COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Bitch Planet #1

Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro debuts a new title in Image Comics that takes the “women in prison” sub-genre of exploitation films from the 60’s and 70’s and delivers action, violence, diversity, and bad-ass women.

The premise of the issue takes place mostly in a maximum security prison for women in another planet officially called Auxilary Compliance Outpost or as more popularly known by the people as Bitch Planet. DeConnick nails every trope available in the genre, an innocent woman wrongfully imprisoned, corrupt politicians and guards, and a protagonist of color. She successfully mixes all of these together in which resulted in a beautifully crafted commentary on exploitation and feminism.

While going through the issue, in the beginning there is no clear protagonist in the story. DeConnick focused more on world-building rather than revealing outright who the main characters are. The plot explores the corruption and violence that are present not only in Bitch Planet, but also back in Earth. As the story progresses, the who’s who are slowly revealed to the reader, giving it a slow burn that hooks the reader into a satisfying cliffhanger. While the main protagonist, Kamau Kogo, is only revealed towards the end, another main character, Penny Rolle, already shows a promising personality throughout the issue, which DeConnick writes beautifully.

All these are accompanied by the stunning visuals of Valentine De Landro, whose storytelling is top notch and flows through each panel flawlessly. De Landro has got the facial expressions of each character down to a tee, and has a masterful hand on the female body, in where a comic that features several naked women, is a welcome talent. Of course, Cris Peter’s colors complement and adds life to the cities and backgrounds of Bitch Planet.

With the comic industry’s recent push towards more female-oriented stories, Bitch Planet #1 is a great debut issue that offers strong-willed female characters with engaging art. While the premise is a derivative of the exploitation genre, DeConnick writes the story and develops the character in a way that still attracts readers of both genders. There’s the women exploitation and action for the male readers, and women empowerment plus interesting female characters for female readers. Think of Orange is the New Black, but in space and with more advanced technology.