Machina head: What's that saying about asking and receiving? Last night I hoped DC Comics would start hyping Ex Machina, and this morning Newsarama comes through with an interview with writer Brian K. Vaughan:

"I've always been interested in using this medium to ask questions about contemporary society, but that doesn't mean Ex Machina is going to be a boring polemic. It's a fast-paced political thriller, an action-packed sci-fi drama for adults, with all of the intelligent sex, horror, humor, violence, and shocking twists that readers of books like Y: The Last Man and Starman hopefully know and love."

Political thrills? Check. Horror? Check. Action? Check. And just look at those Tony Harris sequentials.

I don't know what to make of this, though:

"So to make sure that only the most deserving people get a copy of our first issue, it will only be sold to readers who are registered to vote. Our protagonist is independent, but Tony and I don't care which party you choose to affiliate yourself with, if any, as long as you're registered. It only takes a few minutes of Googling to find out how to do this in your area, and you've got three damn months before our first issue comes out to make it happen, so I don't want to hear any crying from the feedback section down there. And yes, this is open to residents of all democratic, socialist, U.S.-occupied, whatever, countries, just as long as you're registered.

"I realize this means that most people under 18, as well as many convicted felons, won't be able to buy our premiere issue, but because this is a "mature readers" series, teenagers probably aren't ready for some of the shit that happens in our first three issues, and felons will just shoplift the damn book anyway, so I'm comfortable with our restrictions.

"Retailers and readers with any questions about this policy and/or its enforcement are welcome to contact me anytime at: BrianKVaughan@aol.com."