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Bitch Planet (Single Issues) #1
Bitch Planet #1 Limited Edition GHOST Variant
Limited Edition GHOST Variant of the super awesome BITCH PLANET series from image Comics! Here is what image has to say about there hit "2014 Best Writer Eisner Award nominee KELLY SUE DeCONNICK (PRETTY DEADLY, Captain Marvel) and VALENTINE DE LANDRO (X-Factor) team up for the very third time to bring you the premiere issue of BITCH PLANET, their highly-anticipated women in prison sci-fi exploitation riff. Think Margaret Atwood meets Inglourious Basterds."
Comic
First published December 10, 2014
51 people are currently reading
5023 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Sue DeConnick
364 books2,235 followersKelly Sue DeConnick’s work spans stage, comics, film and television. Ms. DeConnick first came to prominence as a comics writer, where she is best known for reinventing the Carol Danvers as “Captain Marvel” at Marvel and for the Black Label standard-setting Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons at DC. Her independent comics Bitch Planet and Pretty Deadly (both from Image Comics) have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
Ms. DeConnick’s screen work includes stints on Captain Marvel, a film that earned $1B for Disney worldwide, and 2023’s forthcoming The Marvels with Marvel Studios; in addition to having consulted on features for Skydance and ARRAY, and developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. Her most recent stage work is the mythic spectacle AWAKENING, which opened at the Wynn Resort Las Vegas in November 2022.
Mission-driven, Ms. DeConnick is also a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where she has helped to produce non-fiction and educational comics including the “Hidden Voices” and “Recognized” series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ Run, in partnership with Abrams Comics.
In 2015, Ms. DeConnick founded the #VisibleWomen Project, whose mission is to help women and other marginalized genders find paid work in comics and its related industries. The project continues to this day and recently expanded in partnership with Dani Hedlund of Brink Literacy.
Ms. DeConnick lives in Portland, OR with her husband, writer Matt Fraction, and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 263 reviews
January 28, 2017
I really seem to be on this dominant female kick lately with ODY-C (My Review of #1) and Y: The Last Man (Also My Review of #1), and I really am enjoying it. Not only the comic books that I'm reading, but in my Social Psychology and my Sociology class this topic has come up. Feminism is in the spot light right now, but there's so much misunderstanding behind what that word means.
I wasn't going to review this. It's 6:48 am, I have had only one of my two cups of coffee, and I need to leave for work shortly. The plan was to relax, until I went to review this on Comic Book Roundup and saw this comment:
"If you are a man-hating fem-nazi, you will like this book. Otherwise, steer clear!"
So, back up two weeks, I wrote a discussion post for my Social Psychology class about gender identity and how it is primarily a social construct and also about gender roles and how they are absolutely a social construct. I chose my words carefully and I congenially advocated for not just equality of sexes and genders, not only for the fact that I think it's glorious that women are becoming able to express themselves in ways that defy the traditional male suppression, but I also expressed how I felt about man's role regarding feminism. An equality of both sexes means the way things are needs to change--and slowly is--from both ends of the game.
I'm an emotional, sensitive male. This was detrimental to me during my younger years when I got picked on for having feelings (imagine that, boys feel too.) I've come to embrace that side of me, bolstering my empathetic tendrils and blooming into a highly compassionate person--it's why I'm going into social work; I can easily feel for others and I have a boundless urge to help. In my post I spoke about how males shouldn't be afraid to be emotional; being unemotional hinders so many relationships and causes cruel rather than compassionate action. I talked about Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote: "The finest people marry the two tsexes in their own person." I spoke about how, emotionally, children shouldn't be herded into the 'unemotional male pasture' and the 'emotional, subordinate female pasture'. People should be who they feel that they are.
The very first response to my post contained the following: "I found your post insightful, entertaining, and very well written, but completely wrong!...Once we accomplish our modern-day focus on making men more femine and all of us more androgynous, I think we will all be sorry...There is also absolutely a war on men."
Everyone gets a right to have an opinion; this is about equality after all and equal rights to shout whatever nonsense you want is part of that. But this response bothered me. It surprised me that people can still think this way. Like after years and years of female suppression, people are finally standing up for the fact that they should be allowed to be whoever they desire to be? Not just females, but LGBT are fighting the same fight. And suddenly this equates to "a war on men"?! *Facepalm* X100000. I ranted about it to my colleagues, to my girlfriend, to my parents, to my friends. I replied to this individual in kind, once again congenially explaining my views thinking he misunderstood me (he formidably replied that he absolutely didn't misunderstand me.)
This second incursion (the first one in bold) has really set me off.
Bitch Planet is set in a dystopian universe where females are siphoned off onto another planet if they "aren't compliant". A.k.a if they are different than the way men want them, they are shipped off. The book highlights the inequalities between the sexes and how male expectations still rule females. Once you become non-compliant, once you stop wearing make-up, or you're of a non-white race, or your weight doesn't fit into this socially constructed limit, BAM off you go to Bitch Planet. It's an abrasive tale, politically striking, and exactly the kind of comic book that should be published in this day and age.
Enough with the suppression. Let people be themselves. Enough with the inadequacy and being afraid to step outside feeling self-conscious about looks, disposition, and status. Not just concerning feminism, but all of the current isms and phobias. Enough with the exclusion.
