by Zoe Gaussoin, Reporter

Official Description:

Abriel and his friends discovered the Undernet, a secret architecture to the Internet. They charted their exploration on a message board called W0RLDTR33. Then they lost control. Someone broke into W0RLDTR33—someone who welcomed the violent hold the Undernet had on them. At great personal cost, Gabriel and the others thought they sealed the Undernet away for good. They were wrong. And now they will know the meaning of PH34R.

The next major horror outing from multiple Eisner Award-winning writer JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH, The Nice House on the Lake) and FERNANDO BLANCO (Detective Comics), along with Eisner-winning colorist JORDIE BELLAIRE and Eisner-nominated letterer ADITYA BIDIKAR, begins here!

***TRIGGER WARNING*** 

W0RLDTR33 is not for the timid, probably not for the brave, it may not be for many at all besides those who are mostly dead inside. This is not a fun little cyberpunk horror comic with nudity and killers. This is ROUGH. This is realistic and despite the fantasy elements, feels very real and possible in today’s mass shooter world. 

***TRIGGER WARNING*** 

As we are introduced to this comic book world’s “undernet” we are taken on a mystical mind trip, starting with a gorgeous clothing-free AI girl typing PH34R as her login into a dead man’s laptop. Next, we are met with Gibson Lane, a teen boy on a killing spree, using his phone displaying the undernet to disable his victims before he stabs them to death. Our serial killer is doing it all as some kind of sacrifice to PH34R so he can meet our pretty AI lady with the heterochromic eyes, lots of tattoos, and distinct lack of clothing in the “New World”. 

Gibson’s brother Ellison is introduced as a distraught older brother expressing concerns that to his passenger Fausta, as they road trip to visit Gibson. Her reassurances that everything will be fine is interrupted with breaking news, his brother is a mass murderer and he had every right to be worried.

Next we are introduced to Gabriel, his hair bright white from the undernet, who watches the news unfold on the huge TV. Gabriel flashes back to a time he was with a group of friends and he told his friends to destroy the servers before it (PH34R) gets out and kills everyone on the planet. Back in the present, Gabriel calls Liam, one of these old friends who he hasn’t spoken to in 20 years. Liam calls out Gabriel for having installed an app and his contact information on Liam’s phone but agrees that he will help, now that the PH34R is loose again. Gabriel agrees to fly them all first class to the little town in Pennsylvania but he’s fearful it’s already too late.

Back to Ellison, he’s nauseous as he walks into the police station. He’s followed soon after by PH34R, who shows up in just overalls that she quickly sheds, of course. Gibson isn’t talking so the police officer escorts Ellison down to see if he will get his brother to open up to him. Then PH34R comes in all Terminator 2 style and… 

Pick up the first issue and see for yourself. 

Rating:  
ComicsOnline gives W0RLDTR33 3 out of 5 horror comics that may have gone too far. W0RLDTR33 is very much not for everyone, but gets a perfect score for execution.

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