Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days Review by Fleur, 09/02 Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days vol 1 Written: Brian K. Vaughan Art: Tony Harris Publisher: DC Comics/ Wildstorm "Everything good about New York used to be something awful, I guess." "And everything awful used to be something good." Brian K. Vaughan is one of the more popular and prolific writers on the comic scene today. From Marvel's Runaways to Vertigo's Y the Last Man, Vaughan is known for putting out books of a consistently high standard. Wildstorm's Ex Machina is no exception. Ex Machina is the story of Mitchell Hundred, who is literally the god in the machine. Thanks to an incident that he may not contractually talk about, Hundred is able to communicate with machines and electronics. Originally, he used these powers (and a good dash of help from two friends) to become a superhero known as 'The Great Machine' - until realising that 'at best, [he's] been maintaining the status quo - at worst, [he's] been jeopardising lives', and hanging up his home-made flying helmet in favour of running for mayor. It is this side of Ex Machina that gives this book, and in particular, the first trade ("The First Hundred Days"), its literary significance. This is not just the story of another guy who stumbled on powers and tried to 'do good'. It's also a rather hard-hitting sociopolitical commentary on a post-9/11 New York. It's not uncommon for Vaughan to tell a story with this sort of strength and resonance underneath the apparent storyline. In Y the Last Man, underneath the humour, is a rather cynical look at the state of society - at the real consequences of the idea of a matriachal world. Ex Machina, along the same lines, gives us a look at "politics and heroism". At the same time, however, this book can be enjoyed on a more shallow level - the characters are engaging, the plotline fast-paced and intriguing, and there's even some obvious ties to Vaughan's other books, as each time Hundred speaks to machines, we can't help but be reminded of the Runaways commands to the Staff of One. Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days is, above all, a story about point of view. While in Y the Last Man Vaughan tells us about the need for balance, for yin and yang, in Ex Machina he reminds us that life is what we make it. Midway through the first trade, we are shown a piece of artwork - a drawing of Abraham Lincoln, with the word 'nigger' emblazoned across his image. The owner of the gallary displaying this piece informs Hundred that "its meaning is open to interpretation". The painting serves as a meta-icon for the book's message as a whole - Ex Machina is telling us that everything depends on how you look at things. Even the trade's title has a double meaning depending on how you take the word 'Hundred'. This book tells us that everything good came from something awful, and everything awful came from something good, and you see what you want to see. It's an ink blot test in which your answers tell the story. It's a tale where you, and most of the minor characters, can see Hundred as a man who saved lives as the Great Machine, or a man who set more at risk. Characters can see him as the man who stopped the second tower from falling on September the eleventh, or the man who failed to stop the first plane. Ex Machina is a book in which you take out as much or little as you want to. There's a good reason it won 'Best New Series' at the 2005 Eisner Awards - it is, quite simply, quality writing. The first trade is excellent, with sharp art that works perfectly - and an absolutely excellent feature at the back of the trade, revealing the process from staged photographic scenes to completely inked pages. It's well worth a read, and has incredible impact even with its obviously American setting. As a character says, "our generation's been ruined by Cliffs Notes and... director's commentaries. People should learn to come to their own goddamn conclusions about art." It's all in how you look at this book - just get right into it, and see what you think.