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Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days by Brian K. Vaughan, illustrated by Tony Harris
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In recent years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura have both parlayed unusual types of fame into political careers; they exchanged cartoon-like personas for power ties and governor’s mansions. This idea is the stepping-off point for Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris' Ex Machina, a great new comics series that tells of a truly unusual rise to power. Having gained the strange ability to talk to machinery in an unexplained (and now classified) accident, civil engineer Mitchell Hundred once strapped on a jetpack and became the Big Apple’s first real-life super hero. Facing the sort of derisive reactions one would expect from New Yorkers, he cut his high-flying career sort and made a run for mayor in the wake of September 11. The story of Hundred’s time in office is a little bit “Spider-Man” but mostly "West Wing." It flirts with super hero elements, but focuses most on the political maneuverings in and around City Hall. Mayor Hundred is an immensely likable protagonist, mixing a genuine desire to do good with snappy impatience at the arcane codes of politics and bureaucracy. ("You said we've got a 'thing,'” he quizzes his chief of staff. “Is that code for subpoena or press leak?") And he’s surrounded by a great crew, including a tough-as-nails woman police commissioner, his outspoken black deputy mayor, and his thoroughly “New Yawk” head of security, an old buddy from his super hero days. Brian K. Vaughn is a great young writer who delivers quick, witty dialogue, and illustrator Tony Harris renders fantastic facial expressions and gestures for this diverse cast of characters. Together, they produce an engaging story of American politics that delves into crime, free speech, and what it means to be a hero in this day and age. Ex Machina stands with Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers as a creative and provocative artistic response to the altered landscape of our post-September 11th world. It’s a truly well-told story, a heartfelt love letter to the people and geography of New York City, who continue to respond to tragic loss with sass and moxie. Review by Mark Bradshaw, June 28, 2005 Read Mark’s review of Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0405-005.html
Read Bruce’s review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0405-006.html
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