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Who Is AC?
Lonely after moving to a new town, Lin buries herself in her writing, chronicling the adventures of superhero Rhea Ironheart and thinking nothing of the mysterious call she received two months ago. But when she witnesses a robbery at her local photocopy shop, Lin instinctively returns that call, only to find herself incredibly, supernaturally transformed.
Equipped with sleek gear, and leaving rose petals in her wake, an incredulous Lin suddenly has the power to be the heroine, not just write about one. And Mel, the victim of a sinister cybervillain, needs Lin's help to undo the damage she has wrought online--and to confront the secrets of her past.
Combining magical realism with a revealing look at technology, Hope Larson and Tintin Pantoja conjure a vivid, thought-provoking world, eerily close to our own, that leaves us wondering: Can we erase our digital shadow?
Equipped with sleek gear, and leaving rose petals in her wake, an incredulous Lin suddenly has the power to be the heroine, not just write about one. And Mel, the victim of a sinister cybervillain, needs Lin's help to undo the damage she has wrought online--and to confront the secrets of her past.
Combining magical realism with a revealing look at technology, Hope Larson and Tintin Pantoja conjure a vivid, thought-provoking world, eerily close to our own, that leaves us wondering: Can we erase our digital shadow?
188 pages, Paperback
First published April 16, 2013
2 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Hope Larson
141 books719 followersHope Larson is an American illustrator and comics artist. Hope Larson is the author of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers, and Mercury. She won a 2007 Eisner Award. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 184 reviews
October 7, 2013
It's obvious that Hope Larson was watching Sailor Moon when she wrote this. As an homage to the magical girl genre, Who is AC? is fun enough. Lin, our magical girl character, is a great character. I like her passion for writing, and her family is loving and attentive (always nice to see in YA). This is essentially a lengthy pilot, so there's a lot of setup and little payoff. If there's going to be more AC volumes, that will be fine, but if this is it, it's kind of disappointing. There isn't much to say about the overarching storyline setup here, because it's fairly standard magical girl stuff: shadowy villain controlling from the sidelines, with the monster of the week transformed from a person the hero probably had contact with before.
There's a message here, to be mindful of what you post online. I can get behind that, in general. But I'm not thrilled with the execution. The first person to really run afoul of that is a girl who posts a heartfelt expression of grief online. And I don't think we need to be going so far that we're telling people they can't put on their Facebook that they're sad about something. The flipside of that is Trace, budding cyberbully. Obviously, what he posts about AC is hurtful to her, but I have a feeling that complaining somebody stopped an armed gunmen from robbing a store wouldn't make Trace the most popular person online. He's almost cartoonishly jerky, is what I'm saying, and with an actual villain, I'd rather do without him.
The art is ok. Some pages are really nice, but some are just not up to the same standard. I like how the book is black and white, except for AC's purple. It makes her stand out like a magical girl should. I'm also disappointed in the cover. Why make Lin white on the cover when she's biracial inside?
There's a message here, to be mindful of what you post online. I can get behind that, in general. But I'm not thrilled with the execution. The first person to really run afoul of that is a girl who posts a heartfelt expression of grief online. And I don't think we need to be going so far that we're telling people they can't put on their Facebook that they're sad about something. The flipside of that is Trace, budding cyberbully. Obviously, what he posts about AC is hurtful to her, but I have a feeling that complaining somebody stopped an armed gunmen from robbing a store wouldn't make Trace the most popular person online. He's almost cartoonishly jerky, is what I'm saying, and with an actual villain, I'd rather do without him.
The art is ok. Some pages are really nice, but some are just not up to the same standard. I like how the book is black and white, except for AC's purple. It makes her stand out like a magical girl should. I'm also disappointed in the cover. Why make Lin white on the cover when she's biracial inside?
June 5, 2015
I liked the artwork, but everything else was just kind of...meh?
January 4, 2016
This graphic novel by Hope Larson and Tintin Pantoja was a pleasant surprise; meaning, I didn't expect to enjoy it that much but I did. It's a great story featuring fully fleshed out main characters and art with its manga influence on its sleeve.
