Webcomic Review: Hacktivity #1
Posted By Leo Johnson on September 24, 2013
With things like WikiLeaks and the Edward Snowden trial constantly in the news lately, hacking and the sharing of classified information is something that gets a lot of airtime. Hacktivity from writer Ovi Demetrian, Jr. and artist James Whynot focuses on Shawn Harris, a software programmer and hacker who has gone a bit too far when he hacks into FBI documents and gets sentenced to 30 years in prison. But, with growing media attention, the real facts start to come to the surface and other hackers get involved.
Hacktivity #!
The story starts with Shawn Harris being sentenced to thirty years prison time, before jumping back to two months prior to when he gets arrested. Harris released documents detailing how the FBI was keeping surveillance on citizens. Some see Harris as a criminal, while others see the FBI as the one committing the crime. After Shawn’s sentencing, other hackers start taking notice and come to Shawn’s aid in an unexpected way.
Hacktivity #1
Demetrian’s story is one that is definitely relevant to many recent news stories. While it’s definitely a big issue, and I’m sure Demetrian has opinions on such situations, but the comic doesn’t attempt to preach and seems to just use the situation as a backdrop for the story. All in all, it’s a solid, well-paced stories. The panels depicting Twitter and blog posts concerning the trial help to make it feel current and also drive home how big a part technology is in the story. The ending to the issue sets up a myriad of possibilities to where the story could go, and this can only be a good thing.
Hacktivity #1
Whynot’s art is rather simplistic, compared to much other comic art out there, but that’s not a bad thing. While it could us a bit of polish, the lack of color and the inking style make the story feel almost oppressive, which is fitting considering the situation protagonist Shawn Harris is in. Whynot has a good sense of motion in the art, making the panels with lots of movement and action look like they’re natural.
Hacktivity has an intriguing concept and a pretty solid first issue. Though it’s not quite professional level, it’s worth a read and can either be read as a webcomic on the site, bought digitally for $1.99, or be bought as a physical copy from the site.
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