Thought Bubble Anthology 2012

Written by Lucia Harris, Pete Doree, Skottie Young, Gail Simone, Richard Starkings, Matthew Sheret, Emma Vieceli, Ivan Brandon, Clark Burscough, Steve Reynolds, Martin Simpson, Ben Haith, Stephen Mooney, Dave Johnson, Lee Barnett, Warren Ellis, Kate Beaton, Chris Lackey, JG Roshell, and Fiona Staples
Art by Tony Harris, Sean Phillips, Skottie Young, Tula Lotay, Boo Cook, Kristyna Baczynski, Emma Vieceli, Leigh Gallagher, Richard Hughes, Steve Reynolds, Martin Simpson, Ben Haith, Stephen Mooney, Dave Johnson, Ollie Redding, Kate Beaton, Chris Lackey, Gabriel Bautista, and Fiona Staples

I guess it's the season for anthology comics, as the week after Vertigo's newest one hits, and the CBLDF Liberty Annual, we get the second Though Bubble Anthology - the collection sold to celebrate the Leeds Comic Art Festival in England.

This book is different from most anthologies, in that it is formatted as a folded newspaper tabloid, providing each page with a lot more space than a regularly-sized comic, and it's printed on wonderful newsprint, which always makes me feel nostalgic for the old days.

As with any project like this, which consists mostly of one- or two-pagers, the contents are a pretty mixed bag.  There are some big names here, but also a number of lesser-known (at least in North America) creators, and some up-and-comers who won a contest to be published here.

My favourite piece in this book is cover artist extraordinaire Dave Johnson's memoir about meeting Bob Layton in embarrassing circumstances.  I also enjoyed Pete Doree and Sean Phillips's memoir about collecting and swapping comics as children.  Gail Simone gives us a cool strip (with Tula Lotay, the only artist who appears twice in this book) about superheroes, as they would have been imagined in Victorian times.

I was surprised to find a multi-page story that crosses Richard Starkings's Elephantmen series with Strontium Dog, the long-running British series.  I was also impressed by Due Returns, a story by Matthew Sheret and Kristyna Baczynski, which reminded me of Borges's love of libraries.

In all, this is a very enjoyable little collection.  I'm pleased to see that this book is going to be an annual event.

Ex Machina #50

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

When Ex Machina started back in 2004, it really stood out on the comics stands.  On the surface, it was a superhero book, telling of the adventures of The Great Machine, the hero of 9/11 (he stopped one of the airplanes, thereby saving one of the twin towers, although the other still collapsed).  The thing is, by the time the story opened, The Great Machine had hung up the jetpack, and was instead taking office as Mayor of New York.

What followed, over a stellar fifty-issue run, was what could be the first truly political comic.  As Mayor, Mitchell Hundred sounded off on any number of controversial issues, such as gay marriage, abortion, terrorism, and others.  The book was squarely grounded in New York City, and incredibly smart.  In the background, there were always hints of a threat from the interdimensional beings that gave him his powers, but this book was about city politics first, and Hundred's relationships with friends, family, and employees second.  And I think that's why I've enjoyed this book as much as I have over the years.

The last few issues, where Vaughan was rushing to get the Suzanne Padilla threat from beyond plot over with, kind of lost their focus on Hundred and his people, so this issue was a huge treat.  In it, Mitchell basically deals with the consequences of the craziness that happened, including the legal ramifications of his putting his superhero suit back on.  Hundred's one of those teflon kind of politicians, so in no time, he's back on his feet serving as Ambassador to the UN, something that had been hinted at before.

This issue is full of surprising character moments, from Bradbury's drunken revelation to Kremlin and Mitchell's last conversation.  Some of the biggest surprises of all come from seeing where Hundred's political career takes him, which I'm sure will have lots of fans talking, but I found it made perfect sense, as well as giving the book one last jolt.

In the end, this was a pretty experimental book, which can be considered a huge success.  Vaughan's writing has been great, and Tony Harris, who was an amazing artist when the series began, has become even better.  This issue is absolutely gorgeous.  I can't wait to see what these two are going to be up to next (hopefully soon).

Ex Machina #49

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

In the penultimate issue of Ex Machina, Mayor Hundred suits up as the Great Machine to track down Suzanne Padilla, and end her threat to the world.  There are going to be some pretty big implications of Hundred using his powers so publicly, but Vaughan is saving them for the last issue.

As always, this book is quick and witty, and features incredible artwork from Tony Harris.  I have liked this title from the very beginning; it's mix of politics with super hero-ing has always been unique and interesting, and felt much more grounded in the real world than other comic books.

It's great that Vaughan has been able to play out the story as he has always intended, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it ends.

Ex Machina #48

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

What really makes this comic work for me is that, with all the hell that is breaking loose in Hundred's life, Vaughan still finds some time to squeeze some politics into the story. Suzanne Padilla continues in her plans to wreck havoc in New York, and Mitchell discovers that she has killed someone close to him. At the same time, he gets into an argument with Wylie about their political ambitions.

This comics strength has always been in its balance of superheroics with municipal politics, and as Vaughan moves ever closer to his big finish, it's nice to see that he is not going to be ignoring that aspect of the story.

This is (I think) the second issue where Harris is inking his own art, and it continues to look quite different from his previous work, in a very good way. I don't know if that is contributing to the length of time between issues, but with so little left in the series, I'm okay with it coming out in dribs and drabs, as I'm going to miss this book when it's gone.