My only complaint is that this was a lot of set-up for what appears to be a series that didn't pan out. It's a shame, I would have wanted to read more of it. Still, it was a nice light read during lazy holiday afternoons in a coffeehouse sipping tea.
My only complaint is that this was a lot of set-up for what appears to be a series that didn't pan out. It's a shame, I would have wanted to read more of it. Still, it was a nice light read during lazy holiday afternoons in a coffeehouse sipping tea.
June 19, 2013
I spent an inordinate amount of time in middle and high school reading Saint Tail, Sailor Moon, and Tokyo Mew Mew--like many others, I was a magical-girl junkie. I still am, or would be, if I could find a series that combined the fun and brightly-colored pretty costumes of teenage waifs fighting evil with a more balanced look at what the impact of that may be. Basically, I want magical josei.
Who is AC? does not, in any way, meet that want. It's aimed at kids--but I was still disappointed. For one thing, I picked it up based on a review that made it sound like it was deeper/older than it was. OK, not the book's fault.
But it's also the art style--it's thick and often clunky, sometimes veering toward, well, badness. Often when it was needed the most, drawings felt much too static and completely interrupted the story during action scenes. And while it gets points for trying to have an American-style magical girl, the characters are one-dimensional and fairly annoying.
If there are ever more volumes, I'll likely pick them up--I'll be interested to find out more about the digitally-based magic, and I like how current concerns, like the-internet-is-forever, are woven into the story.
Who is AC? does not, in any way, meet that want. It's aimed at kids--but I was still disappointed. For one thing, I picked it up based on a review that made it sound like it was deeper/older than it was. OK, not the book's fault.
But it's also the art style--it's thick and often clunky, sometimes veering toward, well, badness. Often when it was needed the most, drawings felt much too static and completely interrupted the story during action scenes. And while it gets points for trying to have an American-style magical girl, the characters are one-dimensional and fairly annoying.
If there are ever more volumes, I'll likely pick them up--I'll be interested to find out more about the digitally-based magic, and I like how current concerns, like the-internet-is-forever, are woven into the story.
April 17, 2013
A few fun and funny moments, but really not much happens and the whole thing is obviously intended to 'warn' teens about what they do online. A noble cause, but despite great art it still came off very PSA/after school special. Seems like there will be more installments, I hope it can develop a better balance of lesson and story.
May 23, 2023
Story: 2 stars
Art: 4 stars
A fifteen-year-old budding writer gets a mysterious call on her cell phone while traveling on a plane with her family to relocate to a new town. Somehow from this call she is imbued with some sort of superpowers, though they don't actually manifest until two months later when she calls the strange number for some unknown reason. Lin's superhero persona intercepts a robbery at the town's photocopy shop. Meanwhile, the photocopy shop manager, who hates the superhero for accidentally breaking his glasses, is dating a girl who is struggling with the accidental death of her beloved horse. In moments of grief, Horse Girl has over-shared on her blog. As far as I know, the owner of a blog can delete it at any time. But in exchange for deleting the blog that Horse Girl is embarrassed about, a coder who calls himself /me sends her after the superhero, via the photocopy shop manager. Confused enough yet? The coder /me is the same person who endowed Lin with superpowers.
The pacing is too fast, leaving so many unanswered questions. The coder /me is woefully underdeveloped. Too many characters have no real stake in the story. The plot has holes and the characters don't fit well together. The whole thing feels disjointed.
But the illustrator did a good job. The art and panel layout are sophisticated. The mainly black-and-white art is accented with pink only for the superhero persona, which works well visually.
Art: 4 stars
A fifteen-year-old budding writer gets a mysterious call on her cell phone while traveling on a plane with her family to relocate to a new town. Somehow from this call she is imbued with some sort of superpowers, though they don't actually manifest until two months later when she calls the strange number for some unknown reason. Lin's superhero persona intercepts a robbery at the town's photocopy shop. Meanwhile, the photocopy shop manager, who hates the superhero for accidentally breaking his glasses, is dating a girl who is struggling with the accidental death of her beloved horse. In moments of grief, Horse Girl has over-shared on her blog. As far as I know, the owner of a blog can delete it at any time. But in exchange for deleting the blog that Horse Girl is embarrassed about, a coder who calls himself /me sends her after the superhero, via the photocopy shop manager. Confused enough yet? The coder /me is the same person who endowed Lin with superpowers.
