INCREDIBLE DOOM

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.