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jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Series is begging to show its tread a bit. Also, it's trying too hard with the homophobic slurs to show what dialogue was like back in 2003. Still, it's a well executed tale of a fun concept that I'm glad is ending in two more volumes. Hopefully, it won't wear out its welcome.
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
4.0
The mysteries deepen and the intrigue gets... intrigueier? Is that a word? Whatever. If you've come this far into the Ex Machina world, just know that shit starts to get real in this volume and the twists leading into the endgame are starting to get more pronounced.
ethancf's review against another edition
4.0
Much more scifi/superhero buildup this volume, for better or for worse. It is interesting and engaging, and surprisingly novel, but the series still seems to be directionless which is a problem considering at this point it's more than halfway over. We're building and building and I'm not hopeful that all of this can be satisfyingly completed by the final issue, especially considering how much the story is still relying on flashbacks (still! at this point!).
But really these are minor complaints because the series is still super enjoyable, the politics are well explored if a tad dated, and Hundred is becoming one of Vaughan's best, most developed characters. I love the dynamic between him and most of the secondary characters and that's only gotten better as the series has gone on.
But really these are minor complaints because the series is still super enjoyable, the politics are well explored if a tad dated, and Hundred is becoming one of Vaughan's best, most developed characters. I love the dynamic between him and most of the secondary characters and that's only gotten better as the series has gone on.
shirohige's review against another edition
3.0
En general le pondría un 3.5 y es que Brian K. Vaughan escribe muy bien. Esta es además una serie que mantiene un buen nivel en comparación al volumen anterior ([book:Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 2|6606379]) haciéndola sumamente consistente.
A su vez los temas tratados van siempre inclinados en una dirección con este autor. Vemos algunos personajes exagerados, otros con claras tendencias 'progre', no pueden faltar alusiones al sexo o a las limitantes de la libertad y seguridad. Tópicos que pueden ser bien abordados al tratarse de un cómic dónde la mayor parte del tiempo nos centramos en la labor de ser el alcalde de New York, más que en el pasado súper heroico del mismo.
En este volumen, de hecho, se tratan dos arcos principalmente. El primero 'Smoke , smoke' -mucho más interesante por cierto- trata sobre un falso bombero que se aprovechaba de su uniforme para asaltar casas de ciudadanos a la vez que el alcalde se ve en una encrucijada a la hora de aligerar o no la persecución de los consumidores y traficantes de marihuana. Hecho que afecta directamente a Mitchel Hundreed quien en su pasado como encapuchado capturó a un microtraficante que posteriormente terminaría muerto en la cárcel y que generaría que la madre del mismo se suicidara quemándose a lo bonzo frente a la alcaldía.
El segundo 'Power down' se enfoca un poco más en los orígenes y pérdida de las habilidades de Hundreed y es entretenido, más no al nivel del primer arco.
A su vez los temas tratados van siempre inclinados en una dirección con este autor. Vemos algunos personajes exagerados, otros con claras tendencias 'progre', no pueden faltar alusiones al sexo o a las limitantes de la libertad y seguridad. Tópicos que pueden ser bien abordados al tratarse de un cómic dónde la mayor parte del tiempo nos centramos en la labor de ser el alcalde de New York, más que en el pasado súper heroico del mismo.
En este volumen, de hecho, se tratan dos arcos principalmente. El primero 'Smoke , smoke' -mucho más interesante por cierto- trata sobre un falso bombero que se aprovechaba de su uniforme para asaltar casas de ciudadanos a la vez que el alcalde se ve en una encrucijada a la hora de aligerar o no la persecución de los consumidores y traficantes de marihuana. Hecho que afecta directamente a Mitchel Hundreed quien en su pasado como encapuchado capturó a un microtraficante que posteriormente terminaría muerto en la cárcel y que generaría que la madre del mismo se suicidara quemándose a lo bonzo frente a la alcaldía.
El segundo 'Power down' se enfoca un poco más en los orígenes y pérdida de las habilidades de Hundreed y es entretenido, más no al nivel del primer arco.
mrpink44's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars. Picked up towards the end as we got into more of the large, overarching story - the stuff I'm really interested in. The small political arcs are ok, but nothing outstanding. I've yet to see the hype - just doesn't have me "itching" to read the next issue to find out what happens next. I'm tempted to give up on this title and not sure if I'll read the next volume. The end extras of Tony Daniels art work and process was great. I normally don't care much for the extras, but his pencils and inks are truly a joy to look at.
ethancf's review against another edition
4.0
Much more scifi/superhero buildup this volume, for better or for worse. It is interesting and engaging, and surprisingly novel, but the series still seems to be directionless which is a problem considering at this point it's more than halfway over. We're building and building and I'm not hopeful that all of this can be satisfyingly completed by the final issue, especially considering how much the story is still relying on flashbacks (still! at this point!).
But really these are minor complaints because the series is still super enjoyable, the politics are well explored if a tad dated, and Hundred is becoming one of Vaughan's best, most developed characters. I love the dynamic between him and most of the secondary characters and that's only gotten better as the series has gone on.
