Few conclusions have been as utterly satisfying as Ex Machina: Term Limits.

Ex Machina has always been one of those titles that demanded both patience and commitment.  With its myriad flashbacks, labyrinth plotlines, and complicated subject matter, it often required several readings.  I assure you, in this tenth and final volume, your dedication is rewarded in full.  Vaughan not only answers the series’ major mysteries, but he also grants a sense of finality to virtually every major character in this title.

I came down hard on Vaughan for his final installment to Y: The Last Man.  I felt it was too pedestrian and insignificant.  Not so with Ex Machina.  Vaughan managed to shock me over and over again in Term Limits.  As a reader, I couldn’t have asked for more.  Though I couldn’t believe he dared to do what he did in this volume, I absolutely appreciated his willingness to let the characters organically go where they must, even if that destination was not pleasant.  His boldness is both refreshing and admirable.

Vaughan also shows great maturity as a storyteller.  Yes, on the surface, we get our answers to many lingering plot points.  We even get several jolts that put us on the edge of our seat.  However, there is also a deeper message in Term Limits.  I believe Vaughan made not only several political comments in this work, but also drove home a hard fact about human nature.  The depth of this particular volume delighted me.

As a long time fan of Ex Machina, I can seriously say that I could not have imagined a more satisfying conclusion to Mitchell Hundred’s odyssey.  Vaughan thanked his audience by delivering a tightly-woven finale that, like the entire series, proved intelligent, meaningful, well-crafted, and insightful.