Ex Machina chronicles the story of New York major Mitchel Hundred, a guy formerly known as “The Great Machine.” He got his power after some artifact under the Brooklyn bridge exploded on him, leaving him both disfigured and able to shut down half of Manhattan by merely saying so. Using this new found power, and the engineering savvy of Kremlin and the security knowledge of Rick Bradburry, “The Great Machine” takes to the skies with a jet pack in order to fight crime.

Here’s the first thing that struck me about this story line: I didn’t see a constant stream of new gadgets bought with the funds of an endless bank account. Even the government isn’t paying The Great Machine. The thing is, this story isn’t the story of a superhero. This is the story of the mayor of New York, who happens to have been elected because he was a superhero, and then only after he saved one of the towers. So then what’s the comic about? Social commentary. Sure, it’s got a superhero. But that story line plays second to the social commentary used as a framework. School vouchers, gay marriages, vigilante action, offensive art shows, etc.

The story is reliant on many flashbacks which while sometimes awkward, allow the reader to learn more about the characters involved in the current tale. It also gives the writers a chance to test the reader’s ability to think around corners. Most stories rely heavily on misdirection and the resolution thereof for their superhero street creds, and while that makes of an intriguing story what makes it even better is the depth of the characters involved.

The writing wasn’t something I was particularly impressed with, since there’s no clear distinction between the way different characters talk. (Except for minor characters, who are usually dumb.) Of course, I’ve probably been spoiled by reading too much of Joss Whedon’s stuff, but I’ll stick to the comment. That’s not to say that the characters aren’t interesting (they are, somewhat) or that the story isn’t good (it is, very), but if I didn’t see who was speaking I generally wouldn’t be able to tell who was speaking. (Hurray for speech bubbles!)

An interesting aspect is how the story shows police. Turns out that most of the time they’re superior to some caped crusader. In fact, unlike most hero-style comics, Ex Machina doesn’t treat the police force like a group of half-wits waiting to clean up the superhero’s mess.

Another theme is what happens once a “superhero” outs himself. Now, unlike just about every other comic book hero, The Great Machine doesn’t have a any major arch nemesis, so it’s not a similar situation to what happens in Marvel’s Civil War series. Instead, this guy has to deal with people sending him dog crap in the mail because they were still pissed about something he did.

The artistic style of the comic is one I don’t particularly care for. It’s done using real-life models for the shots (altered somewhat but still realistic looking), which gives it that creepy, uncanny valley type of feeling. I got used to it after a while, but it was still creepy, and it’s still uncomfortable. Visually speaking I’m not attracted to this, and if it wasn’t for the story I would have dropped the series almost immediately. I guess I wanted something more realistic looking (like DC’s Kindgom Come) or something more cartoony. Interestingly, this isn’t much of a problem with many of the comics which transition from movies and television to the graphic novel. (For a few great samples, check out Dark Horse Comic’s lineup.) I’m surprised it’s a problem here.

Overall, Ex Machina is an enjoyable comic for people who are politically engaged. While you may not agree with the views presented in the story (and for the most part, I don’t) the writers have done a great job making something work — an almost purely political story — in a medium dominated by people flying around in their underpants. Surprisingly, readers of manga may actually enjoy this type of comic more than other American-style comics, simply because of how it deals with real life issues, something seen more in manga than in comics.

FYI: I picked up the first five collections of Ex Machina at my local library. Maybe you can do the same. Of course, if you want to own a copy, check out your local comic book store. (If you’re near Davie, Florida, make sure to check out my friends over at War and Pieces. Finally, you can read more about Ex Machina — including spoilers — on WikiPedia.

Download Online Streaming Videos:As you can probably tell, I love watching videos on YouTube. Yes, I’ll admit, I tend to watch more bits of copyrighted material (like The Colbert Report and South Park) than I do stupid people tricks (with the exception of the Angry German Kid and the Numa Numa guy). Once in a while, however, I run into videos I’d like to keep, videos I can’t really purchase, like Chihiro Onitsuka’s Little Beat Rifle music video. KeepVid exists for times like that, by allowing users to download the FLV (Flash Video) file and play it like any other video. You’ll need to download an FLV player to view the videos, but you can find those just about anywhere (including KeepVid.com) for Windows, Mac, or Linux. For you Firefox users, however, there are also extensions that will allow you to download all sorts of media content.

