The actions of Trump, Putin or Kim Jong-un are worrisome, but what if the danger was more virtual? This is what the first volume of Cyberwar at Delcourt invites you to discover.
Forget tornadoes, the biggest disaster is the Internet
On the eve of Thanksgiving, the United States is hit by a cyberattack that affects all networks. Telephone, banking and power systems are at a standstill. The world's leading power is cut off from the world and leaders do not know how to react. Cyberwar is an exercise in style: what would happen if a computer virus hit an entire country? At times, the reader feels like reading a newspaper article explaining the devastation caused by a single line of code.
A country plunged into anarchy
Far from remaining within the borders, the narrative also shows rising tensions with North Korea and a global collapse in banking exchanges. The pages alternate between studying the effects of the attack, the reaction of the crisis cabinet and action to find the culprits. The comic strip – like a disaster film – multiplies impressive scenes: monster traffic jams, besieged shops, collision in space… It is not yet known who is responsible but leads appear with American terrorists. Is it that simple?
Characters facing danger
Cyberwar is a choral graphic novel about a few characters – men of power like the President of the United States, a blond mobster and his friend Lily, a black cosmonaut woman in Russia who wants to join her children… Jack – a small keystroke – receives a USB stick while robbing a man. The dying man orders him to give it to the President but he prefers to loot the shops without alarm. This multiplication of characters makes it possible to see the diversity of the effects of the attack. However, we do not have time to dwell on an individual and therefore the characters lack relief. However, we can regret a somewhat Manichean vision of the genre where women are victims – of rape – and men dominate. The second volume will perhaps allow to have a different image of the story.
Daniel Pecqueur, renowned screenwriter of Artica or Golden City, and Denys offer us a gripping digital thriller, centered on the effects of the attack and the search for those responsible. What revelations will the second volume offer us?
