Writer: Ethan Bull
Artist: Tsubasa Yozora
Publisher: Viper Comics

Reviewer: Optimous Douche

“Would you like to play a game?”

Those of you who can name the movie that line came from are probably the perfect demographic for WORLD WAR HACK. And I’m not talking age here; in this era of specialization even nerds and geeks can be cordoned off into stratums. WORLD WAR HACK is for the sect of comic readers that spend equal time between Superman and Starcraft, Wonder Woman and Warcraft, and Captain America and Civilization. WORLD WAR HACK is for all of us that get off on binary forensics and the thrill of intense typing. So if you need punches instead of punch cards and kicking over keyboards, move right along to the next review.

Over the past few years, hacking has become a bigger threat to national security than planes and anthrax. Rightly so; while the TSA was able to secure our physical borders, we still have this beautiful open sieve called the internet zipping our most precious data to the four corners of the world. With broadband a commodity these days, blackhats can manipulate systems and pilfer data in the blink of an eye. Sure, detection systems will eventually alert…someone…and that slow human brain will react to the situation…eventually.

That’s the basic premise of WORLD WAR HACK. On a routine training mission in the Nevada dessert one of the USA’s newest drone planes is remotely hijacked. To uncover the source of this hijacking the government brings together the best and brightest minds in the country under the guise of a competition to ferret out the L33T code that was used.

Now, that’s only the basic premise…writer Bull further slathers this concept with delicious story elements of global political throw downs, a slew of nerd speak, and a little teen romance to add a perfect balance of story elements inside WORLD WAR HACK.

TO READ FULL REVIEW CLICK HERE!

Interview: Writer Ethan Bull Discusses WORLD WAR HACK
Published on Comicosity.com by Aaron Long on April 26, 2012 | 0 Comment

If there is to be another World War the battleground will be different than the past two. Technology has ingrained itself heavily in the world we live in and there is a definite possibility the next wars will be fought heavily in cyberspace. Writer Ethan Bull teams up with artist Tsubasa Yozora to bring the world of hacking to the world of comics with World War Hack from Viper Comics. Ethan took time to answer some questions about how the book came to be and what readers can expect.

Aaron Long: Straight from the creator’s mouth: how would you describe World War Hack?

Ethan Bull: The short answer is that World War Hack is about a teenage computer hacker who gets wrapped up in a hacking competition designed by the government to secretly solve a national security crisis.

The longer answered is that it is a story which deals with the theme of right versus wrong from a computer hacking perspective. The idea that we, as a country, need to step up our efforts to find and recruit the best computer/network security talent we can find no matter where they come from to help protect us. And lastly, it is a story that hopefully convinces us all to acknowledge that as our world becomes more connected, it also becomes more vulnerable to the whims of black hat hackers whether they are foreign nations, rogue groups or individuals.

That said, the short answer sounds more fun so go with that one.

FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE!

Written by Ethan Bull and illustrated by Tsubasa Yozora, World War Hack is a roller-coaster ride from the beginning to the end. It is incredibly smartly written, tightly plotted, and very well paced. In fact, the only thing that I wish was different about this book was the length. At 72 pages, it felt like I had to put it down too soon.

The book begins with an unmanned aircraft drone being taken over by unknown hackers and having it turn on friendly forces. As the various agency heads discuss what they should do about the situation, they hit on hosting a “hacking competition,” gathering known hackers from around the in an attempt to either outright catch the person(s) responsible or at the very least figure out what the hackers were able to do and stop their access before something worse happens.The idea made me laugh out loud at first, but upon finding that this is actually a tactic used by governments to recruit the best and brightest programming minds as well as to turn possible “black hat” hackers into “white hats,” I was quickly drawn back into the book.

Full Preview and Review Click Here!

Inspired by true events, World War Hack tells the story of how the U.S. Government gathers top computer hackers from around the country, under the guise of a competition, to unknowingly help solve a pressing national security crisis. Little does the government know that eighteen-year-old hacker, Wyatt Dyer, is both the cause and solution to their crisis.

Written by Ethan Bull
Art by Tsubasa Yozora
Edited by Gwendolyn Borgen
Colors by Ivan Escalante

Retail: $7.95 / 72 pages / ISBN 978-0-9833670-8-6

Link to original article click here

Out of the several horror comic books I’ve read thus far in my life that feature a huge amount of gore and blood, this one takes the cake for being the most disturbing of them all.

A hell house is a haunted house attraction setup by (mainly) Christians to scare the living shit out of you and make you believe in God/not want to go to Hell. These houses show sin, the torments of Hell, and usually end with a depiction of Heaven. They’re around pretty much every Halloween and they’re damn controversial.

Taking the already frightening aspects of modern evangelical Christianity, writers Chad Feehan and Ryan Dixon have created the greatest horror story I’ve read all year. Volume one of Hell House, Hell House: The Awakening, is not solely horrific because of its graphic blood and gore, but mainly due to idea of Christians being right and the Rapture actually occurring.

If this comic were more known, I’m sure the graphic novel would be even more controversial than it already is. In no way does the comic book attack Christians or Christianity, but it does offer a slew of questions and thoughts for the reader to ponder. The comic shows the social aspects of Rapture, while also depicting the hypocrisy of both believers of non-believers, with a tiny bit of added humor, and a massive dosage of irony.

The story follows a Texas high school’s first open night of its hell house. After the students and staff open up their sin-depicting establishment, a mysterious event occurs and eliminates most of its performers. We follow a small group of survivors who are left and see their struggle to leave the hell house while it collapses, and escape the grasps of the unspeakable creatures who are now upon the Earth. The story is comparable to a zombie tale — what would happen if a zombie outbreak happened? How would you handle it? Replace this idea with Rapture and you have Hell House: The Awakening.

The art provided by Tsubasa Yozora fits the mood and emotion of Hell House perfectly. The style is clean yet detailed and gritty. When the blood splatters in the comic book’s later panels, the details and art style blend very well together. The art never comes off as feeling a bit cheesy.

Overall, if you want a damn good comic read for Halloween, buy Hell House: The Awakening. This comic doesn’t push any bars, and the story isn’t too complex to understand, but its done so well that it seems very natural and fresh, as if this has never been done before. This is a definite recommendation for horror fans everywhere.

This book is a vile, deviant piece of trash. If you consider yourself a good Christian or even a good human being, avoid Hell House at all cost. – Reverend Bernard Eaton, WayCross Evangelical Church

5/5