REVIEW: Bitch Planet, #1

[CBR News]

The prisons trapped on a women's penal planet must learn to survive in the brutal and stylish "Bitch Planet" #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine de Landro.


Full review here.

[midgetradio]

So did anyone pick this up today? I won't be getting it til late next week. Just curious.

[tylenoljones]

So did anyone pick this up today? I won't be getting it til late next week. Just curious.

I gave it a read, but I can't say I'd recommend it. The art was good, and some of the prisoners were interesting, but so little time was spent on the prisoners that they felt very shallow. The plot of the first issue instead revolved around a married couple, and not to spoil anything, it all left me cold, especially the attempt at a twist.

The violence so often mentioned in the CBR review felt tame to me, compared to, say, Southern bastards #6 which also came out today, and in which the shocking moments were actually shocking.

Perhaps future issues will focus on the main characters and delve into who they are and why they're on the titular planet, but at this point I can't muster the energy to care.

[Blacksun]

So did anyone pick this up today? I won't be getting it til late next week. Just curious.

I liked it. It has a lot of potential in the themes tacked on the issue. It was a good introduction for a world that completely opresses women.

[InformationGeek]

I gave it a read, but I can't say I'd recommend it. The art was good, and some of the prisoners were interesting, but so little time was spent on the prisoners that they felt very shallow. The plot of the first issue instead revolved around a married couple, and not to spoil anything, it all left me cold, especially the attempt at a twist.

The violence so often mentioned in the CBR review felt tame to me, compared to, say, Southern bastards #6 which also came out today, and in which the shocking moments were actually shocking.

Perhaps future issues will focus on the main characters and delve into who they are and why they're on the titular planet, but at this point I can't muster the energy to care.

Basically everything you said. This entire issue just left me empty and indifferent in the end. I didn't do a full review on this, just a reaction shot piece on it (this was a big old meh from me). I can't recommend this at all, it's just rather boring and forgettable.

[cuttlefish]

I often don't get on well with Deconnick's work, but I really liked this. The world she's set up is intriguing, and I found both the writing and the art to have a lot of energy. I'm very much looking forward to the next issue.

[Enigmatic Undead]

I liked the sci-fi exploitation movie vibe. If you've ever seen Black Mama White Mama starring Pam Grier it's kind of like that but the prison is in space.

[Big Geek]

I gave it a read, but I can't say I'd recommend it. The art was good, and some of the prisoners were interesting, but so little time was spent on the prisoners that they felt very shallow. The plot of the first issue instead revolved around a married couple, and not to spoil anything, it all left me cold, especially the attempt at a twist.

I have to say I agree with you. Then again, I've never been a fan of Kelly Sue DeConnick's work. I loved the front and back covers though. Overall, I'd give it a 2 out of 5.

[DIVINITY]

Eh, it was aight, not sure at the moment, if I'll get the next issue or not...

[El Sombrero]

This is one of those comics where from a critical perspective I thought it was excellent, it didn't really do much for me on a personal level.

First and foremost problem is probably the art. I thought De Landro's storytelling was fine and most of the characters have solid designs, but the art has this very dull and drab look to it. I get that this was probably intentional to highlight how cold and sterile the dystopia is, but it's not interesting to look at as a comic reader. I tend to like art that is more stylish or cartoony. This just looked..."dull and drab" is really the best I can come up with.

From a writing perspective I thought this was certainly the best thing I have read from Kelly Sue DeConnick. DeConnick's Marvel work does nothing for me -- I just don't give a crap about Captain Marvel at all -- and Pretty Deadly was interesting but featured wildly flawed writing that tried WAY WAY WAY too hard at times. This script was much tighter, much easier to read, and got across her points viciously well. The pacing was strong to build up to the climax of the wife's death. The story blends gender politics, science fiction dystopias, and satire pretty well. I didn't really connect with any of the characters but I thought the overall hook of the book and the setting was the primary focus here, and that was all delivered nicely.

I'd say the triumph of this book was in its marketing. The "non-compliant" NC logo is a great touch, the kind of thing that looks real and modern and is tailor-made for advertising the book. The title is great and the cover's riff on exploitation film posters is a nice draw in. A lot of Image books are really blowing away DC and Marvel in how they visually market their titles, and this is another big win there.

My problem is that on a personal level I don't like the art, I don't really enjoy miserable dystopias long-term, none of the characters hooked me, and the book is so aggressively feminist at its core that I wonder what it's really going to offer beyond that. It's just not really for me.

[eye of all]

This is the fist KSD project to impress me. It has some typical first issue shortcomings (thin characterization, poor pacing) but I'm on board for more, where I was ready to drop Pretty Deadly after about 5 pages.

[Bruce Pezzini]

It was meh to me. But I'll give it at least 4 issues to see if its good

[Ilan Preskovsky]

I'm definitely intrigued but I wasn't exactly blown away by this. I think my main problem is the lack of consistency in De Landro's art, as the same character can look noticeably different from one panel to the next. Otherwise, it's an interesting enough start with, consistency issues aside, nicely moody art but the rest of the first arc will have to improve to get me to keep reading beyond that. On the other hand, I was somewhat ambivalent about Pretty Deadly's first issue and I love that series so here's hoping...

[consafo80]

I liked it will be getting #2 for definite.

[Jack00]

It was good but i'm a little bit confused, is it Kamau who sliced that Marian girl ? One panel you see someone holding the shive and Kamau clearly is far away, next panel she says "damn" like it's not her who killed Marian but then you see her in the final panel holding the knife :s