Comic Book Loving Political Junkies Rejoice! The Slate Online has published a comic book version of the entire 9/11 Report. Unlike just about every other comic out there, this one features real world situations, with very real heroes and villains. And unlike the ABC docudrama on the matter, this one actually sticks to the facts. Very well worth reading, especially if you want to read the 9/11 Report, but don’t care to slush through a thousand pages of government documents. More government documents should come in the form of comic books. Think about it, how much easier would doing taxes be if your forms featured Batman, simplifying the efforts The Confuser and TheObfuscator while keeping Mr. FreezeYourAssets at bay?

Super Hero Thanksgiving: Speaking of comics, ever wonder what your favorite super heroes were thankful for during Thanksgiving? Probably not. Someone out there did, however. If you need a cheap laugh, this will probably do.

Quantum Mechanics Made Relatively Simple: In this series of audio and video lectures, theoretical physicist Hans Bethe explains quantum theory and makes it simple enough for just about anyone to understand. These lectures were originally intended for the residents of his neighbors at the Kendal of Ithaca retirement community, but now you too can learn about the physics of the very small, even if you don’t have a full grasp of higher level mathematics.

China and Copyright law: Ever wonder why the Chinese seem to take such a flippant attitude towards copyrights? Here’s a hint: a large part of it is cultural. AsiaBizBlog is a great resource for anyone planning to do business in China, and this particular podcast covers the issue of copyright in a way we in the west can easily understand. (Not that it’s a hard issue, but rather because it is very nuanced.)

5000 Years of Middle Eastern History in 90 Seconds: No wonder these people are always fighting! This flash video goes through 5000 years of history, from the Sumerians to the current day political situation in the middle east. Very interesting video.

Language Roots of Indo-European Languages: Most of us know that English came from a combination of Germanic and French dialects, and that Romantic languages all came from Latin, but did you know that Latin was a subset of something called Latino-Faliscan, and that this language had the same roots as Celtic and Indo-Iranian? This language map shows all of that and more. Very interesting for those into language philosophy and linguistics.

Imagine Earth without People: There’s a saying that goes something like this: Get rid of all ants and parasites in the world and in 50 years everything dies. Get rid of all humans in the world and in 50 years everything flourishes. The sad part is that, for the most part, that’s true. But what if suddenly, tomorrow, every human on Earth disappeared (as in “off the planet” not as in “dead”)? What would the planet look like? What would happen to the bridges and buildings? How long would things last? Very interesting reading for anyone who likes to think about alternate realities.

Lots of Classic Games in FLASH! Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pacman, Snake, Frogger, Simon and other classic games, all in flash. Like the classics? Get ‘em here.

PlanetQuest: Help Discover New Planets: How thrilling would it be to discover a new planet? More than 100 planets having been discovered outside our Solar system. Why not get in on the fun? Using distributed computing — like what the SETI@Home project uses — PlanetQuest hopes to help discover even more planets, some of which may even hold life and be habitable for humans. The project isn’t done, so no software can be downloaded yet. Still, how cool would it be to someday have your descendants travel to a planet you helped discover?

Google Reader: These days, it seems as if you can’t go more than ten steps without reading about what Google is doing. The problem is that, other than search, most of their efforts have met with little fanfare. That may not be the case for long, if Google Reader is any indication. If you’re looking for an RSS reader, especially if you’re looking to replace your current account, check out Google’s newest tool. Robert Scoble did, and it looks like he liked it. After seeing it in action for myself, I may jump the Bloglines ship and do the same. (I’d like to thank Roy for sending this tip.)

Fark Search Engine: While Fark started out being nothing more than a site featuring a picture of a squirrel with giant testicles, it has quickly become one of the Internet’s most interesting “news” sites. Unfortunately, using their search functionality sucks. That’s why someone has come up with the idea of creating a Fark-specific search engine. Now, you don’t have to search the archives or tackle the thoroughness of Google to find that funny headline you saw three or four months back.

Maybe it’s the art. Maybe it’s the need to read a good story. Maybe it’s the desire to become a kid again. Whatever the reason may be, lately I’ve been seriously digging the American comic book scene (eg., DC and Marvel).

It actually started a few months ago, during my “addicted to the Matrix” phase. I found out that Burlyman Comics had released the entirety of The Matrix Comics online for free. After reading all those — finding myself admiring the art of the story as well as the visuals — I wanted more. During that time, I also found Misfile, which was a few months after finding Wapsi Square.