The pacing is too fast, leaving so many unanswered questions. The coder /me is woefully underdeveloped. Too many characters have no real stake in the story. The plot has holes and the characters don't fit well together. The whole thing feels disjointed.
But the illustrator did a good job. The art and panel layout are sophisticated. The mainly black-and-white art is accented with pink only for the superhero persona, which works well visually.
April 19, 2013
This slim little graphic novel ended up being a bit more philosophical than I expected. As a fan of "Chiggers" and her interpretation of "A Wrinkle in Time," I was looking forward to this new book by Hope Larson. Although she doesn't do the illustrations in this one! Weird!
Lin, a 15-year-old into storytelling and making 'zines, has just moved to a new, very small town in upstate New York with her academic parents and younger brother. During the plane ride there, she has a VERY strange experience involving her cell phone. She doesn't think much of it, but a while later when she is witnessing a robbery, her cell phone starts acting strange again and...wait for it...transforms her into a superhero! She eventually ends up battling her new-found nemesis, the "digital shadow". A fun and interesting take on how technology affects our lives. I'm not sure I quite grasped all the nuances in it myself.
My one complaint is the cover. Lin is drawn delightfully brown throughout the book--which is illustrated mostly in black, white & grey with pops of purple. It appears Lin is of mixed race with a black mother and white father. Wonderful! The cover, however, depicts an obviously white girl with pink hair and a pink superhero type mask. I read about half of this book during my dinner break last night and when I picked it up again before bed it struck me as being SO OFF. I wasn't even sure that was meant to be Lin on the cover at first. A disappointing package for an otherwise great story.
ETA: This read like a first in a series and so ends rather abruptly. It's a good start! I'm curious to see where Lin will go next.
Lin, a 15-year-old into storytelling and making 'zines, has just moved to a new, very small town in upstate New York with her academic parents and younger brother. During the plane ride there, she has a VERY strange experience involving her cell phone. She doesn't think much of it, but a while later when she is witnessing a robbery, her cell phone starts acting strange again and...wait for it...transforms her into a superhero! She eventually ends up battling her new-found nemesis, the "digital shadow". A fun and interesting take on how technology affects our lives. I'm not sure I quite grasped all the nuances in it myself.
My one complaint is the cover. Lin is drawn delightfully brown throughout the book--which is illustrated mostly in black, white & grey with pops of purple. It appears Lin is of mixed race with a black mother and white father. Wonderful! The cover, however, depicts an obviously white girl with pink hair and a pink superhero type mask. I read about half of this book during my dinner break last night and when I picked it up again before bed it struck me as being SO OFF. I wasn't even sure that was meant to be Lin on the cover at first. A disappointing package for an otherwise great story.
ETA: This read like a first in a series and so ends rather abruptly. It's a good start! I'm curious to see where Lin will go next.
January 28, 2014
Yay superheroes in daily life! Yay zine making in YA lit! Yay protagonists who are not white! Yay acknowledging the existence of technology!
This is really just the beginning. We're left with more questions than answers. All we know is that our protagonist (a female-identified mixed-race zine-making high school freshman)has superpowers involving rose petals and her cell phone. And there's a creepy supervillain stalking her through people and the internet.
It wasn't a total homerun for me. The technology used may date it quickly. The cover slightly obscures the fact that the protagonist is not white. But these are relatively minor points. It's solid and fine. It will do well next to other teen heroine GNs like Gunnerkrigg Court, Friends with Boys, and Foiled. Just didn't completely enrapture me.
This is really just the beginning. We're left with more questions than answers. All we know is that our protagonist (a female-identified mixed-race zine-making high school freshman)has superpowers involving rose petals and her cell phone. And there's a creepy supervillain stalking her through people and the internet.
It wasn't a total homerun for me. The technology used may date it quickly. The cover slightly obscures the fact that the protagonist is not white. But these are relatively minor points. It's solid and fine. It will do well next to other teen heroine GNs like Gunnerkrigg Court, Friends with Boys, and Foiled. Just didn't completely enrapture me.
