Channel Zero

It's sometime in the not so distant future and the government of the Unites States has decided to "protect" its citizens by taking complete and total control over all media. Absolutely everything in print, on TV and online is censored to reflect the country's good, clean, Christian values. Also, the country is getting ready to bomb the absolute living crap out of Mexico.
Along comes Jenny 2.5, a lone hacker who is somehow able to bust into heavily guarded secure frequencies and broadcast snippets of revolutionary propaganda. She thinks she's helping over throw the government - the government thinks she's ratings gold - and the people she's trying to reach think she's super cool and they all want to look and dress just like her.
Now, I really don't know why, because thematically they don't have much in common, but the entire time I was reading this I kept thinking how much it reminded me of the anime "Serial Experiments Lain." Maybe it's because, like Lain, Channel Zero gives the reader a sense of static noise and the feeling that everything is happening in quick jump-cuts. The black and white artwork adds to this feeling - the feeling that you are watching something on an old TV that doesn't get very good reception and there is a lot more "snow" than picture. Instead of detracting from the story, to me, this feeling actually went perfectly with the bleak themes presented here. ( )

I first read this over a year ago, but only very recently purchased it. I definitely didn't guess when I originally read it that it first had been published in 1997. Jenny 2.5 is a performance artist/student in New York who fights against the heavily censored mainstream media and works to rouse people from their apathy and cynicism. She is earnestly anti-establishment but as her popularity grows her views are challenged and become more complex. I can see how that would come off as a bit trite if you're reading this, but the book really isn't cliche at all. Wood exploits what the black and white medium offers very well (line drawings, photo-realism, etc.) and it makes me wonder why he doesn't illustrate more of his own work. Lots of propaganda drawings with slogans like "progress backwards" and "your mind is a weapon. use it!" Channel Zero has been referred to as a comic for people who don't read comics (like, Maus, Sandman, et. al.), but I really object to that. It holds appeal for readers who aren't totally into the spandex is a far better way of putting it. ( )