In Kelly Sue DeConnick’s, “Bitch Planet”, the reader is able to see, read, and identify many techniques that the author uses to convey her message. There are many different styles of cartoons and comics that authors and illustrators can use to portray their work the way that they want to. These various styles can provide a clear point and meaning to the piece as a whole. Through the use of flashbacks, repetition, and visual techniques, DeConnick communicates the theme that no matter what the outside world thinks about you, the only opinion that truly matters is your own. 

A strong aspect of the theme that gets brought up are the various examples of people not accepting Penelope for who she is. DeConnick includes a few flashbacks in the comic that show specific examples of this. In the beginning of the story, Penelope is shown baking something in the kitchen with a woman who appears to be her mother. She gets taken away from her because of the fact that their society does not view her as an adequate mother. When Penelope is taken away, the images show the fear in her mother’s eyes, along with the men holding guns that are approaching the house. This creates a feeling of suspense for the reader. She is then put into a new school system of other kids. In this new environment, another flashback occurs in which she is beating up a boy that goes to her school. Even though she was just standing up for herself, she gets in trouble due to the fact that her emotions have been making her more and more violent. Lastly, a flashback is shown of her while she is working and serving food at a restaurant. Many of the customers are shown giving her a hard time on the job, complaining about slow service, and making fun of the way that she looks. This further shows the way that others view her, and how she lets their opinions affect her. Penelope becomes agitated and more aggressive toward the characters who begin to judge her. DeConnick uses all three of these flashbacks throughout the comic to allow the reader to understand how Penelope became the person that she is at the end of the story. After each flashback ends, the visuals jump back to the present tense, showing Penelope’s angry facial expressions while thinking about each event. This allows the flashbacks to merge with a repetitive aspect while allowing the reader to stay focused on the main scene of the story.   

The use of repetition is a very important technique that DeConnick uses to communicate the theme to the reader. In the beginning of the comic, the author uses the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” (DeConnick, pg. 179). This phrase is used for the first time when Penelope is shown baking food in the kitchen with her mother. Her mother says these words when Penelope is trying to cook. When her mom offers to help her, she says that she can do it on her own. This shows the reader that this quote spoken by her mother has a large connecting factor to the confidence that Penelope finds throughout the comic. The phrase is used again in the middle, and finally at the very end of the story to further show its relevance and importance to the piece. The second time that the quote is seen is when Penelope is getting her hair done by a new character, Mother Siebertling. She does not understand why she needs to be “altered” or “changed” in order to be accepted by others. Lastly, at the end of the text, the quote is seen again to express Penelope’s change of emotion, and to show that she feels powerful and confident. Whenever Penelope uses her mother’s phrase, she seems to be talking to herself. However, when she first uses this quote, she is shown looking down in a way that expresses shame. On the other hand, when she repeats the quote at the end of the story, she is shown confidently smirking. This use of repetition in the dialogue helps to express the specific change of thoughts and ideas going through the characters’ minds, and to also express their actions seen in the visuals.

 Many different visual techniques are used by DeConnick throughout the piece. Near the beginning of the text, while Penelope is getting her hair cut, there is a close up shot of her face which shows her sad, frustrated expression. DeConnick continues to show Penelope’s expressions very strongly. She often includes images that zoom in on Penelope’s eyes, expressing a sense of bottled up anger. At the end of the text, there is a scene of Penelope standing in front of a mirror surrounded by men who seem to be observing her. They attach Penelope to this mirror to see how she thinks of herself in her own mind. These observers believe that she must have a false image of herself. However, when she sees herself in the mirror exactly how she appears to the outside world, the observers are shocked. This scene consists of more close up shots of Penelope’s face, in which you can see the confident smirk that she now wears. Another visual in this scene shows Penelope laughing with the word “ha” written numerous times on the surface of the mirror in bold, yellow font. The repeated image of the word “ha” appears within Penelope’s first flashback with her mother as well, which stresses the impact that her mother had on her. This creates a full circle ending for the piece. At this point in the text, the author is able to communicate Penelope’s new found confidence and the power that she finally feels inside of her. DeConnick uses another illustrative technique by showing detail in the characters’ faces. This tells you that the author wants to emphasize the characters for who they are within the story. DeConnick cares strongly about communicating the emotions and personality of the characters through the images in the comic. All of this makes the reader focus more on the specific people characterized and how they affect the piece, rather than the basic concept of the comic. Instead of illustrating the characters with less detail, which would cause the reader to relate the story to himself or herself, the author includes more detail to focus the comic on the specific characters that she has created.  

Overall, DeConnick is able to express the theme of the comic through flashbacks, repetition, and various visual techniques. Throughout the entirety of the text, the strategies that are used allow the author to communicate the story in the style that she intends to. Even when there are constant flashbacks and new information being added to the comic, the reader is able to follow along due to DeConnick’s successful usage of literary techniques. However, after reading the text and looking at all of the visuals, it is much easier for the reader to understand the concept as a whole. By the end of the story, it is clear that Penelope puts herself above the negative opinions of her society, and that she possesses the confidence and the power that her mother has always wanted her to have.