*End Rant*
In lieu of editing this 'review' prior to work, I need that second cup of coffee, so I apologize for the typos that didn't get oppressed with the red squiggly line.
Edited for the last time after many days of coffee and thoughts. Sorry for the spam to those of you who've seen this multiple times.
I wasn't going to review this. It's 6:48 am, I have had only one of my two cups of coffee, and I need to leave for work shortly. The plan was to relax, until I went to review this on Comic Book Roundup and saw this comment:
"If you are a man-hating fem-nazi, you will like this book. Otherwise, steer clear!"
So, back up two weeks, I wrote a discussion post for my Social Psychology class about gender identity and how it is primarily a social construct and also about gender roles and how they are absolutely a social construct. I chose my words carefully and I congenially advocated for not just equality of sexes and genders, not only for the fact that I think it's glorious that women are becoming able to express themselves in ways that defy the traditional male suppression, but I also expressed how I felt about man's role regarding feminism. An equality of both sexes means the way things are needs to change--and slowly is--from both ends of the game.
I'm an emotional, sensitive male. This was detrimental to me during my younger years when I got picked on for having feelings (imagine that, boys feel too.) I've come to embrace that side of me, bolstering my empathetic tendrils and blooming into a highly compassionate person--it's why I'm going into social work; I can easily feel for others and I have a boundless urge to help. In my post I spoke about how males shouldn't be afraid to be emotional; being unemotional hinders so many relationships and causes cruel rather than compassionate action. I talked about Ralph Waldo Emerson's quote: "The finest people marry the two tsexes in their own person." I spoke about how, emotionally, children shouldn't be herded into the 'unemotional male pasture' and the 'emotional, subordinate female pasture'. People should be who they feel that they are.
The very first response to my post contained the following: "I found your post insightful, entertaining, and very well written, but completely wrong!...Once we accomplish our modern-day focus on making men more femine and all of us more androgynous, I think we will all be sorry...There is also absolutely a war on men."
Everyone gets a right to have an opinion; this is about equality after all and equal rights to shout whatever nonsense you want is part of that. But this response bothered me. It surprised me that people can still think this way. Like after years and years of female suppression, people are finally standing up for the fact that they should be allowed to be whoever they desire to be? Not just females, but LGBT are fighting the same fight. And suddenly this equates to "a war on men"?! *Facepalm* X100000. I ranted about it to my colleagues, to my girlfriend, to my parents, to my friends. I replied to this individual in kind, once again congenially explaining my views thinking he misunderstood me (he formidably replied that he absolutely didn't misunderstand me.)
This second incursion (the first one in bold) has really set me off.
Bitch Planet is set in a dystopian universe where females are siphoned off onto another planet if they "aren't compliant". A.k.a if they are different than the way men want them, they are shipped off. The book highlights the inequalities between the sexes and how male expectations still rule females. Once you become non-compliant, once you stop wearing make-up, or you're of a non-white race, or your weight doesn't fit into this socially constructed limit, BAM off you go to Bitch Planet. It's an abrasive tale, politically striking, and exactly the kind of comic book that should be published in this day and age.
Enough with the suppression. Let people be themselves. Enough with the inadequacy and being afraid to step outside feeling self-conscious about looks, disposition, and status. Not just concerning feminism, but all of the current isms and phobias. Enough with the exclusion.
*End Rant*
In lieu of editing this 'review' prior to work, I need that second cup of coffee, so I apologize for the typos that didn't get oppressed with the red squiggly line.
Edited for the last time after many days of coffee and thoughts. Sorry for the spam to those of you who've seen this multiple times.
April 29, 2023
(2023 update : You all might laugh at me, but this comic is actually what destroyed all the stereotypes about feminism for me, it was the articles with this comic, each comic had a few articles at the end, about feminism that was hard to read for me at the time, but i put in the effort and understood them, and my view changed, and my perspective became wider, I am not sure if i identified immediately or while reading through it as a feminist, or was it a later thing, but i did, i didn't talk about it much, but i showed it through my actions and through what i say, and the sides i take in trendy problems in Egypt, which are the right side, but usually has the least supporters sadly.
The funny thing is, this wasn't even on my radar, an Arab Lesbian friend of mine, was asking about it, and i put it in tbr list, forgot about it for a year or two, and then i read it thinking it was something that was recommended to me at one point, it wasn't, The Articles felt way more powerful than the story of the comic.
Also this was something that again, Destroyed many stereotypes about LGBTQ people for me, Cinema was doing a great job at that already, as i had already seen amazing movies like Moonlight and Dallas buyers club, But Its movies, its not real, but the LGBTQ people in the letters were real...
They were so real, they wrote many letters that touched and cut deep into my heart, and probably into every single reader's heart.
It's insane how something that might have never been effected me this much.
Only problem is after saying all that, only single issues of this comic, contain the letters and the articles, people were really sad that they didn't collect them in the volumes, but its usually the first thing that gets cut when making comic volumes, anyway Cheers, i felt it was a story worth sharing.)
Too early to decide how good will this be.
I loved the article in the end about feminism, i think its my first time reading something like that!
I like the fat woman she is bad-ass and obsessed with her tits lol
And the black tough girl is amazing too, she stands up for the oppressed i love her!