September 27, 2019
Swanky art, interesting back stories, intriguing conflict and plot... But it just ends and nothing is resolved and there wasn't enough of a cliff-hanger to care. What's up with that? And the bad guy is like a stereotypical computer nerd, not very cool or scary. It's a nicely baked but ultimately forgettable Saltine cracker without any aftertaste.
February 19, 2025
No. Just no.
September 1, 2014
The superhero/magical girl genre is a familiar troupe, but if writers have an inspired sense of vision, they can turn it into something fresh and interesting. Cardcaptor Sakura used the "monster of the day" aspect of Magical Girl shows as a tool to create meaningful character interactions and to explore their feelings and points of view; Madoka Magica deconstructed the genre, created a suspenseful, heart-wrenching story, and offered a meditation on hope, sacrifice, and morality; Mawaru Penguindrum turned the premise into a heavily stylized, humorous, philosophical mindscrew.
I realize those are anime, and this is a graphic novel, but the same rule applies: If you're going to use cliches, do something new with them. Subvert our expectations; combine them with something totally different; go over-the-top with them and make it fun; or at least write a story that is by-the-book but with such good storytelling, characters, and art, it is worth the read.
The problem with WHO IS AC? is that it doesn't follow this rule. The basic premise is that a teenage girl learns her cellphone can turn her into a superhero/magical girl so she can fight bad guys, etc, etc, but unfortunately the story doesn't do anything new with it. I mean, yes, the art is wonderfully expressive and stylish (and easily the best part of the novel), there are some funny moments, and the cast is diverse in personality (plus, points for including a biracial main character), but other than that, the story is utterly by-the-book. I will probably forget all the plot points in a week or so. Most unfortunately, WHO IS AC? feels very prequel-y, so it's not even a satisfying read.
Now, it's not a bad book, not by a long shot. I DID give it two stars ("it was OK"). The plot is a little confusing at the beginning and does hinge on a contrivance or two, but progresses smoothly, without any overt plot holes or out-of-character moments. The storyline doesn't build suspense or become a page-turner, but it is written with some energy so reading it is quick and amusing. It's an alright book, but unfortunately that's the best I can say about it.
May 15, 2013
Lin is the fifteen year old bi-racial daughter of a pair of academicians new to the New England college town of Barnhurst (population 2,647). Precocious in her literary ambitions, she sells copies of her self-published swashbuckling serial, The Travels of Rhea Ironheart, on consignment at the local bookstore. She has also just become a superheroine. When the binary string 00101111 01101101 01100101 (translating to “/me”, an Internet Relay Chat command and the name of a shadowy villain) appears on her cellphone, she is -- through some vague mechanism of the mysterious internet reminiscent of Freakazoid! -- equipped with a Sailor Moon inspired costume and a digital clock spear with powers that are yet ill-defined. When her first outing results in the inadvertent loss of a bystander’s spectacles, he angrily blogs about the event and dubs her AC, short for Anonymous Coward (the default name for unregistered users on slashdot.com). Larson’s story has all the hallmarks of a modern superhero origin story: mysterious powers, mysterious supporting characters, plot threads planted with the promise of future payoff and heaps of genre-awareness. Pantoja’s art is manga-influenced and shows confidence in altering panel arrangements to influence a scene’s tone. In the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, day-to-day events are depicted in shaded black & white, while AC’s costume and other superheroic elements are given a purple dichromatic treatment. While Lin begins her sophomore year of high school at the end of the book, Larson’s characterization does not read like that of a high school student, instead skewing toward middle grades, which may be the best audience for this interesting first installment.
June 18, 2013
This was a disappointment. I was really excited about a new Hope Larson book, because I love her artwork so much. Unfortunately, this one's written by Larson, but illustrated by Tintin Pantoja, and Pantoja's artwork is not much to my liking. It looks amateurish to my eye, really -- a lot of the angles look distorted, and people's faces don't look quite right, but not so much in a manga sort of way as in a "drawing noses with a Sharpie is hard" kind of way.
It's not just the artwork, either; I have loved Larson's work in the past because of its dreamlike feel and contemplative vibe. This would seem to be Larson's attempt at a more plot-driven work, and it doesn't quite gel for me. I totally dug Lin as a main character, but the superhero plot was not very deftly introduced, and the metaphors with internet behavior were heavy-handed.
