Creation

Josh Hacker was created by Scott McCloud for the first color volume of Zot!, in issue 3.

Major Story Arcs

The Sirius IV Conspiracy

Josh Hacker is Zot’s third-best friend. He presents as probably being Jewish. He is skilled at technology and is generally a nice guy. He sometimes calls Zot “Zotto.”

He is often seen in the company of Dick Digger. The two of them, and Vic Taylor, are Zot’s best friends from his Earth.

Hacker creates Floyd, an advanced floating robot head that is capable of surveillance. Floyd is capable of remaining undetected by any electronic devices. Vic Taylor bets Josh that Vic could use Floyd to steal the Golden Key that unlocks the Doorway at the Edge of the Universe. He does precisely that, which sets off the events of the first volume of Zot.

Heroes and Villains

Hacker converts a broken-down car from Jenny’s Earth into a flying car like the ones from Zot’s Earth while Digger watches. They take the car for a joyride into New York City along with Zot, Jenny, Terry, and Peabody, where they experience “real” crime for the first time.

Back on their Earth, Digger, Hacker, Max, and Vic watch Zot fight Bellows from lawn chairs set up for the occasion. They see it all as fun, unlike Jenny. Josh wins a bet against Dick about where Bellows will fall.

Digger and Hacker, and their friends, are turned into monkeys by the De-Evolutionaries when the Devoes try to revert the President and his family. When Josh sees that the police have their stunner set to too high a setting, he secretly switches it to a lower one so no one is hurt.

They are eventually turned back after the efforts of Zot and others.

Digger and Hacker play pool at Zot’s birthday party, held at Max’s house. They leave before Dekko goes crazy.

Josh helps Zot fly deep into an underground city when the city has been threatened with an explosion. Josh essentially acts as “the man in the chair,” doing research on the city’s infrastructure and relaying it to Zot. They think Zot needs to reach the 99^th floor but Josh realizes there is a secret 100^th floor, allowing Zot to complete the mission.

Digger and Hacker are supportive of Zot’s foray into making commercial endorsements. Zot offers Digger an electron microscope with the money he makes.

When Terry drops a pie at Max’s party, Josh catches it. Then, noticing that Peabody has a glitch, he fixes it. This causes Peabody to throw the pie at 9-Jack-9. However, Jack is immaterial, so it hits Zot instead.

Alternate Versions

Within the world of "Dimension 10 1/2," the stick-figure alternate universe created by Matt Feazell and running in the back of the black-and-white issues of Zot!, Digger and Hacker get ready to watch Zot fight, but he has been made antisocial by Antisocialman. He bonks them on the head and says Antisocialman is his friend.

Antisocialman, driving a flying school bus, captures Josh, Digger, and Vic. He drops them off in school where Antisocialman forces them to read Ulysses and do math. They escape and find Butch and the others. They all drive to Max’s but he’s not there.

Josh tries to work on a cure to Antisocialman’s antisocial serum. Digger looks for Zot with binoculars.

Josh succeeds and starts curing people, starting with Jenny. Digger finds Zot. Zot evades their serum-blasts but they trick him by splashing him with many serum-laced pies thrown in his face.

They go back to Max’s, who has now returned. Many of Zot’s villains attack, led by Antisocialman, but they are defeated and sent away.

Later, Zot and Cynicalman switch bodies. Digger and Hacker think he has amnesia and take him to a doctor.

On a day that Zot can’t go outside, Josh tells him about a robbery.

Digger, Hacker, and others watch tv and hang out. They decide to match Jenny up with Cynicalman so they have more time with Zot, but then they get tired of Zot.

Many of Zot’s friends play Woody’s variant of a role-playing game. Hacker plays Dr Tow in the game, a tow truck driver gone bad. Josh and Dig make fun of some of the other players and join Brandy’s set of serial dates she sets up for the night. Then they get Stupidboy, who pretends to be Zot’s twin brother Zit, to go out with Brandy instead. Josh and Dig run into some criminals and are caught with Zot and others. Jenny and “Zit” save them.

Hacker and Digger go to a movie about Zot along with his other friends. Hacker offers to fix the projector.