Ex Machina, Vol. 3: Fact v. Fiction

Written by Brian K. Vaughan Art by Tony Harris & Tom Feister Cover by Harris Collecting three unique storylines of the Eisner Award-winning series from issues #11-16! Mayor Mitchell Hundred must make a difficult decision about his own future, becomes part of a shocking trial complicated by the unexpected arrival of an all-new superhero, and leaves New York City for the first time since his election to embark on a strange adventure!

Customer Reviews:

Vaughan and Harris Continue to Impress

By Scott William Foley - April 18, 2006

Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris continue to impress with the third trade paperback of the Ex Machina series. In this installment, a new hero emerges in New York City calling itself the Automaton. This being claims to have been made by Mayor Hundred when he called himself The Great Machine. However, there is more at work here than there seems.

The second half of the volume deals with Mayor Mitchell Hundred heading west to visit his mother as she finds herself in a spot of trouble. This storyline is a bit more enjoyable for me as it gives us some insight into Mitchell's upbringing and his relationship with his mother.

While I greatly enjoyed Fact vs. Fiction, the stories did not compare to the first two volumes of this series. However, as I found those collections stellar in execution, perhaps that is only to be expected.

I will say this, while Vaughan's stories are just a bit under whelming compared to his usual outstanding work, the artwork of Tony... read more

There Is No Error In this Story of a Trial

By Andrew "Radaar" - May 25, 2006

In Brian K. Vaughan's third trade paperback of his excellent sci-fi/political series, Ex Machina, Mayor Mitchel Hundred participates in something most Americans try to avoid like the plague: jury duty. Hundred is upset that, due to a technicality from when he was the Great Machine, someone that he put behind bars is going free. After receiving some advice from a friend of his (who is also an attorney), he decides that he must "help the system if he wants the system to help him", and when he is selected for jury duty, he decides to go through with it. Meanwhile, a new vigilante, calling itself Automaton, is roaming the streets helping people and claiming that it was built by the Great Machine. If that wasn't bad enough, a hostage situation occurs while Hundred is deliberating with the rest of the jury. In the second story-arc, Hundred visits his mother who reveals a huge truth from his past. When he asks her why she lied to him for so many years, she replies that everyone lies at... read more

Great series

By Kingston Reader - July 16, 2006

Good chapter in an interesting series. I like the fact that that focus is on the job and the challenges it has in addition to drawing on past episodes in his life so that it show his influences and the consequences of past actions. Also the writers have a secret agenda of persons unknown that gives it some mystery. The is he gay or not storyline has moved from being amusing to annoying however. I will buy further issues - it is more than just beating up the villan of the week - there is a broader context missing in other graphic novels.