The funny thing is, this wasn't even on my radar, an Arab Lesbian friend of mine, was asking about it, and i put it in tbr list, forgot about it for a year or two, and then i read it thinking it was something that was recommended to me at one point, it wasn't, The Articles felt way more powerful than the story of the comic.
Also this was something that again, Destroyed many stereotypes about LGBTQ people for me, Cinema was doing a great job at that already, as i had already seen amazing movies like Moonlight and Dallas buyers club, But Its movies, its not real, but the LGBTQ people in the letters were real...
They were so real, they wrote many letters that touched and cut deep into my heart, and probably into every single reader's heart.
It's insane how something that might have never been effected me this much.
Only problem is after saying all that, only single issues of this comic, contain the letters and the articles, people were really sad that they didn't collect them in the volumes, but its usually the first thing that gets cut when making comic volumes, anyway Cheers, i felt it was a story worth sharing.)
Too early to decide how good will this be.
I loved the article in the end about feminism, i think its my first time reading something like that!
I like the fat woman she is bad-ass and obsessed with her tits lol
And the black tough girl is amazing too, she stands up for the oppressed i love her!
December 10, 2014
No it’s not a chain of Kim Kardashian boutiques, this is Kelly Sue DeConnick’s latest comic: Female Dog Planet aka Orange Is The New Black… In Spaaaaaaaaaace!
In yet another dystopian future, women are sent to a prison planet for the slightest of transgressions that go against the patriarchal ideal female who is subservient and compliant. Husband sick of the wife and wants to trade her in for a younger model? Pay some agency to get rid of her and shack up with Wife #2!
The first issue looks at the inmates who begin to be processed on Bitch Planet and that’s pretty much it. There doesn’t seem to be a main character or plot but it is loudly FEMINIST. DeConnick doesn’t actually seem to want to tell a good story, she just wants to yell and gnash her teeth about female politics.
Which is fine - but the approach is all wrong. It’s presented in a grindhouse movie-esque style. The genre is supposed to be overblown and melodramatic. It’s supposed to be crude and ridiculously simplistic in approach. Except it’s asking us to think seriously about women’s roles in society and the inequality many still face across the world. Put simply, the two don’t gel and the presentation undermines the message.
The first page is well laid out and very artistic with a voiceover actor rushing to the studio through the futuristic crowds while her producer counts her down. The title page is stylish and nicely designed, and I like the way the conversation between the sleazy guy, the husband and the wife is presented with their words overlapping despite the wife being in different place.
Danielle Henderson’s essay that follows is also very good - much better than the preceding comic in fact because it makes no allusion about pretending to tell a story; it’s simply non-fiction. That’s about all I liked about the issue though and it doesn’t add up to much.
The whole time I was waiting to connect to a character or become invested in a story and all I felt was that I was being manipulated with a very one-sided pseudo-tale that was all message. It’s almost like I feel that if I don’t say I like this comic I’m branding myself as a misogynist/sexist and I’m not that.
The riot scene is bland and unexciting, the two prison controllers’ dialogue was uninteresting, the appearance of the second wife was bizarre (where did she come from again?!), and the introduction of our hero fell flat because she’s introduced at the very end and we know nothing about her.
It comes down to DeConnick just not being a very good writer which is why I’ve ever taken to her Captain Marvel or Pretty Deadly books - yet still I keep giving her a chance to show me why she’s so beloved! And I think that comes down to personality over talent.
Valentine de Landro’s art is quite good. I like the front and back covers’ designs, the aforementioned title page, and a couple of the conversational sequences in the issue (even if the dialogue itself was lacking), but his art doesn’t do much for me. It’s personal taste but his work looks like a hundred other artists’ styles to me. Cris Peter’s colours too are no great shakes, giving the overall comic a boring generic look.
I’m all for feminism and equality in all things and I’m sure this comic will get enormous praise lavished on it because it’s saying all of the correct things very effusively with plenty of righteous anger. Because Female Writer + Feminist Story = GOLD, right? Hmm. No. When I picked up Bitch Planet #1 I was just hoping for a good comic to read - and, based solely on that, it’s definitely not good at all.
In yet another dystopian future, women are sent to a prison planet for the slightest of transgressions that go against the patriarchal ideal female who is subservient and compliant. Husband sick of the wife and wants to trade her in for a younger model? Pay some agency to get rid of her and shack up with Wife #2!
The first issue looks at the inmates who begin to be processed on Bitch Planet and that’s pretty much it. There doesn’t seem to be a main character or plot but it is loudly FEMINIST. DeConnick doesn’t actually seem to want to tell a good story, she just wants to yell and gnash her teeth about female politics.
Which is fine - but the approach is all wrong. It’s presented in a grindhouse movie-esque style. The genre is supposed to be overblown and melodramatic. It’s supposed to be crude and ridiculously simplistic in approach. Except it’s asking us to think seriously about women’s roles in society and the inequality many still face across the world. Put simply, the two don’t gel and the presentation undermines the message.
The first page is well laid out and very artistic with a voiceover actor rushing to the studio through the futuristic crowds while her producer counts her down. The title page is stylish and nicely designed, and I like the way the conversation between the sleazy guy, the husband and the wife is presented with their words overlapping despite the wife being in different place.
Danielle Henderson’s essay that follows is also very good - much better than the preceding comic in fact because it makes no allusion about pretending to tell a story; it’s simply non-fiction. That’s about all I liked about the issue though and it doesn’t add up to much.
The whole time I was waiting to connect to a character or become invested in a story and all I felt was that I was being manipulated with a very one-sided pseudo-tale that was all message. It’s almost like I feel that if I don’t say I like this comic I’m branding myself as a misogynist/sexist and I’m not that.
The riot scene is bland and unexciting, the two prison controllers’ dialogue was uninteresting, the appearance of the second wife was bizarre (where did she come from again?!), and the introduction of our hero fell flat because she’s introduced at the very end and we know nothing about her.
It comes down to DeConnick just not being a very good writer which is why I’ve ever taken to her Captain Marvel or Pretty Deadly books - yet still I keep giving her a chance to show me why she’s so beloved! And I think that comes down to personality over talent.
Valentine de Landro’s art is quite good. I like the front and back covers’ designs, the aforementioned title page, and a couple of the conversational sequences in the issue (even if the dialogue itself was lacking), but his art doesn’t do much for me. It’s personal taste but his work looks like a hundred other artists’ styles to me. Cris Peter’s colours too are no great shakes, giving the overall comic a boring generic look.
I’m all for feminism and equality in all things and I’m sure this comic will get enormous praise lavished on it because it’s saying all of the correct things very effusively with plenty of righteous anger. Because Female Writer + Feminist Story = GOLD, right? Hmm. No. When I picked up Bitch Planet #1 I was just hoping for a good comic to read - and, based solely on that, it’s definitely not good at all.
October 30, 2015
Bullet Review:
I need to spend some time thinking about this. I get the point - it's really making how sexist our world is plain and in our face to get people to think about it. It's also not afraid to bring up the race issue and how much more often black and nonwhite women are subject to criticism.
But I almost feel like I somehow missed and issue, that panels jumped from scene to scene with little transition.
I need to spend some time thinking about this. I get the point - it's really making how sexist our world is plain and in our face to get people to think about it. It's also not afraid to bring up the race issue and how much more often black and nonwhite women are subject to criticism.
But I almost feel like I somehow missed and issue, that panels jumped from scene to scene with little transition.
April 28, 2018
4/28/18
I stand by my below thoughts after re-reading this first issue. It was still an incredibly strong start to a series that I seriously fell behind on (am correcting today during Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon).
12/10/14
4 Stars + 1 Star for the Topic
So, I picked up my copy of BITCH PLANET yesterday, because of the hype, because of the subject, and because I wanted another single issue series to pick up.
This comic really started off strong for me. I loved the cover, it’s empowering and magnificent, and it really caught my eye. In the first couple of pages, I really felt that strength and power in both the words and the images on the pages.
The backgrounds in these couple of pages are very enlightening about what Earth is like in this futuristic setting. All the billboards are forcing images of unrealistic beauty women on the world, and telling women that this is what is expected of them. This is beauty, and everything else, is ugly and wrong.
And then, we see the world a little more closely, and we see how warped it really has gotten. Bitch Planet is a place where non-compliant women are imprisoned, and we see the strength of those women that are there. We also see weakness really early on, and it was my one issue with the comic. I feel like it’s a woman’s right to choose how she lives, but it almost seemed like, if you want to live your life as a housewife, you’re considered weak in the eyes of the author. Maybe I read too much into it, but that’s what I saw, and I didn’t care for that commentary at all.
Anyway, overall I really enjoyed this first issue. I already know who the good gals are versus the evil bad men, and I like that I already know who I want to root for. I’m definitely going to be picking up the next issue, and I’m looking forward to seeing where BITCH PLANET goes from here.
I stand by my below thoughts after re-reading this first issue. It was still an incredibly strong start to a series that I seriously fell behind on (am correcting today during Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon).
12/10/14
4 Stars + 1 Star for the Topic
So, I picked up my copy of BITCH PLANET yesterday, because of the hype, because of the subject, and because I wanted another single issue series to pick up.
This comic really started off strong for me. I loved the cover, it’s empowering and magnificent, and it really caught my eye. In the first couple of pages, I really felt that strength and power in both the words and the images on the pages.
The backgrounds in these couple of pages are very enlightening about what Earth is like in this futuristic setting. All the billboards are forcing images of unrealistic beauty women on the world, and telling women that this is what is expected of them. This is beauty, and everything else, is ugly and wrong.
And then, we see the world a little more closely, and we see how warped it really has gotten. Bitch Planet is a place where non-compliant women are imprisoned, and we see the strength of those women that are there. We also see weakness really early on, and it was my one issue with the comic. I feel like it’s a woman’s right to choose how she lives, but it almost seemed like, if you want to live your life as a housewife, you’re considered weak in the eyes of the author. Maybe I read too much into it, but that’s what I saw, and I didn’t care for that commentary at all.
Anyway, overall I really enjoyed this first issue. I already know who the good gals are versus the evil bad men, and I like that I already know who I want to root for. I’m definitely going to be picking up the next issue, and I’m looking forward to seeing where BITCH PLANET goes from here.
July 20, 2015
The concept of Bitch Planet is so great. Non-compliant women get taken to Bitch Planet for anything from physically taking up too much space in the world to having too much confidence in themselves. The first few panels slap the reader in the face as they depict a woman running late to work and apologizing to everyone she passes by. She is clearly made to feel apologetic for simply existing. Too real. The body representation in Bitch Planet leaves nothing to be desired. Every single woman has a different, and realistic, body type. My personal favorite is Penny Rolle, a unapologetic fat woman who will let you know what's on her mind. I am beyond excited to put an overtly feminist and representative comic on my pull. Long live Bitch Planet and may it spawn many more like it.
February 12, 2015
This book was better than I expected. At first, I was afraid it would be a feminist exploitation comic book and it is, but it has more to that within the pages. There's an actual story brewing and I would like to figure it out. I should have had bought that issue number 2 when I had the chance.
December 14, 2014
GO FORTH AND BE NONCOMPLIANT!
October 27, 2015
Need second comic A.S.A.P.
June 11, 2015
Bitch Planet takes a lot of the messed up stuff that women deal with and pushes it to the extremes. In this future world, women are expected to be "compliant" or be shipped off to a prison planet, "Bitch Planet." Those who are "non-compliant" are guilty of everything from being too big (fat is apparently a crime), to not having sex with their husband, to just refusing to bow down to men. It's half Orange is the New Black and half Handmaid's Tale. This first issue essentially introduces the main women on Bitch Planet and sets up a world in which women have no power and are expected to adhere to impossible beauty standards or face prison time.
This is a really, really hard one for me to rate. I'm always looking for strong female characters in graphic novels/comic books because there really just haven't been enough of them. Too often, at least in my reading experience, women are there to be eye candy and the romantic interest, not to have any agency of their own. And I love the premise of Bitch Planet. It takes our current problems with impossible beauty standards, lack of agency for women, especially for non-white women, and by taking it to its furthest extent, show how ridiculous it is. The problem for me is in the execution. I had brief moments that I liked but I never felt a connection with any of the characters. This first issue was trying so hard to get across its message that it loses some of its storytelling power. At the end of the issue, I understood the set-up of the world but I didn't care about any of the characters and no real storyline was set up. It's definitely worth a read but I'm hoping that the next issue focuses a little less on the message and makes it feel more like a story.
October 31, 2015
*I actually read all of these in single issue comic form this year*
4.5/5 stars
4.5/5 stars
April 29, 2015
I walked into a comics store yesterday for one thing: Spider-Man and the X-Men written by the hilarious Elliott Kalan. Being the first time I'd been in a comics store for a few years, I picked up some other stuff too, including this one.
Okay, I picked up a lot of stuff. Enough that the store owner asked if I lived in the area and strongly pushed his reserve system. Which he was totally right to do as it took everything in me to say "I'll think about it" instead of "Yes, all the comics, please."
The Orange Is The New Black comparisons are unavoidable, or rather, The Space Orange is the New Space Black comparisons, because to the book's credit, it does happen in space. It's a thing prisons do in fiction. They're in space or the ocean or whatever, and that way the prison is INESCAPABLE.
Now, that's the element of this book I liked. It was like a cheesy action movie in some ways, but with a lady cast. I'm totally down with that. When you use space prison, you're going the Face/Off, Escape Plan, G.I. Joe Retaliation, Lockout route, which is a great one. Just in case anyone was curious, the prisons from those movies are offshore oil rig thing, cargo ship in the ocean, so deep under the earth that laws don't apply, and space. Jump in those waters, by all means. I'm into it. When you call your book BITCH PLANET I have some ideas about where you might be going, and I'm excited.
What I wasn't so into was the way this issue was written. Okay, you have space ladies in space prison, and somehow there's this subplot where a man is desperately trying to get his wife back from space prison -so we think- until we discover he was really trying to get his MISTRESS back from space prison because his wife is an older lady, so obviously a man would have no interest in her.
It's not even the over-the-top story there, it's the way it's told so I, as a reader, am confused as all hell. It's written to be confusing on purpose, so I'm assuming he's trying to get his wife back, and then when he gets his mistress I'm supposed to be like, "MEN! Of course!" And it's not even that message that turned me off, it was the way it felt like a bad Twilight Zone.
A good Twilight Zone, it ends and you go, "Holy shit!"
A bad Twilight Zone, it ends and you go, "Hey...I feel a very strong editing hand in this tale that purposely obscured the story and key details that would have blown the surprise."
Because really, any story is a surprise if you cut out a bunch of stuff. The reason something like the Sixth Sense is kinda cool is that you get to the end and you feel like all the evidence of the ghostliness was there the entire time. Nothing was hidden from you, the viewer. You flash back to scenes that were IN THE MOVIE. The storyteller gave you all the pieces of the puzzle.
This story, to me, was riding on making a point, decided to make that point, but didn't go about it in a way that worked. The story seemed subordinate to the larger point, which is an okay thing to do, but probably not something I'll pick up at the comic shop again.
Also, it was a buck more than the other books I bought.
Extra points for a lady-focused story, and the essay on feminism at the end was one of the best parts, though not be the credited author of the book.
Okay, I picked up a lot of stuff. Enough that the store owner asked if I lived in the area and strongly pushed his reserve system. Which he was totally right to do as it took everything in me to say "I'll think about it" instead of "Yes, all the comics, please."
The Orange Is The New Black comparisons are unavoidable, or rather, The Space Orange is the New Space Black comparisons, because to the book's credit, it does happen in space. It's a thing prisons do in fiction. They're in space or the ocean or whatever, and that way the prison is INESCAPABLE.
Now, that's the element of this book I liked. It was like a cheesy action movie in some ways, but with a lady cast. I'm totally down with that. When you use space prison, you're going the Face/Off, Escape Plan, G.I. Joe Retaliation, Lockout route, which is a great one. Just in case anyone was curious, the prisons from those movies are offshore oil rig thing, cargo ship in the ocean, so deep under the earth that laws don't apply, and space. Jump in those waters, by all means. I'm into it. When you call your book BITCH PLANET I have some ideas about where you might be going, and I'm excited.
What I wasn't so into was the way this issue was written. Okay, you have space ladies in space prison, and somehow there's this subplot where a man is desperately trying to get his wife back from space prison -so we think- until we discover he was really trying to get his MISTRESS back from space prison because his wife is an older lady, so obviously a man would have no interest in her.
It's not even the over-the-top story there, it's the way it's told so I, as a reader, am confused as all hell. It's written to be confusing on purpose, so I'm assuming he's trying to get his wife back, and then when he gets his mistress I'm supposed to be like, "MEN! Of course!" And it's not even that message that turned me off, it was the way it felt like a bad Twilight Zone.
A good Twilight Zone, it ends and you go, "Holy shit!"
A bad Twilight Zone, it ends and you go, "Hey...I feel a very strong editing hand in this tale that purposely obscured the story and key details that would have blown the surprise."
Because really, any story is a surprise if you cut out a bunch of stuff. The reason something like the Sixth Sense is kinda cool is that you get to the end and you feel like all the evidence of the ghostliness was there the entire time. Nothing was hidden from you, the viewer. You flash back to scenes that were IN THE MOVIE. The storyteller gave you all the pieces of the puzzle.
This story, to me, was riding on making a point, decided to make that point, but didn't go about it in a way that worked. The story seemed subordinate to the larger point, which is an okay thing to do, but probably not something I'll pick up at the comic shop again.
Also, it was a buck more than the other books I bought.
Extra points for a lady-focused story, and the essay on feminism at the end was one of the best parts, though not be the credited author of the book.
April 7, 2015
Everyone should be reading this book!
The artwork has a very distinct 70s grindhouse vibe at times that I really enjoy, but it isn't overused.
(You may want to at least get issue #1&2 to give it a fair shake and I think that's how I rated it.)
I think the premise of this book is spot on and disturbing as a woman. You can look at this book from so many angles from just pure entertainment to social issues in today's society; the list is long and it's refreshing to see in a graphic novel.
Basically, author has taken the idea of Earth being "a man's world" and made it literal. So, women have to "comply" with all of these rules, regulations and laws or risk being shipped off to a women's prison planet; and virtually anything can make you non-compliant.
Bottom Line:
I'm Non-compliant. I'll continue to be non-compliant. It gets me into trouble at times but it's what pushes us forward as a society.
I especially like the essays at the end of each issue, they're not too heavy, yet they're insightful. And don't forget that you can actually send in the coupons on back page for stuff :-)
The artwork has a very distinct 70s grindhouse vibe at times that I really enjoy, but it isn't overused.
(You may want to at least get issue #1&2 to give it a fair shake and I think that's how I rated it.)
I think the premise of this book is spot on and disturbing as a woman. You can look at this book from so many angles from just pure entertainment to social issues in today's society; the list is long and it's refreshing to see in a graphic novel.
Basically, author has taken the idea of Earth being "a man's world" and made it literal. So, women have to "comply" with all of these rules, regulations and laws or risk being shipped off to a women's prison planet; and virtually anything can make you non-compliant.
Bottom Line:
I'm Non-compliant. I'll continue to be non-compliant. It gets me into trouble at times but it's what pushes us forward as a society.
I especially like the essays at the end of each issue, they're not too heavy, yet they're insightful. And don't forget that you can actually send in the coupons on back page for stuff :-)
July 1, 2016
My first venture into graphic novels / comics since The Archies. Pretty interesting!
May 30, 2020
Bitch Planet is a planet that "non-compliant" women are sent to. In this one, there is a woman called Marian Collins who says she doesn't belong there. We find out that she's sent to Bitch Planet because she was "non-compliant" to her husband which, as she said, led him to have an affair.
Although our world has definitely come far in women's rights, sexism still lingers and is prevalent in our society. I like the message, but I am not entirely sure if I liked the comic itself. I will be reading the rest of the series.
Although our world has definitely come far in women's rights, sexism still lingers and is prevalent in our society. I like the message, but I am not entirely sure if I liked the comic itself. I will be reading the rest of the series.
November 18, 2015
While reading Bitch Planet I got a very Watchmen feel from it. Probably due to the dark tones present in the story, as well with some similarities I found in the artwork. Also the mixture of graphic story interspersed with the ad style story telling which furthers the novel’s themes are also reminiscent of the way Watchmen inserted police files and other comic stories within the larger story.
Overall I quite enjoyed this new graphic novel series. I think it explores some significant topics that pertain to life now and it draws a dark conclusion about what could happen to a society that aims to oppress women at all costs.
The characters are incredibly diverse in almost every way possible, and pretty much everyone is very morally gray, which I love in books. I think characters are more realistic when they are not very black and white and always know to do right, no one is like that in real life.
