Review: Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Valentine De Landro, Taki Soma, and Robert Wilson

5 Stars Please, Kelly Sue, can I have some more? This was a seriously fun/clever/sad/intriguing/enraging story that ended far too soon for my liking. Even though there wasn't a lot of backstory about the characters, the little that we did get in this first issue was very intriguing (I love Penny! . I enjoyed the world-building and how it was similar to reality but had some little quirks to make it darker and creepier even though on the surface it seems bright and cheery. I especially liked all of the little pop elements with the fake ads at the end of every issue and the retro-esque covers. But my favourite things about this graphic novel were the N.C.'s (Non-Compliants, i.e. the women in prison on Bitch Planet), the whole crazy, flawed, wonderful bunch of them and the feminism that was gritty and real and, most importantly, intersectional. After reading some other reviews and hearing that the individual comics had essays about feminism in the back, I was a little sad that the trade copy I received from NetGalley didn't have them (p.s. thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC because I have been dying to read this and waiting for a copy through the library has been agonizing), but it did have some interesting discussion questions at the back and a notation for an article so that was kinda cool. So if you're looking for a sharp, insightful comic that tackles issues like racism and sexism and exploitation and even the messed up penal system, try this one on for size.