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 different colors and textures in each panel makes the reader come up with ideas and thoughts about Penelope without reading the comic. This allows the author to play with the reader’s assumptions and force the reader to break down the comic to learn the actual truth instead of believing a visual motif like color. 

The first time the reader sees Penelope in Bitch Planet is on page 176 and the first thing to 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. Penelope’s hair is half-shaved with a dark, almost charcoal, black second half 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. Upon closer inspection of the scene, past the orange jumpsuit and Penelope’s appearance, there are 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. It is not good to judge a book by its cover, but when a reader looks at the colors in this panel it is hard not to assume that Penelope is not a good person and that she may be a criminal. 

Penelope is later seen on page 185. In the first panel of the page if one were to just look at Penelope the reader would see that she has glossy black wavy hair, brown skin with a soft texture untouched by tattoos, and the green shirt with bluish pants. But looking at the entire panel the first thing the reader would see is the guy Penelope is looking down on. When looking at this guy the most recognizable thing is the red blood, so dark that it almost looks black, gushing out from his nose down his chin. The reader would also notice the man’s eye is black and shut closed. Looking at Penelope stand over the guy with a bleeding nose, the reader might assume right away that Penelope is a bad person getting into school fights. But looking deeper into the panel the reader should realize there is a noticeable difference between Penelope’s shirt and the man on the ground: the green of their respective shirts is contrasted significantly, with Penelope’s looking more faded. After looking at the difference between Penelope’s shirt compared to the guy’s shirt, one could say that Penelope’s shirt looks more faded than all the other characters within the panel. The creator of Bitch Planet did this to make Penelope look like an outsider. If one were to just glanced at the panel of Penelope standing over a guy with a bloody nose the reader would think she is the bad person, but when a reader breaks down the panel and looks at the color information is gathered that is not given straight forward. This information might not be useful as the author might use the persuasion of visual motifs against the reader but this information gives you details that the reader would have never known.  

In the panel, that is a close-up of Penelope, 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 the reader might notice the texture of her clean brown skin with no apparent tattoos that would make her appearance look tough. Penelope even has a soft-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 the reader looks at this panel, he/she does 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, but rather there is the idea that she is an innocent young woman that may even look like a victim, based on the glossy texture of her eyes.  

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 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 assume what is going on in the comic, without the author having to come out and say what is happening. The ability to assume is good because the color in a panel lets the readers mind come up with an independent thought about the text. The colors in each scene described do not always tell the reader the actual reality, forcing the reader to judge a book by its cover or in this case judge a book by its color. The colors in a comic book allows a reader to make assumptions about a character and the author might use this against the reader, but that is what makes a comic. It causes those who pick it up to not be able to put it down because the reader must keep reading to find out the truth. 