(Comic) Non-Compliance....a look at Bitch Planet. (4 issues)

Knowing nothing about this work other than the writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick was a feminist, I went in curious and excited. I'd not read a comic written by a woman before.

Needless to say, it exceeded my expectations (and might I say, my expectations were high,) and left me with a lot to think about.

The story jumps between an earth in the future and a prison planet for non-compliant women. These women do not follow the law of the patriarchy and as such are sent to bitch planet, where they are monitored and manipulated by the government employees who run the prison.

What's really surprising is that we don't see the main character until the end of the first issue. But I won't spoil that for you. Her introduction is arguably the most badass I have ever seen.

The art style makes me think of a mix of the Walking Dead and Invincible with dark gritty characters and backgrounds with brighter colours to make the characters stand out. The shots are dynamic and are visually beautiful to look at.

The audience is thrown into the deep end of a compelling story where it is not the individual that is the issue, it's the system driven by the many that is the problem. Though I've only been introduced to two characters by name, I'm hungry for more.

I'm be proud to say I'm non-compliant.

This comic is like eating your favourite flavour of Pringles. You can't just have one.

Read it. You owe it to yourself.


Edit: As I'd only read the first issue, I'd not realised that this is a fairly new series. There are currently only 4 issues out and they are all exquisite works. 

While I understand that Ms. DeConnick wasn't satisfied with Penny's story, it worked out well and it was great to see a bigger person of colour love herself for who she was. Penny is the embodiment of non-compliance.

Furthermore, the mystery has deepened. Ms. Kogo, our protagonist and a former track star, has gotten roped into playing a violent game called Megaton. It's like American football with more hand to hand combat. 

As I've read on, I see that it not only draws a lot of influence from Orange is the New Black, but the Longest Yard and Even V for Vendetta. 

Even in reading up to the fourth issue, I have only added more questions to my list of many questions. 

What's more, I love the essays at the end and the notes from Kelly Sue. Plus the letters and the final page that shows a bunch of fictional advertisements that look as though they're from the fifties.

This comic is definitely worth the read and warrants 5 stars. 

Thus ends the review. 

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