Ex Machina (comics)

Ex Machina

Cover art for Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days
Art by Tony Harris
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics/Wildstorm
Schedule Monthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre Superhero, political drama
Publication date August 2004 to August 2010
Number of issues 50 (plus 4 specials)
Main character(s) Mitchell Hundred
Rick Bradbury
Ivan "Kremlin" Tereshkov
Dave Wylie
Creative team
Writer(s) Brian K. Vaughan
(Garth Ennis for 2 pages in issue #40)
Penciller(s) Tony Harris
(Chris Sprouse (Ex Machina Special #1-2)) John Paul Leon (Ex Machina Special #3-4,
Jim Lee for 2 pages in issue #40)
Inker(s) Tom Feister (#1-26)
Jim Clark (#27-46)
Tony Harris(#47-50)
Karl Story (Ex Machina Special #1-2)
Colorist(s) JD Mettler
Collected editions
The First Hundred Days ISBN 1-4012-0612-3
Tag ISBN 1401206263
Fact v. Fiction ISBN 1401209882
March to War ISBN 1401209971
Smoke Smoke ISBN 1401213227
Power Down ISBN 1401214983
Ex Cathedra ISBN 1401218598
Dirty Tricks ISBN 1401225195
Ring out the Old ISBN 1401226949
Term Limits ISBN 1401228364

Ex Machina is an American creator-owned comic book series created by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris, and published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint.

The series details the life of Mitchell Hundred (also known as The Great Machine), the world's first and only superhero, who, in the wake of his actions on 9/11, is elected Mayor of New York City. The story is set during Hundred's term in office, and interwoven with flashbacks to his past as the Great Machine. Through this, the series explores both the political situations Hundred finds himself in, and the mysteries surrounding his superpowers.

Publication history

Writer Brian K. Vaughan signing copies of the book at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

Ex Machina launched in 2004 as part of DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. The series ended in August 2010 with issue fifty.

The title of the comic comes from the Latin phrase 'deus ex machina', and is also a reference to Hundred's superhero persona, the Great Machine, in that he is now an 'ex-Machine'. In the first issue, Mitchell explains that he chose the name "Great Machine" based on a quote about society by Thomas Jefferson. Accordingly, one of the series' recurring themes is the tendency of citizens to become overly reliant on their government and constantly expect it to save them.

Vaughan has said that the comic was "born out of my anger with what passes for our current political leadership (on both sides of the aisle)".[1]

Vaughan has admitted seeing the series as a means to explore real-world contemporary politics as well, but states that discussing themes overtly is not something he prefers.[2]

Characters

Fictional timeline

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Post-2008

Collected editions

Ex Machina has been collected in the following trade paperbacks:

Title Material collected ISBN
Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days Ex Machina #1-5 ISBN 1-4012-0612-3
Ex Machina Vol. 2: Tag Ex Machina #6-10 ISBN 1-4012-0626-3
Ex Machina Vol. 3: Fact V. Fiction Ex Machina #11-16 ISBN 1-4012-0988-2
Ex Machina Vol. 4: March to War Ex Machina #17-20 and Ex Machina Special #1-2 ISBN 1-4012-0997-1
Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke Smoke Ex Machina #21-25 ISBN 1-4012-1322-7
Ex Machina Vol. 6: Power Down Ex Machina #26-29 and Inside the Machine Special ISBN 1-4012-1498-3
Ex Machina Vol. 7: Ex Cathedra Ex Machina #30-34 ISBN 1-4012-1859-8
Ex Machina Vol. 8: Dirty Tricks Ex Machina #35-39 and Ex Machina Special #3 ISBN 1-4012-2519-5
Ex Machina vol. 9: Ring Out the Old Ex Machina #40-44 and Ex Machina Special #4 ISBN 1-4012-2694-9
Ex Machina Vol. 10: Term Limits Ex Machina #45-50 ISBN 1-4012-2836-4

In addition, the series is being released in deluxe hardcovers, the first of which was released on July 15, 2008.[4]

Title Material collected ISBN
Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition Book One Ex Machina #1-11 ISBN 1-4012-1814-8
Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition Book Two Ex Machina #12-20 and Ex Machina Special #1-2 ISBN 1-4012-2677-9
Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition Book Three Ex Machina #21-29, Ex Machina Special #3 and Inside the Machine Special ISBN 1-4012-2800-3
Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition Book Four Ex Machina #30-40 ISBN 1-4012-2845-3
Ex Machina: The Deluxe Edition Book Five Ex Machina #41-50 and Ex Machina Special #4 ISBN 1-4012-2999-9

Awards

Ex Machina won the 2005 Eisner Award for Best New Series.

Film

On 14 July 2005, New Line Cinema announced that they picked up the rights to make a film adaptation.[5]

On 17 August 2012, Tony Harris stated that he and Vaughan had reacquired the rights to the film adaptation.[6]

Notes

References

External links

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