Still, as much as I liked those (and I still read them, every day) I was looking for something else. I discovered that a large part of The Matrix was inspired by The Sandman, a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman, featuring the immortal anthropomorphic personification of dreams and story telling. I couldn’t readily find those comics so after a while I dropped my search.

Random Trivia: “Morpheus” in The Matrix was loosely based on “Morpheus” from The Sandman comics, who is supposed to be the Greek god of dreams. As such, many of his most important lines through all three of the films are dream-related, such as one of his final lines in The Matrix: Reloaded (“I have dreamed a dream, but now that dream is gone from me,” said after his ship is destroyed) and in The Matrix: Revolutions (“Is this real?” said after the Sentinels stopped attacking and the war ended).

A few nights ago I went to the local Barnes and Noble’s for my weekly relaxation time — the one night in the week I set aside three hours to stop and let my mind float and entertain thoughts unrelated to anything involving responsibility (very relaxing, and highly recommend it for ultra-busy people) — I saw that Vertigo comics, the same company who published both The Sandman and V for Vendetta among other titles, had released the complete Sandman series as a leather-bound, boxed book. I immediately picked up the volume and (after asking the help at BN to unwrap the cellophane covering on the box), grabbed myself a frappuccino, and started immersing myself in Gaiman’s dark world.

The Sandman was particularly interesting due to its incredibly heavy use of various mythologies and theologies — everything from Biblical imagery, to Greek mythology, to occult history and theology — in order to weave together an addicting and intellectually engaging story line. (To someone unfamiliar with the various sources used, this comic may simply seem like an overtly violent and morbid presentation. I assure you, it is no more morbid than those tales of gods and ancient wars we learn in school.)

Two very quick hours after I started reading, it was unfortunately time to go. My appetite, however, had merely been whetted.

Since that day, I’ve devoted a small part of each day (maybe 10 minutes) to finding out information online about the various comics and comic book companies producing material. I started with the usual online free comics (such as Misfile and Wapsi Square), but then asked myself the obvious: why not check out the major makers online myself? With American comics this would be a rather easy task.

My first endeavor was to Marvel’s home page. Marvel, as you may know, is the publishing company responsible for Spiderman, the X-Men, Ghost Rider, Captain America, Ironman, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and Punisher — among many many more. It was here I discovered the Civil War cross-over series that’s been taking place for about the past year. (A cross-over series is a story line which engulfs a number of different series, usually done to increase the number of comics sold.) The series deals with extremely serious world issues, specifically the ethical and governmental issues to which we’ve all been subjected ever since 9/11/2001. (This was covered rather expertly in Henry Jenkin’s article series “Comic Book Foreign Policy”, which ran in four parts on his blog, Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.) Being a sucker for pondering philosophical and ethical issues, this is one that’s made it on my priority wishful reading list.

Note: There’s an intro video for the Civil War series at the bottom of this article. In addition, I’ve added a video trailer of the latest Spider Man movie which looks awesome.

After reading through that site, I headed over to DC’s home page to see what was going on there there. DC, like Marvel, has a number of well known superheroes in its roster, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Nightwing (aka. the first “Robin”), and the Green Lantern, among many more. DC also owns a number of other comic book companies, including the aforementioned Vertigo; Wildstorm, which features Ex Machina and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; CMX Manga, which features Mega Tokyo; and MAD magazine. Despite their size, however, I found much more useful (informative and entertaining) content on Marvel’s website. Then again, it may have something to do with the fact that I lean more towards Marvel. (Also, the fact that Marvel allows readers to preview a number of their current comics may have something to do with it.)

Anyway, to the point of this post: I don’t know why, but I’ve started to become rather heavily attracted to comics again, maybe even more so than when I was a kid. It probably has to do with all the movies being released, or the fact that I’m now starting to admire the artwork a bit more. Whatever the case may be, I fear that I may soon become my neighborhood’s “Comic Book Guy.” Worst. Fate. Ever, although owning a comic book shop would be kind of cool.

With that, enjoy these two clips. The first is for the Marvel Civil War series (hosted by YouTube), and the second is the trailer for Spiderman 3 (hosted by iFilm). I’ll probably spend a bit more time in the future talking about American comic books and Japanese manga.