Hackerteen: Volume 1: Internet Blackout, by Marcelo Marques

It is rare for me to get a graphic novel to review, but when O'Reilly puts out a graphic novel it must deserve some attention. The premise is simple: teaching internet technologies and socially/legally acceptable uses of the technology so that younger minds can protect themselves online and also collaborate through the Internet to make the world a better place.

How on Earth could I pass that up?

The book itself didn't take long to read, but the plots within plots were very interesting. With names like HackerIP and DNSolver, there is no question of the technology basis of the book. The reluctant hero of this first novel, Yago, becomes a young member of Hackerteen - perhaps the youngest - and finds himself in dilemmas that are influenced by realities that extend beyond the Internet dimension but are mutually affected. Family, friends and circumstance are woven together in tidy moral decisions that lead one way - then another.

Not too unlike the real world.

I am very impressed with the graphic novel, as well as the storyline. While the premise of Hackerteen seems enormous in the context of the real world, it is not necessarily so. Anyone with an Internet connection has the capacity to help or hinder others and the author and illustrator crafted a work that illustrates this quite well. With key technological references dropped within the book like Easter Eggs, dropped with emphasis and references as necessary. Despite the graphic nature - and perhaps better because of the graphic nature - the book is educational. And despite being educational, it is entertaining. If this sort of concept becomes standard in educational systems, there could be a revolution in learning.

The nudges of Open Source/Free Software are patently obvious but are tastefully done such that even the folks in Redmond, Washington may find this book entertaining (there are no references to that other operating system, but there is one reference to properly licensed software that, in it's own way, is quite scary.

Hackerteen: Volume 1: Internet Blackout gets a KnowProSE.com 9 out of 10. It seems to have achieved the goals set out to as well as doing so in an entertaining manner. And for those of you who miss it on first pass, the author and illustrator, as well as the true HackerTeen, are from Brazil. Stand up, take notice - Carnival, Football (soccer for US readers) are now joined more obviously to Brazil's technology contributions.