Rage Against The Machines

Deciding on the the right comics to pick up ever month can be a very daughting task, but there is one comic that everyone should be picking upwithout question, Ex Machina. Written by the inquisitive Brian K. Vaughan (Y the Last Man, Pride of Baghdad) and illustrated by the truely unique Tony Harris (Starman), Ex Machina is quickly becoming the best comic
currently published.

The post 9/11 drama tells the story of New York mayor Mitchell Hundred, the worlds only superhero who gave up his title as the Great Machine to serve his country within the system. As the Great Machine, Hundred is able to communicate to any type of machinary, simple or complex, and have it obey his ever command. In Ex Machina's continuity, the Great Machine is even responsible for preventing the second tower from falling on 9/11 by rerouting the terrorist plane with his ability.

However, Ex Machina's genius is that Hundred gives up his superhero mantle, even though he remains to have remarkable powers, and becomes a sort of anti-spiderman, an individual who gives up lone vigilantism and publicly acknowledges his powers, while serving society thourgh the established government. Yeah, spiderman recently tried a similar thing but we'll see how long that lasts.

Ex Machina also has a remarkable interesting cast of side characters, ecspecially Hundred's mentor Kremlin, a boisterous Russian immigrant who wants the hero to return as the Great Machine. On top of that, the series is timely and deals with many serious political issues like gay marriages and school vouchers in a non-partisan way. Obviously, this isn't your average comic book.

I know many of you regular blog readers are already reading the series, but for those of you who haven't started it, now is the perfect time. Ex Machina just started a new story arc with issue 26 called Power Down where mayor Hundred suddenly loses his ability to communicate with machines in the middle of a city wide blackout.

Vaughan claims the series will end after fifty issues so get it while its hot.

-Jon