Ex Machina #47

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

Immediately upon opening this comic, I thought that there had been a change in the art team. It was still obviously Tony Harris, but I expected to see a new colourist or perhaps an inker pitch hitting. According to the credits, things are status quo, yet Harris's art looks different in this issue; more finished and textured than usual. As much as I'm a fan of his work normally, I think it looks fantastic here.

As this book moves closer to its conclusion, big things are happening. One character I was quite fond of makes his or her exit in this issue, and it's something that is going to have a huge effect on Mitchell when he finds out about it. The finale for this book is going to be massive.

At the same time, Vaughan has not lost what makes this book so special. There's a great scene where Hundred and Bradbury are all caught up in the main plot, and are slinking around Gracie Mansion in super-hero mode, when they are interrupted by Mitchell's lawyer. Instantly, he turns back into a politician, and the abortion pill debate continues. It's nice work.

Ex Machina #46

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris
There are only a few issues left in this series, and I figure that by now, people who like it are all reading it, and those that aren't familiar with it are not about to start picking it up at this late date. Which is too bad, because Vaughan is sneaking one last political issue (abortion) into his big invasion story arc.

Padilla confronts Hundred in this issue, and we learn a tiny bit more about his ray gun.

War Heroes #3

Written by Mark Millar
Art by Tony Harris

It's hard to say which book was the biggest surprise this week: Planetary or War Heroes. Not because the content is shocking, but because, you know, the book exists. Granted, Planetary was something that was always promised to come out, whereas I had just assumed that Millar hadn't been able to sell the movie rights for War Heroes, and therefore abandoned it.

It's been more than a year since the last issue of this book came out, and I had pretty much forgotten about it. It's a decent enough comic. It seems that some Syrians (why is the US in Syria? Did it have to do with protecting Lebanese democracy? Does anyone even remember?) have got super-power pills now too, and they destroy some American soldiers and their stuff. This leads to the characters I vaguely remember being developed in the first two issues realizing that their plan isn't going to work anymore.

I like Tony Harris. I'm just not sure if I like him enough to continue with this book in a year or so when issue four comes out...

Ex Machina #45

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

When this title is finished, it's going to be issues like this that I miss the most. Vaughan excels at starting new arcs. This issue addresses some big stuff - the white box Padilla begins to make her move, with the end goal of apparently killing everyone, while Hundred talks to Bradbury, the Commissioner, and Wylie, while they play catch, and break a window in Gracie Mansion.

Vaughan also starts some discussion of abortion, and whether or not the Mayor should weigh in on that most decisive of issues. Seeing as the gay marriage thing was generally accepted, it would be interesting to see how people would react to a mayor who provides women with abortion pills. I often wish Vaughan would ditch the world-threatening stuff, and just write about the issues.

Five issues left, and this title is as good as when it started.

Ex Machina #44

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris

This is probably the least political issue of this series yet, as Mitchell heads into the sewers to confront his old enemy Pherson, only to find a purple cosmic cube wearing an old school diving suit. A lot more is explained about Hundred's origin, and the story keeps ramping up to its impending conclusion.

More interesting is the stuff about the 'white box' that Hundred built, which perhaps has the ability to tamper with voting machines.

This is a good comic, but I feel like it's lacking all of the things that made Ex Machina such a unique book at its inception.

Ex Machina #43

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris and Jim Clark
This book definitely has some momentum lately. It feels like Vaughan is building up for a big finish on this title, as Hundred gets ready to deal with the guy in the diving suit, and this 'white box' thing gets more intriguing. As well, Hundred gets told some stuff in a flashback-dream, dropping all sorts of hints about something called the Spectrum (Mitchell Hundred, Black Lantern perhaps?).

As always, the book is gorgeous. I always think of Starman as being Harris's seminal work, but this title has been fantastic from the beginning. I especially like the cover this month.

Ex Machina #42

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris and Jim Clark

There's not a whole lot to say here. This is another excellent issue of Ex Machina, which advances the plot quite nicely, without actually standing out in any way as an individual issue.

The flashback at the beginning of the comic drops more hints about alternate realities, something that has been popping up quite a bit in this title, and might be a hint as to where Mitchell's powers came from. There is some good stuff about his new tax plan for NYC, and the sub-plot concerning the reporter asking about the White Box looks like it's going to be much more important than I originally thought.

How many issues of this title are left? It's a book I'm going to miss when it's all over.

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.

Ex Machina #40

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Tony Harris and Jim Clark

The only review I saw of this on the net called in self-indulgent, and I suppose it was, but it was also a good comic. In this issue, Brian Vaughan and Tony Harris borrow a page from the end of Grant Morrison's Animal Man run, and meet Mayor Hundred and the crew in order to interview (audition?) for the job of creating the comic-book biography of the Great Machine.

What makes this comic work, in addition to the little comic industry in-jokes that pepper the story, is the way Vaughan portrays himself and his experiences of New York. This comic has always been tied very closely to the city, and Vaughan reveals that this series really is his love letter to NYC.

Harris does a great job here, as always. I love that it's his Starman that gets the duo their interview, and he does a fantastic job of portraying Vaughan. His eyes show real human intelligence throughout the book.

The last two pages are hilarious too.