Panel Vision - The Hacker Files

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It seems these days that cyber-warfare and computer hacking have become newly popular plotlines.  A lot of that is just a reflection of the real world- as the amount of data we generate in the virtual space grows in concordance with our reliance on outdated security systems we’re going to keep seeing things like the Equifax data breach, the Russian cyber attacks on the US election, and major state secret leaks like those made by Chelsea Manning.  It’s only natural that parallels to these events have formed in the narratives of shows like Homeland, Berlin Station, and most pertinently Mr. Robot. 

However, this is hardly the first time hacking has come to grip the public imagination- that was in the ‘90s.  Stuff like The Net and Hackers were capitalizing on the public’s fascination with cyber shenanigans at the very dawn of the information super-highway.  A lot of these ‘90s offerings are pretty cheesy and dated in hindsight, much like the ‘90s flirtation with early VR, there is, however, one exception- 1992’s The Hacker Files.

The ‘90s were an exceedingly odd time for comics and one that, honestly, doesn’t get the credit it deserves.  Sure, there were plenty of bad comics that came out during that decade but that’s just the cost of the free imagination that informed so much of the content put out.  Hacker Files is a pretty great example of that, a strange and stripped down cyber-thriller that blends together a curious mix of nascent ‘90s hacker culture with the fading remnants of ‘80s punk electronica, all wrapped around some prescient ideas.  

The series was written by cyberpunk novelist Lewis Shiner, which is par for the course at the time.  This is part of what I meant about the history of ‘90s comics not getting its fair shake- yes this was a time of superstar artists awkwardly attempting to write comics but it was also when a lot of outside talent like novelists were being brought into the medium.  The entire series was based on an unpublished novel of Shiner’s called Red Weather and ended up keeping the main character and basic set-up.

Said main character is one Jack Marshall, an aging programmer who helped create one of the biggest tech companies on the planet before being edged out with not a dime to his name.  Despite being ruined in the tech industry proper Jack (web handle Hacker) is still a sought-after freelancer and one of the best tech heads on the planet.  After something goes wrong with the Pentagon’s various networks Jack is called in to repair the system only to discover a deeper conspiracy that may go right to the top of Digitronix, the company that forced him out.  The conspiracy plot is basically just the scaffolding, the individual stories of the 12 issue run are mostly self-contained, aside from the 2-part finale. 

The strongest story is easily the opener entitled ‘SoftWar.’  It’s heavily War Games inspired though fueled less by precocious optimism and more by grungy, ‘90s angst.  The plot revolves around a virus moving through US military computers during the testing of a new virtual war program.  Even though you can probably work out where things are headed just from the set-up the payoff is easily worth it, especially with how intense the ultimate reveals are. 

I mentioned that the book had a punk rock edge to it and that’s definitely on display here, especially with how the book works out its own version of the “only winning move is not to play” scene.  Where War Games was fine being a more general “give peace a chance” flick, SoftWar places the blame for impending nuclear Armageddon at the top floors of the US government and military and takes them to task for it. 

It helps set the tone for the series’ overall distrust and distaste for government and corporate authority, which helps make Hacker a more well-rounded character.  He could easily fall into the pit of tactless experts that’s been growing ever deeper since House but he comes off more like an aging punk programmer, someone skilled and angry at the systemic greed and inhumanity that screwed him and countless others like him.  They also make a fun point of his age, how he’s the angry old man of his hacktivist collective, which does take the wind out of his sails a little, it’s a nice touch. 

The best aspect of the book, on the whole, would have to be the visualization of computing that artist Tom Sutton, inker Mark Buckingham, and colorist Digital Chameleon render.  It’s all very metaphorical and experimental, shedding classical panel construction in favor of big, bizarre, two-page spreads that are meant to visualize Hacker going inside the computer world.  

It’s an incredibly cheesy way of rendering the idea but it it’s also a lot more visually arresting and rewarding than just people sitting at a keyboard.  Sutton favors a lot of artificial constructs and patterns in the design, all right angles and polygons to give the sense of a computer-generated landscape.  Digital Chameleon matches this approach really well with a very striking use of block color backgrounds against the digital designs. 

The final arc, Showdown, features several sequences that were all created using computer generation.  The characters are meant to be going into a VR world to confront an adolescent AI that’s grown too big for its own britches.  The CGI artwork, along with the coloring in the finale, was done by Eric Kachelhofer and, while primitive by modern standards; there is a weird kind of archaic charm to it.  It’s definitely one of the better CGI comics I’ve read and is thoroughly helped by not trying to look realistic, instead settling on a Ditko-esc fantasy landscape of weird textures and geological structures.  If SoftWar 2.0 was inspired by War Games, Showdown draws heavily on Tron, concluding with the hero challenging the rogue AI to a virtual showdown in a CGI recreation of an early ‘90s old west themed computer game.  The ending actually features a really clever twist on this concept I won’t spoil here, as the series is worth tracking down for yourselves. 

Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention how the second arc, Operation: Moonwitch, was the introduction of Barbara Gordon’s post-Batgirl hacker identity of Oracle.  Barbara had previously appeared as a wheelchair-bound computer expert in the pages of Suicide Squad but The Hacker Files is the first time she ever goes by the title Oracle or acts outside of her government job.  The story also features a cameo by Green Lantern and the Justice League Europe make an appearance in the series finale, just in case you were wondering how the superhero universe fit into this book. 

Operation Moonwitch is an equally excellent and prescient story for the book, revolving around an illegal operation by US authorities to arrest various computer nerds for getting too close to the truth.  It’s also much more of a Barbara Gordon story, with Hacker acting as a co-lead more than anything else.  A lot of it focuses on Barbara’s lingering trauma from the Joker, her difficulties adjusting to life without the use of her legs, and eventually finding a new kind of community and freedom in the virtual world.  It’s basically the pilot for an Oracle ongoing, even though we had to wait another 7 years before she got to be a major character in Birds of Prey. 

The Hacker Files is an absolute gem of a comic from an age that produced a lot better material than it’s ever gotten credit for.  The artwork ranges from solid to experimental in all the right ways and the storytelling proved forward facing enough to still be relevant today.  It avoids a lot of the tired clichés of its own genre and has a sense of earnest passion and cynical realism that it balances expertly- awake enough to be angry at the world but aware enough to realize that even your victories won’t be fully what you hope.  I highly recommend tracking down a copy, especially if you’re a fan of cyberpunk or hacking stories in general- you will not be disappointed. 

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