At the recommendation of the Bard, I bought the new Ex Machina graphic novel. The basic concept of the comic is that the world's first (and, as far as we can tell, only) superhero was from New York. After he'd been at the game for a few years, after he'd saved one of the Twin Towers from attack, he realized the same thing that so many superheroes in other superhero universes are realizing in this day and age: he wasn't making things better, he was only helping to maintain the status quo.
So he retired as a hero and ran for mayor of New York. And he won.
The book's very well executed. Brian Vaughan's writing is quite good, especially the dialogue; every character has a unique voice and way of speaking, and it really comes through clearly. It's all very natural, too; very real. As it should be, because it's very much a story about a guy who's the mayor of New York. The fact that he used to be a superhero is a big part of that, but really he's just a guy who's the mayor of New York, and that shows. There are some thing I'd have done differently with pacing, but isn't that always the way?
Tony Harris' art has changed a little since he was on Starman. In that book, the characters were all sharp, a little bit angular in their design. It served as a very nice counterpoint to the smooth, curving lines and art deco style of the ever-present background of the city in which they lived. In Ex Machina, on the other hand, the city isn't as important to the story - it's not a character itself - so we don't see quite as much of it. Instead, the characters are a little softer, a little less angular, but with the same use of crisp lines that Harris always has. Both styles fit their respective books very well.
The only thing I don't like, and this is more of a criticism levelled at graphic novels in general than at Ex Machina, is that there's no introduction. There was a while, when only certain comics were being collected into books, that almost every one of them had an introduction of some sort. Sometimes the comic company hired somebody big (Sandman was introduced by the likes of Harlan Ellison, Gene Wolfe, Clive Barker and Stephen King) and sometimes it was just by the author.
But now that pretty much every mainstream comic that exists is being collected into a trade, introductions seem on their way out, except for big projects, and I miss the little peek behind the curtain or under the hood. I miss the stories about the stories and I miss the little bits of praise from unlikely sources (my favorite surprise still being Bruce Campbell's introduction to Danger Girl). I miss introductions.
Comments (10)
seems interesting im not a big fan of graphic novels not owning any but one i read thanks to a friend was the one about the watchmen where one of the superheroes comes to a similar conclusion and engineers a plan to save the world from itself with deadly consecuences for a lot of innocent people....
Posted by gus | January 26, 2005 12:53 PM
Posted on January 26, 2005 12:53
Is this something that you'd recommend?
Posted by Marc | January 26, 2005 7:42 PM
Posted on January 26, 2005 19:42
Gus: Yup, I've got Watchmen. Good stuff. Among the first of its kind.
Marc: How do you mean recommend? I think it's worth reading if you're the sort of person who likes reading good comics, yeah. But if you don't really have a lot of exposure to comics there are things I'd recommend more. (Not in a "read this first so you can understand" sense, just in a "yeah, Ex Machina's pretty good but this stuff's better" sense.)
Posted by Jason | January 26, 2005 8:57 PM
Posted on January 26, 2005 20:57
I was thinking more along the lines of "I read PvP, Penny Arcade, and Get Fuzzy." I've read a few graphic novels and followed a few comics in the past. Most of the things I read in the comic realms can be considered "crap" though.
Thanks for the advice.
Posted by Marc | January 27, 2005 9:39 AM
Posted on January 27, 2005 09:39
Well, Marc, it really depends on what you consider "crap" versus "good" and what genres you like.
I know you're a "funny" comic fan. I'd never recommend Sandman to you. It's fucking brilliant, but not really your thing.
Ex Machina might be a bit more accessable to you, and you might like some of the characterization, but it isn't really a funny book. It's got some jokes in it, some funny parts, but it's not about humor. I'd probably put Planetary, Transmetropolitan, Astro City and the first few books of Starman in the same category. I'd recommend any of them to you if you're feeling the desire for a comic more serious than a funny strip and better done than the latest spandex book.
As for those comic strip thingies, I'm not a fan of PvP and have never read enough of Get Fuzzy to decide if I like it or not. Penny Arcade, though, is far from "crap." It's pretty intricate (in the way the strips and the newsposts are so often intertwined) and quite clever.
For "funny" I can recommend Something Positive and Questionable Content. They're funny.
In the end, of course, the only judgement of worth versus crap is whether or not you enjoy it. It doesn't matter how good a comic is, if you don't enjoy it, it's worthless to you. The theory, though, is that a well done, literate, intelligent comic is inherently more enjoyable than one that isn't.
Posted by Jason | January 27, 2005 4:34 PM
Posted on January 27, 2005 16:34
Remember, Marc is the one who isn't really into symbolism in writing. Keep that in mind when posting recommendations.
Posted by Erik | January 28, 2005 6:00 AM
Posted on January 28, 2005 06:00
Hence my non-recommendation of Sandman. I've got it covered. Yo.
Posted by Jason | January 28, 2005 8:56 AM
Posted on January 28, 2005 08:56
I totally agree with the line on introductions. I even go further then just an introduction but full writers/artists/project manager/etc writing pages and pages of insight throughout their works. I always want to get more behind the the work and know 'why' they coloured something a particular way, or why a character's name is so, where influences came from and so on.
The more information the better!
Posted by Lain | January 30, 2005 3:29 PM
Posted on January 30, 2005 15:29
I'm about half way with you, Lain. There's a bit of fun to the whys and wherefores. It's why people listen to commentary tracks on DVDs.
But at the same time the illusion can break when you go backstage. I'm very concerned about craft, and I can't read a book or a comic or watch good tv these days without thinking about dialogue, imagery, composition, &c (that is to say without mining it for tips and ideas), but I never want to be more concerned about the craft of something than I am about enjoying it.
Posted by Jason | January 30, 2005 11:09 PM
Posted on January 30, 2005 23:09
And in this, Jason, you find Wordsworth's problem, and goal. You have matured into an adult, you see things as more complex and look to understand them rather than simply to accept. You are beginning to realize that this is a problem, and thus want to ensure that you can still return to the state of a child in which you accept things at face value for their inherent beauty rather than actual worth.
This is, incidentally, why I'm enjoying these Jack Kirby TPBs. All the enjoyment of reading Jack Kirby without feeling like I shelled out thirty or fourty bucks for a whole lot of exclamation marks.
Incidentally, my recomendation on where to start on TPBs is "Queen & Country" by Greg Rucka. Because it requires no knowledge of superheroes or comics going in. You just sit back and read a really good espionage/action story that also focuses primarily on the characters themselves. I similarly recommend his "Whiteout" books (both in TPB form).
If you're looking for a nice bit of social commentary, once again without baggage, try to find a copy of Brian Wood's "Channel Zero". Though...considering how America's going these days, maybe it'd be better if you don't. Its a scary look at the future.
Posted by Bard | January 31, 2005 10:54 PM
Posted on January 31, 2005 22:54