“If the city gets too comfortable in the belief I’m going to personally fix everything, they’ll stop striving to solve problems on their own.”
In this week’s episode, Mike and Alex are here to discuss Ex Machina Deluxe Volume 3 (issues #21-29 plus Special #3) from Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris. The guys dive into how the use of flashbacks is (or isn’t) working at this point in the comic and whether their reaction to them as a narrative device is affected by the condensed reading of a collected edition. They also explore the internal tension that exists within the book between telling a political story and telling a superhero story, and how this volume of issues manages to balance that near perfectly. Finally, the guys use the stand-alone issue on Bradbury’s backstory as a springboard to have a chat about character development for everyone in the comic not named Mitchell Hundred.
We’ve passed the halfway point in the story with just two deluxe volumes left, so go find Ex Machina Deluxe Volume 4 (issues 30-40) wherever you get your comics and join us back here again next week for our penultimate discussion!