Starred Review In 1991, the burgeoning potential of the internet felt dark and mysterious to many. But to a few teens who knew where to look, it held the promise of desperately needed freedom. For Allison, the daughter of an abusive father, it's a connection to Samir, maybe her ally in escape and maybe her first love. For the bullied Richard, it's an alarm that calls a protector, a protector who introduces him to a disaffected community he's not sure he wants to join. Crimes are committed, helping hands offered, and somehow or other, someone walks into a McDonald's without pants on. Early internet communication through bulletin board systems will seem quaint (there's scant mention of a barely comprehensible thing called "email"), but it was already a powerful gateway to the human connection that the web, in its ideal form, can still be. And the human stories of desperation, of reaching out, and of discovering new worlds really shine here, both in characterizations and in sharp linework and careful compositions that elegantly highlight meaningful moments. Indeed, volume one ends on a perfectly satisfying note of coming together, even as it promises the story is only beginning, though a pervasive tint of cool blue and the portentous title suggest darker things might be on the way in volume two.

In the early days of public internet, teens escape small-town persecution using text-based chat.Allison's father abuses her; Samir has never felt like he belonged; and Richard becomes the target of a violent bully. Their lives are frustrating, but a computer and a phone line make all the difference. Using bulletin boards, email, and internet relay chat, they forge new connections: "It's like coming up for air, discovering some people out there don't suck." Faux screenshots of command-line email clients and ASCII art provide glittering nostalgia for anyone who used the internet in the 1990s but perhaps only niche historical interest for today's teens. There are a few scenes of particularly vicious bullying and abuse; Allison's father locks her in a box, and Richard's tormentor pushes him down a flight of stairs. While the art is angular and somewhat minimalist-characters have dot eyes-it's expressive and uses space on the page to great effect to slow down certain moments. Richard finally finds a friend in bulletin board admin Tina, who confides that she might be gay after she leads him to the anti-establishment "evol house." That happens to be right where Sam and Allison end up after fleeing her apoplectic father, setting the story up for a sequel. Sam has a Black father and Iranian immigrant mother; other characters read as White.Heartfelt computer nerd drama. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)