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codyisreading's review
3.0
So far this series has been alternating in quality. I really enjoyed Volume 4; Volume 5 started off interesting enough by picking legalized pot as its topic du jour but Vaughn never really does much with it. The best Ex Machina stories tie the political hot button issue to Hundred's heroics and weave them together seamlessly.
In Volume 5 the legalization of pot is only marginally tied to other parts of the story and there are a few other subplots that don't amount to much. Pages are devoted to Journal's sister and her ulterior motives but it never really picks up and it's mostly table setting for later issues.
In Volume 5 the legalization of pot is only marginally tied to other parts of the story and there are a few other subplots that don't amount to much. Pages are devoted to Journal's sister and her ulterior motives but it never really picks up and it's mostly table setting for later issues.
shane_tiernan's review
4.0
Mr. Vaughan has chosen to take on a different social issue in each story arc and I like it. This time, if you haven't guessed it, it's the devil's lettuce aka wacky tabbacky, wait are you saying it's not called that anymore? I'll have to blame being straight edge for 50+ years on my lack of knowledge.
Anyway, great stuff (again), and super relevant, especially when this came out. I just wish he would progress the superpower origin arch more, at this point I'm starting to wonder if Vaughan actually knows what the big reveal is going to be or if he's just writing until he thinks of something cool.
Anyway, great stuff (again), and super relevant, especially when this came out. I just wish he would progress the superpower origin arch more, at this point I'm starting to wonder if Vaughan actually knows what the big reveal is going to be or if he's just writing until he thinks of something cool.
spiffysarahruby's review
4.0
Argh! I'm pretty sure I've already read this volume as part of a larger work. :/ It's annoying how I can't seem to keep the stand alone volumes straight from the larger collections, but I guess I don't mind a re-read of this series. I still love it (I'd still vote for Hundred to be my mayor)!
joshgauthier's review
3.0
Still lacking in subtlty, still a tad chauvinistic, still a fragmented set of parallel storylines. Vol. 5 manages to hold onto enough of the positive aspects of previous volumes, and even improve on some of them. A lot of the same issues are here as well, but this volume also does more to set up a larger forthcoming conflict, and it's that larger storyline that keeps me coming back more than anything else.
razishiri's review
2.0
More of the same. Which isn't a bad thing, nessesarily... it's just I get the feeling lately that I'm being stultified. They're terribly addicting. I don't know, maybe I'm just being pretentious, but that's why it only earned 2 stars.
rouver's review
3.0
I'm still enjoying this series, but the stories have gotten a little more graphic. Or rather, explicit. It's definitely an adult book & I had to read it when the girls were in the room & there wasn't a chance they might look over my shoulder. Mayor Hundred now gets to tackle the issue of legalizing marijuana along with a man dressed in a New York Fire Dept uniform who is using it to force entry into homes in order to rob them.
_sb0000's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
theartolater's review
5.0
I’ll say it again - Brian K. Vaughan is probably my favorite comic writer, and I think if I had found Ex-Machina years ago, I would have gotten into comics a lot sooner. The Smoke Smoke arc was a bit off for me, but that’s still better than, I dunno, the latest Ultimates arc to this point?
jakekilroy's review
4.0
This one had a theme, and it felt like filler, but it read well. I enjoyed it, naturally, and the politics stuff is still ruling.