Ex Machina #41

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

This is the start of a new arc of Ex Machina, and it's clear that Vaughan is raising the stakes as the title moves into its final stretch.

Mayor Hundred unveils his new plans for dealing with the city's deficit, and (in the less-interesting parts of the book) both January and Pherson seem to be mucking about working to bring Hundred down.

I've always found that the political aspects of this book to be the most interesting, and I like the way that it is set in the recent past. Vaughan pokes fun at the Bush administration's answer to economic uncertainty - to go shopping - and instead lays out his plans to fix the deficit, and the schools, all at the same time. It's an interesting group of suggestions, and I like the wager he is making.

Much of this book felt like filler - both the flashback at the beginning and the speech from the homeless man at the end could have been shortened quite a bit; but this continues to be one of the most interesting books on the stands.