
“Bitch Planet” by Kelly Sue DeConnick tells the story of a woman named Penelope who is fighting a world full of people who judge her. A visual motif found in four panels throughout the comic are facial expressions. The dialogue that Penelope has, is also significant to the story itself. In the four different panels, she has facial expressions that show anger, sadness, and in one panel it seems like Penelope is taunting someone.  These facial expressions can help the reader visualize what emotions and what attitude Penelope has toward her surroundings, and possible attribute the expressions to the possible outcome of the story. 

In the first panel on page 176, Penelope’s facial expressions show frustration. She looks as if she is possibly being harassed. Penelope’s clothing looks like she is a prisoner. She is wearing an orange jumpsuit, and there are two men that look like guards behind her. The guards are also behind a piece of glass. To the reader, this would imply that the men are somewhat scared of her. Even though the guards are still protected by the glass, they still hold clubs. Penelope looks somewhat scary in the first panel. Her hair is half shaven, and her fists are clenched. This panel uses two types of shots. In the main part, the author chooses to use a wide shot. The author chooses to use this shot so the reader can look at Penelope, and also her background. There is an extreme close up of Penelope’s eye at the bottom of the frame. Compared to her expressions in the main part of the panel, she frowns harder in the extreme close up shot as if she has become more angered. What changed her attitude from the first frame? The dialogue is extremely important. In the main part of the panel, Penelope says, “I can’t see you but I feel you…” followed by, “judging me.” (Page 176) Perhaps the guards are judging her by her appearance. Penelope does look quite different than normal women do. Or are they judging her by her past? Could they possibly be judging her for the acts that she has committed to get in jail? The dialogue in the first panel sets a good starting point to make the reader wonder why the guards are judging her. The next panels can help answer why they are judging Penelope. 

 The last panel on page 188 looks like a flashback because the colors are dimmer than in the first slide. The author uses a medium shot. The shot is different than most of the other medium shots that readers typically view. In this panel Penelope’s face is cut off, we cannot see exactly what her facial expressions are. This gives the reader an opportunity to interpret what her expressions are. With her face not visible, this is where dialogue is key so that the reader can interpret what her facial expressions will be. A person near Penelope says, “You know what comes next, don’t you?” Penelope replies with a simple, “yes.” (Page 188) What comes next for Penelope? There are clues in the panel that can help identify what event is about to happen. In the small panel above the dialogue, there seems to be a hair straightener that someone is cutting on. There is also a shadow in the main panel of a woman with what appears to be the hair straightener in hand. This could tie back with Penelope’s dialogue in the first panel. Perhaps Penelope is being judged by the way her hair looks, and someone is trying to straighten her hair. From getting judged by her appearance, the reader can interpret that her facial expressions are not of anger, but probably of sadness and disappointment. 

The last panel on page 197 is also another flashback. In this panel the colors are faded, similar to the previous panel on page 188. Penelope also looks younger in this panel as well. Penelope’s facial expressions in this scene look as if she is sad and somewhat worried. She is wearing a headband or cloth, and there are two straps on her shirt that resembles an apron. In this flashback panel, she is a worker. In the background, there is a television that looks like a news broadcast with a news reporter and an image of a man beside her on the television. The man looks to be a criminal, as the image looks to be a mugshot. The woman says on the broadcast, “Described as ‘the size of an oak’.” (Page 197) The high angle shot used in the main frame of the panel immediately turns to an extreme close up shot. In this close up shot, Penelope’s facial expressions change from anxious and concern to angry. Her eyebrow dips after the news reporter make that statement. There is a strange similarity between the mugshot picture and Penelope. Both have long hair and they are bigger in size. The word described is a clue that the reporters/ possible witnesses are describing Penelope with that mugshot. After she hears the commentary given by the reporter she is immediately angered. This is the way that people describe Penelope. As a man, that looks angry and violent. However, this could be someone else. Perhaps Penelope got angered by this statement because people have called her an oak as well. She could also be tired of people getting judged. This again ties back to how the world that Penelope lives in is full of judgment. 

In the last panel on page 199, Penelope is again in a prison jumpsuit. This scene goes back to the time when she was a prisoner. She looks like she is in a chair or on a table strapped down with sensors stuck to her body. Her facial expressions are different from the previous panels in that she is laughing and possibly taunting someone. The author uses a medium close up shot which allows the reader to see the different items around Penelope, but the shot is close enough to see her facial expressions. This panel shares a similarity to the first panel in that Penelope is in the future, but in the two panels, her facial expressions are different. In the panel on page 199, Penelope says, “And you bastards ain’t never gonna break me.” It seems that with her dialogue and her surroundings, that she is possibly being interrogated. Perhaps she committed a major crime and they're trying to get information out of her. This might be true, but this is not the case. From clues given by the previous panels, we can find that maybe the people who constantly judge her are trying to change who she is. Penelope might not be perfect to them.” The people from this world want to change Penelope into someone who she isn’t. 

By looking at the four different slides in this story, we can see that Penelope is different in the world she lives in. In the first panel, she states that the people are judging her. In the second panel (first flashback) a woman is trying to change her hairstyle to look “normal.” In the third panel (second flashback) she gets angry when she hears a news reporter judge someone by stating that he that was the size of “an oak” – which would define as an oak tree. Using the evidence in the 3 slides we can see that Penelope is being judged. She is not normal to the people around her. By Penelope’s facial expressions in the last panel on page 199, we can see that she is never going to be broken from who she is. She laughs at the fact that people want to change who she is. Even though she is not a “normal” woman, Penelope accepts who she is, and she is proud to be who she is even if she is a criminal. The significance of this visual motif is that a reader can gather information about Penelope, and can use the dialogue that is provided to better understand Penelope’s situation. By looking at Penelope’s facial expressions in the different panels, we can see her reactions to the events around her. This can lead the reader to an understanding of what Penelope is going through.