But really these are minor complaints because the series is still super enjoyable, the politics are well explored if a tad dated, and Hundred is becoming one of Vaughan's best, most developed characters. I love the dynamic between him and most of the secondary characters and that's only gotten better as the series has gone on.
dereksilva's review against another edition
2.0
I expected a lot more from this volume.
First of all, let me give my opinions on the series thus far. I was unimpressed with the first volume but the premise was interesting enough to keep me going. The second volume was a huge improvement. There were new facets to the story and intriguing characters. I expected that Vaughan was building steam and would continue on with the strong from volume two. I fully expected to enjoy volume three.
Unfortunately, nothing really happened in volume three. Yes, there was some backstory on Hundred and Bradbury, but it wasn't enough to make this whole volume worthwhile. There was a weird new character who, some might argue, made Hundred's super powers more interesting. But the character said so little and was around for such a brief time that nothing truly noteworthy came from his cameo. Maybe the next volume will further explore that character and his role in Hundred's powers, but it seems just as likely to me that the next volume doesn't feature the character at all. What happened to the mysterious symbols that were killing people in volume two? I don't know because there was no mention of them in volume three.
On a more technical note, I'm not a fan of Vaughan's writing. It's clunky and unnatural at times. Hundred's powers also seem to be getting weirder. I mean, there's a point when he asks traffic cameras to delete all footage that features him and his friends. What? I get that he can talk to machines but that's pushing the line. Do his powers also make machines sentient enough to carry out commands like searching through footage and deleting the appearance of a few people?
That might not be so crazy though if we knew literally anything about Hundred's powers. I'm now about 30 issues into Ex-Machina and basically the only thing I know about Hundred's powers is that he talk to machines. I don't know anything about how they perceive him and I don't understand why he has those powers. Again, the new character kinda seemed like he would help to clarify something. In the end, he just made some vaguely interesting remarks.
The artwork was decent enough, though I don't think the artists always captured the full emotion of scenes. Sometime the characters are just staring off into space instead of showing true emotion. I also can't help noticing that as the series goes on, Mitchell Hundred is looking more and more like a generic Disney prince. It's getting to point where he's just too fake-looking for me to look at.
So in summary, Vaughan had built up some great momentum in volume two. I was excited to see him continue that momentum. Instead, Vaughan slowed everything down. He didn't mention the odd signs from volume two. He introduced a new character, but didn't do much with that character. The writing didn't improve and art continued to be just good enough (though the colors are nice if that counts for anything). I expect that we'll get some bombshell about Hundred's powers in the future of this series. Unfortunately, the potential of a bombshell just isn't enough incentive to keep me reading. I'll consider getting the next volume over the next few days but I think my Ex-Machina days are over.
First of all, let me give my opinions on the series thus far. I was unimpressed with the first volume but the premise was interesting enough to keep me going. The second volume was a huge improvement. There were new facets to the story and intriguing characters. I expected that Vaughan was building steam and would continue on with the strong from volume two. I fully expected to enjoy volume three.
Unfortunately, nothing really happened in volume three. Yes, there was some backstory on Hundred and Bradbury, but it wasn't enough to make this whole volume worthwhile. There was a weird new character who, some might argue, made Hundred's super powers more interesting. But the character said so little and was around for such a brief time that nothing truly noteworthy came from his cameo. Maybe the next volume will further explore that character and his role in Hundred's powers, but it seems just as likely to me that the next volume doesn't feature the character at all. What happened to the mysterious symbols that were killing people in volume two? I don't know because there was no mention of them in volume three.
On a more technical note, I'm not a fan of Vaughan's writing. It's clunky and unnatural at times. Hundred's powers also seem to be getting weirder. I mean, there's a point when he asks traffic cameras to delete all footage that features him and his friends. What? I get that he can talk to machines but that's pushing the line. Do his powers also make machines sentient enough to carry out commands like searching through footage and deleting the appearance of a few people?
That might not be so crazy though if we knew literally anything about Hundred's powers. I'm now about 30 issues into Ex-Machina and basically the only thing I know about Hundred's powers is that he talk to machines. I don't know anything about how they perceive him and I don't understand why he has those powers. Again, the new character kinda seemed like he would help to clarify something. In the end, he just made some vaguely interesting remarks.
The artwork was decent enough, though I don't think the artists always captured the full emotion of scenes. Sometime the characters are just staring off into space instead of showing true emotion. I also can't help noticing that as the series goes on, Mitchell Hundred is looking more and more like a generic Disney prince. It's getting to point where he's just too fake-looking for me to look at.
So in summary, Vaughan had built up some great momentum in volume two. I was excited to see him continue that momentum. Instead, Vaughan slowed everything down. He didn't mention the odd signs from volume two. He introduced a new character, but didn't do much with that character. The writing didn't improve and art continued to be just good enough (though the colors are nice if that counts for anything). I expect that we'll get some bombshell about Hundred's powers in the future of this series. Unfortunately, the potential of a bombshell just isn't enough incentive to keep me reading. I'll consider getting the next volume over the next few days but I think my Ex-Machina days are over.
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