COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews Hacktivist #1

Created by Alyssa Milano

Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing

Art: Marcus To

Colors: Ian Herring

Publisher: Archaia Black Label

Scrolling through my shops scheduled releases this week I saw one that I had not heard of before. The title was called Hacktivist and the cover was a green background with a white text bar in the middle. I didn’t think much of it until I saw the first name on the cover. That name was none other than actress Alyssa Milano. Having to know more I looked in previews and found the title under Archaia Black Label and it states the book is from the “Brilliant Mind of Alyssa Milano”. So with that opening tag how could I not check it out? Now my shop only got one copy and luckily I was there early enough to snag it up.

The premise of the book which was created by Ms. Milano and written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing is intriguing to say the least. To be honest I had to read it twice just so I can get everything that they were trying to convey. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing but I just want to warn you there is a lot of text and a lot of tech talk in this issue and some may find it hard to follow but I will do my best to sum it up it.

The book follows Nate Graft and Edwin Hiccox, two young computer geniuses who have created the ultimate social media hub known as Yourlife. This social media site caters to over 600 million users worldwide who use it without the fear of big brother watching you and piracy stealing your information. These two young men are pioneers and bolster a combined net worth of 14 billion dollars. However Yourlife is just a front for their real purpose, these two men are master hackers and have been able with the help of their systems to hack into the Federal Reserve and even taking control of the entire internet network in Tunisia and helping to spark a revolution in the country.

Their premise is that through them they can fix what needs to be fixed and break what needs to be broken. Using algorithms, system hacks and the name of .SVE_URS3LF, they are breaking codes and doing what they feel is right for the world. However they are not as safe as they think and during a party when one of them is approached by a mysterious woman, they are thrown into a brand new world where they may actually get the shot to do what they want on a much grander scale with no repercussions.

This book was interesting to say the least. The premise is actually pretty engaging and the story does seem like something you would see out of a big budget Hollywood film. Though I have seen many who have taken shots at the writing and I have even seen trolls attacking the writers and the creator (one decided to input into a tweet conversation I was having with writer Lanzing). However I urge you the readers to make your own opinion on the material.

Kelly and Lanzing really do a good job with the writing and I say that again they did a good job. It is engaging and while some of the tech talk may have to get you to look some things up, it does convey that these two are geniuses and also that they are on two opposite points when it comes to personality. One is a partying playboy and the other is a more reserve thinker so that dynamic is fun to watch play out and I think it will cause some pretty interesting scenarios in upcoming issues. Also the way they portray this social media network and the real project of the two main characters is something I think we all at one point have thought of technological persons.

The art from Marcus To is fantastic to say the least. I have seen people say that on one page where it shows three very small news articles shows how horrible the art is, but I will go against the naysayers because those are three tiny bits of a much larger issue and honestly it is really good. Add that with the colors of Ian Herring and it really is a spectacular sight to see. His use of shadows and different colors based on the setting of a scene does show variety.

So with all that said yes I did enjoy the book as it stimulated my mind. It made me think that this could really happen. With so many of us dependent on social media and honestly living there many hours of the day it does make you think what else could be behind the curtain. What could these inventors and creators be doing when we are not looking and what if any of the world’s problems are instigated by people such as this? It should not be a book that you look at and take every single key stroke they do as fact because honestly it may not be, then again it just may. When you read this it should be like you are reading any type of spy or covert novel and have fun with it. If you are reading this thinking it will be 100% accurate to computer programmers then I can see why people have been trolling and believe me what I saw was so disrespectful it was appalling. So please pick it up and read it for yourself.

With that I do want them to release a director’s cut so we can see the ideas Ms. Milano put down and how she came up with it and what she gave to the writers for guidance. I really think with a book such as this many of the readers would love to know where it came from and what made her want to put this in comic format.

So from Spin to all of you I give this book a Hacking

4 out of 5 nerds