During unit two, we discussed how visual close-reading affects or guides the viewer’s perception of a visual text. When thinking about a visual motif that affects the entire text the first thing a viewer thinks about is color. Color allows the reader to make assumptions about a character without reading one word from the text and that is exactly what it does in the comic book, Bitch Planet. The colors in each panel gives the reader the opportunity to make assumptions on their own about Penelope without reading the text in the comic. 

The first time the reader sees Penelope in Bitch Planet is on page 176 and the first thing they notice is that she is wearing orange. Orange is often a color that symbolizes imprisonment, therefore, her orange jumpsuit draws the reader to assume that she is in some type of jail or prison. Looking at the panel longer, past the orange jumpsuit unveils two characters, the men in blue behind her. When the reader observes these figures, dressed in light blue, the idea of police officers or guards probably comes to their mind, which would lead them to conclude that the two male figures are prison guards watching over Penelope, their prisoner. As a reader continues to look at the panel they eventually notice that Penelope’s hair is a dark, almost charcoal, black and she has a black tattoo on her arm. This adds to the idea that she is a prisoner because she has a darker mood and sense brought to her by her hair and the tattoo on her arm could be a symbol for aggressiveness and toughness. They say you should not judge a book by its cover, but when a reader looks at the colors in this panel they cannot help but assume that Penelope is not a good person and that she may be a criminal. 

In a different panel in the comic book on page 186 the reader sees a totally different Penelope. As soon as the page is turned the reader notices Penelope’s glossy black wavy hair, her glossy lips and her pearly white teeth. Then they see the texture of her clean brown skin with no apparent tattoos that would make her appearance look tough. Penelope even has a green shirt on that gives her a good vibe, a reader might think this because usually when someone sees green they think good (grass, vegetables, greenlights etc.). Even when the reader looks at Penelope’s background they see a soft colored pink that adds to the assumption of innocence. When a reader looks at this panel they do not think anything bad of Penelope because she is not wearing an orange jumpsuit, she does not have charcoal black hair, she does not have a large black tattoo on her arm, and she does not have guys in light blue standing behind her. When a reader looks at this panel, they do not see the negative, dark and harsh vibes like before. When viewing this panel, the reader does not get the idea that Penelope is a criminal, they get the idea that she is an innocent young woman that may even look like a victim based on the glossy texture of her eyes. 

Before the reader sees Penelope on page 186 they see her on page 185. In the first panel of the page if the reader were to just look at Penelope they would see that she has glossy black wavy hair, brown skin with a soft texture untouched by tattoos, and the color of her clothes (green shirt and bluish pants). But if the reader were to look at the entire panel the first thing they would see is the guy Penelope is looking down on. When looking at this guy the first thing the reader would see is the red blood, so dark that it’s almost looks black, gushing out from his nose down his chin. Then they would also notice the man’s eye is black and shut closed. Looking at this the reader might assume right away that Penelope is a bad person getting into school fights. But when a reader looks deeper into the panel they might notice the difference between Penelope’s shirt and everyone else’s. They might be able to make the assumption that out of all the different colored shirts Penelope’s looks the most faded, just look at the guy on the grounds green compared to Penelope’s green. The creator of the comic book might have done this to make Penelope look like an outsider. Additionally, that is why the guy is on the ground with a bloody nose, because he might have treated her in an inappropriate or vulgar way (a way a lot of outsiders in today’s world are treated).

When a reader looks at a comic book what is the first the thing that affects their thoughts? In the comic Bitch Planet, one could say that they believe color is the biggest motif. The color of a panel in a comic book can give a reader so many ways to spread their own imagination into the story and leaves the reader so much room to imply about what is going on in the book without the author having to come out and say this is what is happening. This is good because the color in a panel lets the readers mind come up with all different kinds of assumptions about the text, on the contrary, the color does not always tell the reader the actual truth and it gets you to judge a book by its cover or in this case judge a book by its color. Bitch Planet is the perfect example of this because the color of every single panel gives the reader so many thoughts about Penelope without really telling them anything at all. But this is what is unique about comics and it is the reason why people are so interested in them. Comic book creators tell the reader so much about what is going on while still leaving observers the room to draw conclusions and make assumptions on their own by looking at the color and other visual motifs. It causes those who pick it up to not be able to put it down because you have to keep reading to find out the truth yourself. 