Published: July 4th, 2012
Written by: Ed Piskor
Art by: Ed Piskor
Top Shelf Productions, 282 Pages
Review:
I may have been late to the game in discovering the work of Ed Piskor. I was introduced to him through his most recent work on X-Men: Grand Design and its sequel Second Genesis and then I really developed an appreciation for him through Cartoonist Kayfabe, a YouTube channel he runs with Jim Rugg (and sometimes Tom Scioli).
Being pretty impressed with his X-Men projects and his passion for the medium and the industry he works in, I wanted to go back and read some of his more personal, earlier work. A friend of mine highly suggested Wizzywig due to the fact that I love Mr. Robot and have always been intrigued by hacker culture and history.
My friend didn’t steer me wrong and I absolutely loved this graphic novel.
The main character, Kevin, is based on a few famous hackers from back in the day. His story is sort of an amalgamation of their stories but it is done really well and comes off as pretty damn accurate. I have to give props to Piskor for the research he did and how he weaved an engaging tale around a subject that can be difficult for the layman to follow.
Ultimately, you really care for the characters in this book and it is a sad and tragic story. In a way, it deals with the main character’s mania and obsession over what he can do and how he is a victim of his own compulsions.
I love the art style; it was clean and consistent on every panel. I also thought the lettering was fantastic.
This is a story that is basically this character’s life and there is a lot to unpack with it but it flows well, has a good energy to it and there isn’t a dull moment. Every panel deserves to be on the page and while that should be an obvious standard in this medium, so many comics spend too much time wasting away their real estate on pointless drivel.
Wizzywig is a solid piece of work by Piskor and it has made me want to go out and pick up some of his other comics that I’ve missed.
Rating: 8.75/10
Pairs well with: other work by Ed Piskor, as well as stuff by his Cartoonist Kayfabe colleagues Jim Rugg and Tom Scioli.
Review: