Bitch Planet is an American comic book published by Image Comics, created by writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Valentine De Landro. The series is a feminist portrayal of the exploitation film genre and takes place in a dystopian reality, where non-compliant women are sent to an off-planet prison.[1][2] The original series published 10 issues between December 2014 and April 2017, followed by a five-issue limited series published from June to October 2017.
Publication history
DeConnick and De Landro first met at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto.[3] DeConnick liked De Landro's work (particularly the heavy use of blacks and shades to portray character emotion)[3] after which the two exchanged information and planned to collaborate on a Marvel comic. However, they did not find any opportunities to do so, and decided to create their own comic series instead. De Landro chose Bitch Planet over two other projects DeConnick was also writing.[3] Most of the cover art is done by De Landro, though every third issue contains illustrations by a guest artist.
DeConnick described the book's creation as being "born of a deep and abiding love for exploitation and women in prison movies of the '60s and '70s".[3] Both creators wanted to include the intriguing and difficult aspects of women's lives in prison and to change the narrative of female oppression. DeConnick made a point to include female nudity in the comic in ways to exhibit the female body without the purpose of sexual arousal.[1] The two creators planned to include the backstory of an inmate every third issue before discovering the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, which has a similar structure. They decided to continue with the idea and forebear watching the TV series in order to avoid its influence.[1]
Each issue of Bitch Planet ended with a segment called "Bitch Fest", containing a letter from DeConnick relating to the comic, politics, and feminist issues. The segment also contains "Bitches Be Like", which is where usually-feminist guest authors write a short passage relating to topics discussed within the issue. In addition, the segment often includes tweets from fans in a subsection titled "Itty Bitty Bitchy," as well as photos and fan art submitted by readers in the subsection "Bitch Face."[4] The back page of every issue includes satirical comic book ads for Missed Connections, and such stereotypical products as X-ray specs, but with a feminist twist.[4]
Following the publication of Bitch Planet #10, a five-issue anthology-style limited series called Bitch Planet: Triple Feature! began, with each issue containing three stories by different writers and artists.
Each issue, as with the main series, was lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Plot
The series focuses on women who have been imprisoned for being "non-compliant" in an off-planet prison called the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost. The narrative arc moves through time, presenting how the women were arrested in the first place as well as their various experiences within the prison.
Reception
Reaction to Bitch Planet has been generally positive.[5] Susana Polo at The Mary Sue wrote of the first issue: "Bitch Planet promised space prison, violence, a heck of a lot of ladies of various colors, and a reclamation of the 'women in prison' subgenre of exploitation film for the modern audience. It … delivers".[6] Chris Sims of ComicsAlliance, also reviewing the first issue, claimed that "it's thrilling, it's violent, and it's one of the best first issues of the year".[7] Jeff Lake, writing for IGN, called Bitch Planet #1 "an excellent comic."[8] Caitlin Chappell of CBR also described the comic as focusing on
"real world systems that oppress LGBTQ women, women of color and women who don't conform to society," adding that the main protagonists refuse to accept a system which sees their sexualities, "bodies, race and genders as a "threat" to society."[9]
The first trade collection of the series got more mixed reviews from The Guardian, which praised the series as a "refreshing foray into the feminist exploitation genre", while also criticizing it for the use of "lots of ingredients... without much forethought" that led to muddled critiques of religion and politics.[10]
