Todd, Matt :: Ex Machina By Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris

Ex Machina Issue 50 Page 30 Writer Brian K. Vaughan Art by Tony Harris

Artists: Tony Harris (All) , Brian K. Vaughan (Writer)

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Ex Machina Issue 50 Page 30 Writer Brian K. Vaughan Art by Tony Harris Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Ex Machina Issue 50 Page 30 Writer Brian K. Vaughan Art by Tony Harris
Artist:	Tony Harris (All)
Artist:	Brian K. Vaughan (Writer)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	389
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	5/16/2022
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Description

I imagine everyone has a story, or stories, they revisit numerous times over their lives, and each time they do, they connect with on a deeper level. The feeling it gives you just closes all the circuits of your imagination. For me, that story is a comic book called Ex Machina. A cautionary tale of the world�s first superhero who becomes Mayor of New York City. Mitchell Hundred, a well-intentioned costumed do-gooder who over the course of the series, loses his ideals to become a craven, political opportunist. Created by writer Brian K Vaughan and Artist Tony Harris and published through DC Comics� Wildstorm imprint from 2004-2010. Over its 50 issues and four annuals, BKV and Harris engineer a riveting political tragedy about wielding power, both political and super, and the cost that power takes on your soul�themes that are more relevant today than ever before. BKV, Harris, Inkers Tom Feister and Jim Clark, and colorist JD Mettler masterfully intertwine the past, present, power, politics, and science fiction together in such an inspired manner as to create a rich tapestry of a comic. With clear-cut storytelling that grounds even the most fantastical elements, Ex Machina uses flashbacks of Mitchell�s time as his alter ego, the Great Machine to provides action that is exciting, and sometimes comical. The series shines in its largely political, dialogue driven scenes. BKV�s dialogue is at its sharpest with this series and Harris �deft character focused art keeps the story moving and compelling, just as exhilarating as the costumed adventure segments. Harris� art is unbelievable, it does an excellent job creating clarity for the reader as we move back and forth between the past and the present. His characters feel real and reflective of the real world we live in. Harris is such a gifted artist, storyteller, and costume designer. I love the color palette JD Mettler uses; the tone of the color choice is unique in that it uses a shade of colors not typically used in comics. In its initial pitch, BKV described Ex Machina as The West Wing meets Unbreakable. I would also include Mad Men (a show that did not exist at the time of the comic�s release). Mitchell Hundred reminds me a lot of Don Draper in how close he keeps his cards to his chest, my comparison to AMC�s Mad Men is not really focused on similarity in content, but in the layered and complex characters much like the cast of the Matthew Weiner series. Like a magician who tells us exactly what they are going to do, which BKV really was as a child, we are given the ending in the first two pages. Mitchell says to his audience �it may look like a comic, but it�s really a tragedy.� Over the series we are lulled into a false, hopeful feeling, believing that maybe, just maybe Mitchell Hundred and his partners, best friend Rick Bradbury, and surrogate father �Kremlin,� will succeed and overcome the external and internal threats to New York City and Mitchell�s administration.
As I am continuing to build my Ex Machina Collection I reached out to the series creators to see if they have any pages available for sale. This was the final page artist and co-creator Tony Harris had available. It an incredibly heartbreaking moment in the series. Mitchell Hundred is a character who guards himself, from the voters in his world and the readers in ours. But even Mitchell�s mother Martha points out �Thirty chapters of good deeds never tells you a man�s whole story.� I love that BKV lets Mitchell have his secrets even beyond the last page of the series. The book is better for it. One question that is asked several times by characters in the book but is never given a definitive answer to, is the question of Mitchell�s sexual orientation. Throughout the series we never see Mitchell in a romantic relationship and several times characters, and the press, think he is gay or flat out ask him, but he never answers the questions or elaborates. It is only one of several secrets regarding Mitchell that his creators Vaughan and Harris never confirm one way or another. When asked about this in an interview with the Huffington Post Vaughan said, �I think a reader's interpretation is much more important than my intent, so I should probably let that aspect of the story speak for itself.� The unanswered question is a brilliant misdirect from the dark secret Mitchell is really hiding (stealing the election). Initially my interpretation, and again this is only my interpretation, was that most likely, Mitchell was bisexual or possibly asexual. The more that I thought about it over my many re-readings, what became clear is that Mitchell�s sexual orientation does not matter. His most passionate infatuation was with power. That revelation gave a deeper understanding of an incredibly complicated character. His relationship with Bradbury was a love that evolved to something more, but never defined in concrete terms. This page is from their final tragic moment together.

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	Matt Todd Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	August 2014
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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