Ex Machina #24

This January 2007 WildStorm issue brings the "Smoke Smoke" arc to its conclusion, with Tony Harris's cover assembling a tense constellation of faces — a sharp-jawed man in the foreground, a stern bald figure looming above him, a watchful short-haired woman, a second woman below, and the faint outline of an armored figure lurking in the upper left, all framed by bold gear motifs in warm orange and deep teal. The interplay of guarded expressions and layered composition suggests a moment of reckoning among people who don't entirely trust one another. Brian K. Vaughan's politically charged series continues to reward readers who enjoy their superhero stories grounded in real-world complexity.