Writers: Ovi Demitrian Jr
Artist: James Whynot
Release Date: On sale now!

There’s been a bit of a buzz about Hacktivity. A creator-owned comic that made the jump from issue-by-issue to a self-published volume, with interest from the wider community and industry alike, tackling serious, real-world concerns about privacy through graphic media. Sounds like it has real potential.

Well, it’s a noble effort, perhaps, but to me it’s a bit a misfire.

The story deals with a hacker being arrested and summarily tried for releasing the fact that the FBI are indiscriminately harvesting data from US citizens, enabling the profiling of all. It goes on to deal with his escape and subsequent attempts to expose the government. However, while this is enjoyable enough in itself, I just don’t feel that it really dings anything new. The execution is solid, but I don’t feel like the creators are telling me a story that I haven’t seen explored elsewhere. Whilst it’s current, it’s still reinventing – somewhat by its own admission – Orwell, and doesn’t quite managed to live up to the innovation and edginess that it seems to promise. The escape, while undeniably dramatic, is implausible to the point of ridiculous; and while Demetrian’s dialogue is entertaining in places, it does come across a little contrived in others.

Personally speaking, I find James Whynot’s pen and ink line art off-putting. While it may be appealing to some, to me it feels like a frenetic fourteen-year old doodling, and whilst I fully understand that that’s supposed to be characterful it actually became something distraction from the narrative in places, often jarring with the tone. Where there is action, it’s all rather ponderous; I get the juxtaposition here, but personally, I don’t like it very much.

Overall, I applaud the sentiments behind this series. The US government is bad. We are complacent with our data. Information needs to be free. Wait, what? As I say, we’ve heard this before; I actually agree with many of the ideas put forward, but ultimately I find the execution here a little clumsy. Some readers will undoubtedly be drawn in by the world of espionage and shady conspiracies, but in my opinion, Hacktivity is something of a missed opportunity to put a unique spin on a somewhat worn-out premise.

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You can find out more about Hacktivity on the Official Website, where you can also buy both digital and paper copies of the book.

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The Writer of this piece was: Sam De Smith
You can follow Sam on Twitter

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