If there are further volumes in the series I'll give them a chance, but this one was not a win for me.
ALSO: Why is the girl on the cover white, when Lin is not?
It's not just the artwork, either; I have loved Larson's work in the past because of its dreamlike feel and contemplative vibe. This would seem to be Larson's attempt at a more plot-driven work, and it doesn't quite gel for me. I totally dug Lin as a main character, but the superhero plot was not very deftly introduced, and the metaphors with internet behavior were heavy-handed.
If there are further volumes in the series I'll give them a chance, but this one was not a win for me.
ALSO: Why is the girl on the cover white, when Lin is not?
June 26, 2013
I'll keep my remarks on this book short as it, unfortunately, did nothing for me. I loved Larson's Mercury but found this to be incomparable. The story was a pleasant diversion and the art is enjoyable thus worth a few stars and the time it took to read. However, I just did not connect with the characters. Honestly, I found them boring. AC's superhero persona was so mysterious as to be baffling and nothing was really resolved in the book. It is quite apparent that the story plans to continue with a sequel. As to being for ages 12+, there is no content to make it so, simply the story is about highschoolers and really would not appeal to youngers (and in my case, olders). Best suited to big Hope Larson fans
May 21, 2013
I really, really liked the characters and the concept: the actual story/art execution, not so much. I wish this were a little more fully fleshed out, though maybe that can happen if it expands into a series.
February 20, 2015
This book is fun but kind of weird. The villain is, like, an internet troll? And the troll makes people mean IRL? I was also surprised this was published in 2013, because Lin's cell phone is dated even for that time. It looks like an old Nokia.
June 29, 2013
Not drawn by Hope Larson, so that was disappointing, since the artist isn't nearly as good... and even her story isn't interesting to me. Eh. Meh.
August 16, 2018
Well. The artwork is beautiful. But I was confused most of the way through and it didn’t feel like it had a point. It wasn’t bad. Just okay.
January 26, 2018
Who is AC? Is a graphic novel by Hope Larson about a young girl, Lin who accidentally ‘downloads’ magical powers through her cellphone. Just as the power of technology can be used for good, it can also be used for bad and Lin has received the download in order to fight and defeat the bad that technology can loose on the world. Lin is a reluctant superhero, preferring to write books about daring heroines instead of being one herself. But she knows the role of a hero and knows what she has to do, whether she wants to are not, she’s the only one who has the ability right now, so she suits up to defeat the would-be cyber bully, barely making it home in time for curfew.
Overall, the book was a decent read with a strong female coming-of-age type plotline. However, it has several shortcomings, mainly that the text and plot itself feels that it wasn’t completely fleshed out or solid in the creators’ minds. It has a really nice hardcover with strong binding and a matching dustjacket. The covers themselves are in black and white with pink as the highlight color, while the interior of the book is in black and white with purple as the highlighting color. This change in highlighting color, unfortunately, made for discontinuity which was disappointing. The storyline itself could be really good, unfortunately the actual text and dialogue of the book leave something wanting. There are points where it doesn’t flow well, transitions to different characters aren’t marked, which can add to the confusion. Lastly, the conclusion of the book leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Hopefully there will be a continuation to the storyline with more fleshed out plot and text to answer what happened in the first book and give credence to our main character’s storyline.
Overall, the book was a decent read with a strong female coming-of-age type plotline. However, it has several shortcomings, mainly that the text and plot itself feels that it wasn’t completely fleshed out or solid in the creators’ minds. It has a really nice hardcover with strong binding and a matching dustjacket. The covers themselves are in black and white with pink as the highlight color, while the interior of the book is in black and white with purple as the highlighting color. This change in highlighting color, unfortunately, made for discontinuity which was disappointing. The storyline itself could be really good, unfortunately the actual text and dialogue of the book leave something wanting. There are points where it doesn’t flow well, transitions to different characters aren’t marked, which can add to the confusion. Lastly, the conclusion of the book leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Hopefully there will be a continuation to the storyline with more fleshed out plot and text to answer what happened in the first book and give credence to our main character’s storyline.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2019
I have to agree with one of the previous reviews. This does seem like a set up for further books. Unlike that person I did not find it to be bad writing. It is from the view point of a 13 year old and that may be where the previous reviewer thought it was poorly written. I thought the author captured the viewpoint of an early teen spot on. I work with kids 11 to 18 and have seen their views first hand. I look forward to seeing if this becomes a series. They gave enough back story to be interested in the main characters. They gave enough hints to the villain for us to want to find out more there as well. In this digital age, the use of technology was creative. I did not get the rose petal thing though.
