“Dirty Tricks" (part 1)

Plot: Mayor Hundred and the main story line get back on track.

Summary: Every cover of Ex Machina has the label “Suggested for Mature Readers”. This could be a bit misleading. Most comics with this warning usually come with an extra helping of intense violence, some swears and/or partial nudity making the “mature readers” the same audience getting some extra bang for their buck. This is fine; The Boys is suggested for mature readers even though it really just channels every 14 year old boy’s id fantasy. The Boys is smart, funny, clever and a blast to read. But, let’s face it…“Mature”…Nah!

Ex Machina has violence; brief, sharp, intense flashes of brutality. Ex Machina has foul language; Mayor Hundred, the city engineer turned super powered vigilante turned Mayor, swears like a sailor as do most of his advisors. Ex Machina even has nudity. But the misleading edge to the “Suggested for Mature Readers” label is that Ex Machina handles mature subject matter and adult issues in a deft, entertaining and realistic way. The violence makes you flinch in a way that Superman getting punched through a wall never does, the swearing is part of a very naturalistic dialogue, and the nudity is never gratuitous. Yes, Mitchell Hundred has a super power; he can talk to machines. He was the costumed vigilante “The Great Machine” until he saved one of the towers on 9/11. Hundred decided that to be truly effective he should drop the costume and wear a suit and tie and run for office. As a pitch for a comic, the story idea of “The Mayor deals with the divided public opinion on gay marriage” might not be the catchiest, but Vaughn and Co. almost always deliver an engaging, beautiful looking and, above all, mature story.

Recently Ex Machina has wandered a little bit. A series of stand alone stories focusing on the supporting characters has left main plot threads dangling and kept Hundred out of the spotlight. Those issues were great in of themselves but when Mitchell was told that he was destined to be the president of the United States several issues back you wanted to have the story get underway. The first issue of “Dirty Tricks" does just that. Mitchell has writer’s block. His chief of staff tells him she always knew he’d become president. January, his intern, is a woman dedicated to destroying Hundred any way she can. She is working with Hundred’s former mentor (now enemy) Kremlin to destroy him politically and has just found something that might do it. And some girl dressed like an S&M super villain has just based jumped off the remaining tower with a parachute packing a politically charged message. Suffice to say that, judging from the message, she’s not a republican.

Keep in mind that in the Ex Machina timeline it’s 2004, although it’s no accident that there is a story arc dealing with the GOP convention and presidential election running in 2008. That can be a little disorienting. Mitchell Hundred and the other characters come across so grounded in current events and the majority of storylines revolve around post 9/11 America that it feels up to the minute. Most comics aim for a timeless quality (beyond the pop culture references) Ex Machina strives to be about a specific time, the one we’re living in right now.

Even if you don’t care about the politics and logistics of running the greatest city in the world, the political issues this book grapples with or the intelligent, thoughtful writing in each issue you should care about the art.

Harris, Clark, Mettler and Fletcher create a beautiful, striking book every month (or so). It’s fascinating how this book can look so stylized and realistic at the same time. The faces and body language of the characters are so nuanced and the “sets” are lit cinematically. But the realistic material is juxtaposed against bright strong colors in the background giving the whole work a vibrant almost hyper-real quality. It’s a beautiful book to just look at.

Final Word: If you haven’t been reading Ex Machina now might be a good time to start. With a new story arc underway you can jump on with little trouble but odds are once your hooked you’ll be buying the trades anyway. Just don’t be thrown by the “Suggested for Mature Readers” label, it actually is for adults.

BONUS: There is a sneak preview of the Lost Boys – “Reign of Frogs” in the back of Ex Machina. I don’t know what to make of this. The story is a bridge between the two Lost Boys movies and focuses on the Frog brothers (Cory Feldman and some other kid). Cory’s character still dresses like Rambo and he and his brother are now sword wielding pro vampire killers. Strange that comic relief characters have gotten so serious.

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