey makes an appearance or if it's any good.

"Blackest Night" #3
I'm still interested. I enjoyed both issues out so far of "Blackest Night: Batman".

"Captain America: Reborn" #3
Will Spider-Man pop up? Will this series finally get a reason for existing?

"M.O.D.O.K.: Reign Delay"
M.O.D.O.K. in another comedy. If you read my comments on "Strange Tales" #1, you know what I thought about M.O.D.O.K. in a comedy. Gotta check this out.

Already Tired of Tuesday

This is going to be another really big week for me. Not only are the $2.99 Batman and Robin #4, Fables #88 and Agents of Atlas #11 coming out, but also the $3.99 Captain America Reborn #3, Dark Reign: The List- Daredevil, Thor Annual #1, and Wednesday Comics #11.

If I drop one, it will probably be the Daredevil list issue but- and this is a huge but- Gorga convinced me to buy the Avengers List issue that I railed against in this space last week and it was an excellent purchase (there is a review forthcoming). I was hoping to pick up DMZ #45 this week, after not having picked it up last week, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Same thing with the first issue of that Nomad mini.

Despite its expense, however, it will (with essential Batman, Captain America and Thor purchases) be an excellent week.

Some Long Overdue Opinions

I finally had a chance to take a look at some series I've been curious about as I stumbled across them in the sale bin at The Strand bookstore today.

First:
"Batman" #689 is far superior to "Batman" #690. I know because I bought the last copy at our store. I also read "Batman and Robin" #2. Now I understand where Clare is coming from on the writers and how they treat the concept of Dick Grayson, the original Robin, as the new Batman. Which means when the eventual dialogue comes down about the Batman Reborn books between Clare and Josh I'll have something to say. This is very important. I must have something to say at all times...

So:
1.
"The Unwritten" #1 and #2 were there at the Strand. I perused them thoroughly (not the same thing as reading them) and decided that although I still find the idea intriguing I passed on them. At $1.50 each. What does this tell you?

2.
I finally got to peruse "Take A Chance" #1, which looked kind of like Mark Millar's series "Kick-Ass" but with a female protagonist. This interested me. Female superhero. A rarity. Original superhero stories outside of the Big Two's playground. Also a rarity. Unfortunately, this series from undergrond publishers Dabel Brothers Publishing also disappointed me. It was very, very Nineties. In the worst way possible. Almost as bad as the new god-awful "Mayhem" series by Tyrese Gibson, a male model. Steer as clear as possible from that series.

3.
However, another title was a pleasant surprise. Kevin Smith's new Batman mini-series: "Batman: The Widening Gyre". It. Is. COOL. If you are sick of this Robin-is-now-wearing-the-bat-ears-"Batman-Reborn" stuff? If you miss Dick Grayson as Nightwing? You should have read the first issue of this series! It's also a great intro to the DC Universe if you're only familiar with Batman. In fact, I'd say most especially if you're mostly familiar with the old 60s Batman TV show and you're curious about the more adult Batman comics. Because it's one of those brilliant comics that doesn't ignore the old Silver Age stuff, so much as shine a different light and make it all make sense. Also? It's very funny. And very sexy. Plus it could be interpreted as a sequel to the "Arkham Asylum: Living Hell" mini-series or "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" the graphic novel or both! It's a continuity whore's dream AND it's good. I'll be picking up the next issue I will.