August 28, 2025
Eisner Award winner Hope Larson teamed up with illustrator Tintin Pantoja in this fun young adult graphic novel.
Lin is 15 and new in town. She writes her own comics, chronicling the adventures of superhero Rhea Ironheart. But Lin is about to have some superhero adventures herself.
A mysterious cyber criminal is preying on the vulnerable teen Mel, turning her into a monster. Mel has her tenacles--literally--into copyshop worker Trace. But Lin's rescue of Trace backfires, and Trace begins his own anonymous campaign to bring Lin--whom he's dubbed AC, or Anonymous Coward--down.
Featuring a BIPOC protagonist, this is a fast-paced, magic realism story about belonging, the Internet, and finding your own power.
Lin is 15 and new in town. She writes her own comics, chronicling the adventures of superhero Rhea Ironheart. But Lin is about to have some superhero adventures herself.
A mysterious cyber criminal is preying on the vulnerable teen Mel, turning her into a monster. Mel has her tenacles--literally--into copyshop worker Trace. But Lin's rescue of Trace backfires, and Trace begins his own anonymous campaign to bring Lin--whom he's dubbed AC, or Anonymous Coward--down.
Featuring a BIPOC protagonist, this is a fast-paced, magic realism story about belonging, the Internet, and finding your own power.
August 23, 2021
I wanted to like this more but the story was a little confusing. Cool concept, though: girl gets mysterious phone call full of 1's and 0's, and is somehow techno-transformed into a superhero whenever her help is needed. AC stands for "Anonymous Coward" which was a weird name, given to her by a boy who got mad at her for not apologizing to him when her sudden transformation caused him some trouble. Hard to explain succintly. I also wasn't a huge fan of the art, I think that added to my confusion at times.
December 29, 2016
I was a tad disappointed in this book. I love Hope Larson, so I pre-ordered this book before it came out. I should have just waited to get it from the library. It took me two tries to get through it, which is unusual for me.
The story was okay & well-written enough, but the art left much to be desired. Some pages were okay, others were messy & super hard to follow. It's worth ago if you're a fan, but don't expect Larson's usually high caliber.
The story was okay & well-written enough, but the art left much to be desired. Some pages were okay, others were messy & super hard to follow. It's worth ago if you're a fan, but don't expect Larson's usually high caliber.
July 6, 2017
I was all ready to like this, and then I just couldn't manage to actually like it. The story just seemed busted somehow. Incomplete motivations, incomplete magical mechanics, unclear stakes, unclear causes and effects. It has the exterior gestures of a magical girl story, but lacks the working core.
Larson's other books are better.
Larson's other books are better.
September 10, 2018
I was so lost while reading this comic. I know there is a superhero that has something to do with the internet and fights (internet) trolls, but there were other storylines that I have no idea how they truly tie in. This is not getting 1-star, because I enjoyed the art style.
February 18, 2019
I liked the illustrations but the plot was a bit all over the place and I felt very confused hopping into this book. Usually I love graphic novels, but I had trouble focusing on this one and connecting what was going on.
July 26, 2020
AC made me audibly laugh a few times due to her sheer authenticity. She’s very sassy. Some of the scenes were confusing because they jumped around a lot but overall it’s a pretty cute story, with homage to Sailor Moon and internet trolls.
August 25, 2020
I love this book. I told myself that I would read it over and over again. I would love it if the author could turn this into a series. I really love this book. the details are epic. The storyline is great. The superhero"AC" is amazing. This book inspired me to make my own superhero.
May 19, 2022
It wasn't bad, and I read it in one sitting, but the plot was kind of thin and the main character didn't seem too freaked out by what was happening. It also ended with a lot of things being unfinished or unexplained.
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