I noticed that most of the women at Bitch Planet seem to be black and if, as I assume, this is a commentary on how the justice system has always been negatively biased towards people of color I find it to be brilliant. If the story and the artwork had not completely won me by the time I finished reading, the little tidbit at the end about intersectional feminism would have done the job almost on its own. As a feminist myself I find intersectional feminist themes severely lacking in the books I read and I got extremely excited to see it in such a highly anticipated read.
This graphic novel is certainly for adults and has graphic language and sexual scenes, including full on nudity so if that is not your thing you might not enjoy this one as much as I. Besides that, I definitely recommend it!
Overall I quite enjoyed this new graphic novel series. I think it explores some significant topics that pertain to life now and it draws a dark conclusion about what could happen to a society that aims to oppress women at all costs.
The characters are incredibly diverse in almost every way possible, and pretty much everyone is very morally gray, which I love in books. I think characters are more realistic when they are not very black and white and always know to do right, no one is like that in real life.
I noticed that most of the women at Bitch Planet seem to be black and if, as I assume, this is a commentary on how the justice system has always been negatively biased towards people of color I find it to be brilliant. If the story and the artwork had not completely won me by the time I finished reading, the little tidbit at the end about intersectional feminism would have done the job almost on its own. As a feminist myself I find intersectional feminist themes severely lacking in the books I read and I got extremely excited to see it in such a highly anticipated read.
This graphic novel is certainly for adults and has graphic language and sexual scenes, including full on nudity so if that is not your thing you might not enjoy this one as much as I. Besides that, I definitely recommend it!
Want to read
June 22, 2015From this awesome Flavorwire roundup of great comic series to read this summer: Easily one of the most exciting comic series in recent history, Bitch Planet is a modern, feminist take on the women-in-prison exploitation genre. The dystopian series is about “non-compliant” women who are sent to a space prison.
Yesss pleassssse.
Yesss pleassssse.
May 29, 2015
If you don't love this series, you're not a feminist.
Everything about this is perfect. The issues that are tackled are done so with such great execution.
I love that the cast is diverse and the protagonist is a woman of color. It's got this great dystopian feel.
I'm definitely a supporter of the NC revolution and the Bitch Planet movement.
Everything about this is perfect. The issues that are tackled are done so with such great execution.
I love that the cast is diverse and the protagonist is a woman of color. It's got this great dystopian feel.
I'm definitely a supporter of the NC revolution and the Bitch Planet movement.
January 23, 2015
Can't wait until the next one!
Read
June 25, 2021Yes. This is it. This is what we've all been waiting for.
June 16, 2019
Just because the art style was great.
June 8, 2015
I wish I could give this comic 10 stars!
Ok so a little background info before I get into this:
Women's rights, gender roles, women's status in history has been a HUGE! theme in in British Lit class, and with a project I'm doing for another class this quarter. So I really feel like a lot of stars are aligning right now, and that's why today was the day I finally bought this one. It caught my eye months ago, and I was so torn between this and Lady Killer #2, but I just had to know what this was about!
I have zero regrets with my purchase. The owner even told me that he thought I would like this one based on some of my previous purchases. I was not let down.
I LOVE Penny! I love her fearlessness, I love that she sticks up for herself. I also love the main character, she's great. There's a huge twist in the first issue. It's set in a dystopian future, where if a woman is deemed "non-compliant" in male-dominated Earth, she is sent to another planet -- Bitch Planet. A planet inhabited by women, where her prison guards can do whatever they want, and the women have little to no hope of ever returning to Earth; or do they?
Definitely aimed towards those interested in feminism, women's rights, or social justice in general. It's a great read, I enjoyed every second of it. It's pretty colorful, I loved the art style. One of the writers or illustrators is from Seattle (woo woo!) which also made my ears perk up a little. Give it a look, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I really can't wait to show it to my British Lit teacher! :)
Ok so a little background info before I get into this:
Women's rights, gender roles, women's status in history has been a HUGE! theme in in British Lit class, and with a project I'm doing for another class this quarter. So I really feel like a lot of stars are aligning right now, and that's why today was the day I finally bought this one. It caught my eye months ago, and I was so torn between this and Lady Killer #2, but I just had to know what this was about!
I have zero regrets with my purchase. The owner even told me that he thought I would like this one based on some of my previous purchases. I was not let down.
I LOVE Penny! I love her fearlessness, I love that she sticks up for herself. I also love the main character, she's great. There's a huge twist in the first issue. It's set in a dystopian future, where if a woman is deemed "non-compliant" in male-dominated Earth, she is sent to another planet -- Bitch Planet. A planet inhabited by women, where her prison guards can do whatever they want, and the women have little to no hope of ever returning to Earth; or do they?
Definitely aimed towards those interested in feminism, women's rights, or social justice in general. It's a great read, I enjoyed every second of it. It's pretty colorful, I loved the art style. One of the writers or illustrators is from Seattle (woo woo!) which also made my ears perk up a little. Give it a look, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I really can't wait to show it to my British Lit teacher! :)
February 1, 2015
I must confess to being a bit taken aback by some of the criticism I have been seeing lobbed at this book. The major points in the "CONS" column revolve around the (apparent?) assumption that anything ticking too many of the Feminist (scary capital-F wod alert!) checkboxes must be pandering, or...something. I guess I didn't get that memo before I picked up Issue #1, because damn, did I ever enjoy myself for that all too brief 27 pages.
