Wizzywig
by Ed Piskor · first published 2008
2mentions
2recommended by
2HN commenters
2014–2026first – last mentioned
100% recommend
"They say What You See Is What You Get-- but Kevin "Boingthump" Phenicle could always see more than most people. In the world of phone phreaks, hackers, and scammers, he's a legend. His exploits are hotly debated: could he really get free long-distance calls by whistling into a pay phone? Did his video-game piracy scheme accidentally trigger the first computer virus? And did he really dodge the FBI by using their own wiretapping software against them? Is he even a real person? And if he's ever caught, what would happen to a geek like him in federal prison? Inspired by the incredible stories of
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I second (or third) Warren Ellis's stuff. Orbiter and Ministry of Space are a couple of good sci-fi books. Planetary's also pretty awesome, but it's more superhero-y. Others off the top of my head: Wizzywig by Ed Piskor - fictional account of a Kevin Mitnick-type hacker. We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely - 3 bionically enhanced animals escape their captors and talk funny. Lazarus by Greg Rucka and…
on “Ask HN: Comics/graphic novel for geeks?” ↗…when I was in the fourth grade and taught myself everything I know. I happened to be able to access the information and had nothing against the company." A while back I read the excellent graphic novel Wizzywig about hacking, and my takeaway was that, at base level, a hacker is a lock picker with insatiable curiosity.
on “15-year-old arrested for unsubscribing over 40k anime accounts” ↗