Ex Machina: Tag (udgave 2005)

Ex Machina: Tag (issues #6-10) is the second installment in Brian K. Vaughan’s Eisner-winning Ex Machina series, a strange blend of Watchmen-style superhero adventure and West Wing-esque political drama. If you liked the first volume, you’ll like the second, because it’s pretty much more of the same.

The primary plot of Tag involves Mayor Hundred’s decision to officiate the wedding of a gay couple (this is set in 2002 and written in 2005, well before NY’s 2011 legalization of same-sex marriage). And despite being a superhero comic, this really is as good as any of the political drama Sorkin dreamed up for Bartlet & Co. NYC Mayor-and-ex-Superhero Hundred, portrayed as ambiguously gay himself, cautiously capitalizes on the goodwill generated in the aftermath of 9/11 and an assassination attempt on himself, all while deftly balancing the all-too-real political landscape of early 2000s America. As the introduction by the Wachowskis affirms, this really is an excellent exploration of contentious civil rights issues in a way mainstream comic publishers could never dream of doing.

The actual superhero part of the plot continues to be interesting but not all that exhilarating. There’s a mystery, government conspiracy, shadowy figures, alien writings. Stop me if you’ve seen these X-Files episodes before. It actually is a very good narrative, but it’s relegated to sideshow for much of the comic. ( )

Vaughan is amazing. His dialogue just flows AND it's cool witty and funny without sounding pretentious or scripted. You're reading this comic and you're just "right there" hanging out with the characters. They're real people. They're actually better than real people, they're really interesting.

In the meantime, he attacks conservatives, and then immediately after attacks liberals. He attacks with logic. Same-sex marriage is a topic and he says, government should perform/regulate "civil unions" for anyone who wants to be legally bound to someone, marriage is connected to religion/spirituality, so if you want to get married talk to your priest, rabbi, witch doctor, or whomever you look to for "a more spiritual union". Makes perfect sense.

Looking forward to more of this. ( )

Not as good as the first trade, but still better than a lot of comics out there. ( )

This volume was interesting although I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first one. It still goes back and forth between the past and the present and in the present it rocks between the political and the superhero/scifi stuff. Something I'll try to pick up again in the future. ( )

This volume was interesting although I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first one. It still goes back and forth between the past and the present and in the present it rocks between the political and the superhero/scifi stuff. Something I'll try to pick up again in the future. ( )