It's best not to get into the plot - this is another one that seems to be well served by going in blind - so I'll just ay that what eConnick has accomplished in her introduction to Bitch Planet is an impressive level of worldbuilding, just enough to make me very glad that #2 came out the day before I read this one. We're not given much in the way of character backstories yet, but I think they'd have come at the expense of the many intricate little universe details meant for our eyes to feast upon; enough groundwork is laid to let us know that we'll be learning a lot more about these women very, very soon.
Stylish dystopia that happens to tick the Feminism boxes? Hell, yes, I can get behind that.
It's best not to get into the plot - this is another one that seems to be well served by going in blind - so I'll just ay that what eConnick has accomplished in her introduction to Bitch Planet is an impressive level of worldbuilding, just enough to make me very glad that #2 came out the day before I read this one. We're not given much in the way of character backstories yet, but I think they'd have come at the expense of the many intricate little universe details meant for our eyes to feast upon; enough groundwork is laid to let us know that we'll be learning a lot more about these women very, very soon.
Stylish dystopia that happens to tick the Feminism boxes? Hell, yes, I can get behind that.
December 17, 2015
I've been hearing about this for a long time now, but had quite a few other comics and such on my tbr/wishlist ahead of it. Finally, I decided to give it a shot because a lot of people I follow online were raving about it. Knowing we shared similar tastes, but having been disappointed in the past, I was equal parts excited and leery.
I didn't absolutely fall in love with this issue, but I definitely enjoyed it enough to buy the next (and probably everything that's currently available, if I'm being totally honest) This was kind of a rough introduction, and I understand where some complaints originated, like the jarring scene shifts. But, it wasn't really an issue for me.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this to mature readers, but not necessarily as an introduction to comics and such. If you haven't read any others before, this might not be the best starting place for you.
I didn't absolutely fall in love with this issue, but I definitely enjoyed it enough to buy the next (and probably everything that's currently available, if I'm being totally honest) This was kind of a rough introduction, and I understand where some complaints originated, like the jarring scene shifts. But, it wasn't really an issue for me.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend this to mature readers, but not necessarily as an introduction to comics and such. If you haven't read any others before, this might not be the best starting place for you.
March 1, 2015
Very promising, especially because of the feminism essay at the end, which makes me curious how they use feminism and fight for it in the rest of the comic. This could be very good and I hear a lot of positive stories about it so I am excited for the rest!
It is not yet yaw-shewing exiting but that is probably because it is a first issue. There did happen some things which made me think: men are really aseholes I hope a certain protagonist is going to sit on him as a punishment.
Set in the future with space-travel but I do not think the authors would call it dystopian. More a future setting to bring attention to present day issues of inequality. But luckily it is not preachy. It is an important cause they are fighting for and I hope they keep up the good work.
It is not yet yaw-shewing exiting but that is probably because it is a first issue. There did happen some things which made me think: men are really aseholes I hope a certain protagonist is going to sit on him as a punishment.
Set in the future with space-travel but I do not think the authors would call it dystopian. More a future setting to bring attention to present day issues of inequality. But luckily it is not preachy. It is an important cause they are fighting for and I hope they keep up the good work.
January 24, 2015
This issue did a great job of establishing the setting and concept, so hopefully the next few will flesh out Kamau & Penny more, as well as expand on other inmates. I'm excited to see where this goes.
November 4, 2015
Such an interesting world, but super gritty. It's like The Handmaiden's Tale meets Orange is the New Black in space. The fake advertisement pages are such a scathing commentary on how we market to women. I am interested to read more to see how the world evolves.
September 22, 2018
Ya hacía un tiempito que tenía pendiente leer Bitch Planet. Anoche le di una oportunidad y me sorprendí con lo que encontré. Me gusta el tono con el que abordan la historia, el hecho de que envíen a las mujeres a otro planeta por no entrar en el modelo que busca el patriarcado. La mujer debe ser una figura decorativa por lo visto, de lo contrario es enviada al Bitch Planet donde son "corregidas". Es una especie de cárcel, pero nos topamos con algunas mujeres que no piensan corregirse ni un poco y no temen expresarse, mantener sus posturas y actuar cuando lo creen necesario.
Me intriga ver cómo seguirá la cosa.
Me intriga ver cómo seguirá la cosa.
November 15, 2019
That was a pretty good first volume. The art is nice and the story full of promises. Can't wait to read the next one !
January 5, 2021
Here is my issue. I adored this book. I thought it was epic. The characters were great and had great motivations. I just think that it wasn’t the ending the the first volume was leading up to.
I wanted more of the game. I wanted the NCs to eacape or at least kill some fathers but I we were thrown into this other plot line where a man came and saved them.
I still loved this book as a stand-alone which is why I gave it 5 stars. I just think it was a different ending than what I wanted the first volume to end with.
I wanted more of the game. I wanted the NCs to eacape or at least kill some fathers but I we were thrown into this other plot line where a man came and saved them.
I still loved this book as a stand-alone which is why I gave it 5 stars. I just think it was a different ending than what I wanted the first volume to end with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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