Review of "HackerTeen Volume 1: Internet Blackout" by Marcelo Marques and the HackerTeen Team
The first volume of HackerTeen, Internet Blackout, by Marcelo Marques and the HackerTeen Team was recently published in English. HackerTeen is an excellent comic for many reasons, including its entertainment and educational value. HackerTeen's story opens with a familiar story structure; an extremely gifted teenager's talents have led to trouble and now specialized education is required to apply those skills to a useful purpose. For HackerTeen, the teenager is Yago and his talents are in computing, leading Yago's parents to take him to HackerTeen, a school designed for teens talented with computers. From this familiar starting point, the story quickly departs for new territory both in terms of the comic's fiction and in terms of the real world connections. HackerTeen is a brilliant concept because the comic is about the real program and its all too realistic fiction speaks to the need for the HackerTeen program.
The comic places Yago in a HackerTeen school where he learns to be a hacker by learning more about programming, computer networking, teamwork, and ethics all as part of his education. The comic is highly focused on ethical hacking and in proactive self-defense style computing knowledge. The combination of typical comic archetypes like an incredibly skilled young person who must learn to use those skills for good in a worldwide battle against the forces of evil with the real world problem of safety and security for computer users and computer networks works beautifully. HackerTeen effectively makes hacking akin to superpowers and the HackerTeen classes akin to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. The art style is like many mainstream manga comics and the print quality is also parallel. The art style also seems influenced by graffiti style murals with rich, vibrant colors. Throughout the story footnote style links are listed on relevant pages to direct readers to sites with more information.
However, what's most interesting about the HackerTeen comic is the story and it can't be adequately addressed outside of the larger HackerTeen project. The back of the comic includes an explanation of the HackerTeen project which has an educational mission to teach "adolescents about computer network security, entrepreneurship on the Internet, and hacker ethics. Its innovative methods include challenges, games, RPGs, Linux, and comics" (HackerTeen Volume 1). The HackerTeen website provides additional information on the project, explaining that the HackerTeen project: "empowers young people through its classes on computer security. To balance things out, we also teach hacker ethics and internet entrepreneurship. Currently, professionals with a working knowledge of the internet, computer security, and programming techniques are highly prized in companies. Being a hacker, on the side of good, can guarantee one a good job" (http://www.hackerteen.com/jovens.php). The full HackerTeen program includes the comics and classes on Linux taught through innovative game-like simulated scenarios. The full program is currently only available in Portuguese, but English and Spanish versions are in development. The critical approach to teaching technology is essential so that workers aren't exploited by corporations or criminals or injured by their own ignorance (as may be the case again recently and as is often the case with crimes committed by those unaware of the criminality or the seriousness of the crimes).
The HackerTeen comic follows Yago as a student in the HackerTeen program. The narrative in the HackerTeen comic provides an entertaining and captivating frame through which the comic teaches the real world issues surrounding computer security, standards, copyright, Open Source, and the politics of technology for personal and social life. These are all complicated topics, but HackerTeen provides a narrative that contextualizes the issues and then provides simple and more complicated examples to explain the issues. For instance, while learning to hack at HackerTeen, Yago still lives at home with his parents who own a bakery. A new supermarket is built nearby and Yago's father worries that the bakery won't be able to compete. Yago goes to the supermarket, surveys the bread selection and then asks the manager if the store wouldn't rather have fresh bread. While the store is interested, the manager tells Yago he couldn't do it--no room for an oven and no staff to bake. Yago applies his confidence and general know-how and speaks to his father about becoming a supplier for the large supermarket instead of losing business to the larger store. This sort of big picture approach with specific examples, and examples that connect large computer networks with large food distribution networks, is what makes HackerTeen a great story and a great project.
Other examples are more central to computing issues, with Yago fighting against criminals who steal user data and blackmail users as well as Yago fighting against criminals who would seek to victimize him through their nefarious use of his abilities. However, all of the examples point to methods for empowerment, from computing technologies or other DIY skills-as-technologies. HackerTeen not only addresses ways technology can help as technology, it also explores possibilities for technology to inform non-technical areas, including personal safety and disaster response.
At its core, the HackerTeen story is built on the triad need and call for information literacy, for informed action in response to the existing political and social issues surrounding computing, and for self and community empowerment through technology. HackerTeen is a moral tale and a manifesto, and it's a great read.
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