Comic Book Resources

Ex Machina is pretty much the prototypical Vaughanian series in terms of its merits and flaws. It has a great initial concept, characters who seem likeable, and a lot of mysteries to keep you interested. It also moves at a painfully slow pace, the plots become formulaic and predictable within 2-3 arcs, and characters who all curse like sailors from the sewers (and not in the good way, like Preacher). Just like Y and Runaways, I enjoyed Ex Machina for awhile, but had to give it up.

Ex Machina might be better read as a trade than a monthly.

I like it monthly so as long as the artist remains the same.

Y the last man, however, I prefer to read as a trade.

I'm a fan but I do wish I were buying it in trades rather than singles. Maybe someday I'll make the switch.

Its a great concept, just like Y but I find that I forgotten everything that happened in the previous trade by the time I the next one has come out. It has the same quality as a slick well written TV show.

I find Vaughan a very anonymous writer, if you know what I mean. looking at my shelf I see that I have 12 trades by him but I still don't feel that I know what he's about as a writer.

I can definitely see the frustration with the pacing if you're buying singles... waiting a month for an issue that barely advances the plot at all would drive me nuts. Personally, I'm a TV junkie first and foremost, and almost all my comic reading is done in the summer (during reruns), so I'm all about the trades... and I like the series a lot.

Aside from omnipresent profanity (but then again, dese uh Noo Yawkuhs), my problem with EM is that every arc seemed to build to climax that never came. The ride was enjoyable, but the destinations never seemed to be worth it. I gave it up after 15 issues, though I will say that I read better in trades.

His work on RUNAWAYS was much better in that regard. I also liked MYSTIQUE; it was interesting to kind of watch him grow as a writer over the first year of that title. Y just wasn't anything I could get into.

Jesse & Dan K nailed it. Ex Machina turned me off the same way Y did. Vaughn's tics as a writer are so prominent that after reading an initial story arc, everything follows feels almost parodic.

Meh. You're just saying that because it's unashamedly NooYawkian, Bugs Bunny.

I love Ex Mach. Certanly its my fave of all of Vaughn's books (can't get into Y at all). I don't see it as going nowhere, in fact the mystery surrounding what happens is very creepy and keeps me wanting more. Furthermore I love the way Vaughn deftly spins the political commentary he's writing into the overall "superhero" narrative. I find it more...realistic than other political superheor books (say Winick's work) in that there's never an easy end for any of the arcs. I think Vaughn's original pitch summation (West Wing with Superheroes) sums it up, but its less glossy and Pollyannaish than West Wing and that much more compelling because of it. Plus, Tony Harris art. Its like gritty Alex Ross. Very haunting in a creepy American gothic way and a treat for a guy who got into comics again as a (young) adult on Starman. The only draw back for me was the shipping delay and that was pretty much just in the last issue (and certainly notwhere near as bad as say All Star Bats or Planetary or Astrocity). Love the Series. Wildstorm's best.

Counterpoint will be coming in the next couple days.

Probably.

Almost certainty.

Alright, within the month unless I decide there's something else I REALLY want to talk about.

Yeah, MarkAndrew, I figured this would be a nice opening for your piece to react against.

I like Ex Machina a lot, and I think that it reads quite well in trade, which is how I'm picking it up. While Vaughan is "predictable" or "formulaic" in the same sense that Gaiman was while writing arcs for Sandman (almost every arc ended with an anti-climax, rather than a climax), I can forgive that style of writing because it's still very well-done, and in the end, I'm entertained, without my intelligence ever being insulted. Also, the art is fantastic, and it seems like the title is actually gaining steam, rather than losing it, as Y seemed to for a couple of arcs, but I'm only up to March to War at this point.

I would't now how it reads in single issues and honestly don't care. I read it in trades and haven't been dissapointerd once. The only minor bug I ever encountered was when his 'arch-nemesis' was introduced and defeated in the same issue. Built up the whole character, his origin, going towards the climactic battle and then he dies at the end of the story! I had the feeling there was still so much to be done with him. That bugged me a 'lil bit but actually seems like the opposite of the slow build everybody complains about.

Then again, I read 'em in trades...

The political intrigue, well developed and believable characters and complex issues adressed in Ex Machina make it a very enjoyable series to me, and I haven't even mentioned the art yet which fits the series perfectly.

I love Ex Machina - it pisses all over Y from a great height.

I think my problem with the book (when I dropped it around issue 15) was that it was starting to feel like a weekly non-serialized primetime drama.

The thing that bugs me about, let's say Law and Order is that character development is so few and far between. They deal with a different case (or in this case, political situation) ever week (story arc) but so what? What's the point, except for doing it for the sake of doing it?

Now maybe there was more forward progression after I jumped off, but I just wasn't feeling it.

Ex Machina is a great premise executed... well, kind of dully. It contrasts interestingly with Y, which is an idiotic premise executed brilliantly.