The future is a scary thought. Sometimes predictable, sometimes unpredictable, we as humans just keep moving forward, not knowing what challenge we might face tomorrow. In today’s society, groups of people are often ostracized due to their physical attributes and differences, people pay more attention to their phones than what is around them, and women and men feel pressured to live up to stereotypes. In Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Bitch Planet, she portrays a younger African American woman in a futuristic society, controlled by a group of older men who refer to themselves as the “fathers.” Throughout her comic, DeConnick is foreshadowing what she believes will happen in the future of our society. A world similar to the one in Bitch Planet, where women are completely shunned and ostracized from society for being different. Sounds familiar, right? That is because it is already happening. Through the dark and shadowy design of the illustrations in the comic, the stereotypical features and negative actions of the people in the comic, and the emotions provoked in a reader throughout the comic, DeConnick shows readers that this horrible “futuristic” society of Bitch Planet is already happening, right now. 

In Bitch Planet, it seems as if women who misbehave in the slightest way are put in captivity on the so-called “bitch planet.” The men in the comic Bitch Planet all seemed somewhat aggressive towards women, and most women were sheepish and afraid to stand up for themselves. They see what happens to women like Penny who lash out at men, and fear that they cannot speak for themselves. Unfortunately, this is not just a fictional issue in DeConnick’s comic. This is a reality for many women who walk on eggshells around their husbands and boyfriends in fear of being abused, or in Penny’s case, being sent into captivity on a different planet just for misbehaving women. The issue in DeConnick’s comic seems to be outrageous and many readers would think so as they realize what is going on. She did this to represent abuse and women in fear of the men in their lives, which is a very real issue, happening now. 

On the first page of the comic, DeConnick illustrates her main character, Penny, in an orange jumpsuit, with her fists clenched, looking angry with guards behind her. The image is very dark, and contains many shadows. Every time the comic shows Penny in front of the group of men, or “fathers” who control her, she always has some sort of a shadow covering her (DeConnick 176). I think that this is a representation of black women being left in the dark. In our current society, black women have two things to worry about being discriminated for. They are almost a double minority. First they are discriminated against and treated unfairly for being black. And then they have the glass ceiling to worry about. Many women in general, and especially black women, feel held back by social standards, and men, and will not reach their full potential in work life, social life and family life. These men, the “fathers” of Bitch Planet are judging Penny and holding her back, and the dark filter over the illustration portrays sadness, tension and anger coming from Penny because of the limitations that have been put on her just because she is black and a woman. Many black women in today’s society face issues similar to Penny’s, they just do not seem so extreme because they have not been sent to a different planet. 

The entire comic’s illustration has a dark overtone. The illustrator always uses darker colors and shadows over Penny, and almost all of the women in the comic. It is like there is a dark, depressing filter over the illustrations, suggesting a dark time in someone’s life. The only time that the illustrations are not dark and not containing many shadows, is during Penny’s flashbacks. Beginning on page 179, Penny’s flashback to baking with her grandmother contain brighter colors and give off a more positive image. The two of them are having a great time smothering each other in batter, and suddenly shadows and dark tones reappear. These tones appear when the armed men are walking to Penny’s door and her grandma tells her to run. What DeConnick is doing here is showing readers of the comic that Penny’s current life, in captivity of the “fathers,” is dark and depressing, compared to her happy memories with her grandmother. DeConnick is suggesting that Penny’s present life, a life of extreme limitation, fear, and oppression could, and maybe already has become today’s society, and it is quite dark and depressing. 

The people who DeConnick illustrates throughout Bitch Planet show futuristic characteristics, but some of these are already a reality. During the scene in the café that Penny is working at, the people in line are impatient, and mostly quite anti-social, very much inside their technology. Most of the people in this scene have a little glass square around their one eye, and this appears to be some new type of technology (DeConnick 193). While we do not have these devices that the people in the café refer to as their “personal screens,” our society’s obsession with technology can be just as bad with our iPhones, laptops and tablets. Inside this comic and in real life today, many people would do something with technology rather than talk to the people around them. Many people do not even realize that they are doing this, but it is very obviously pointed out in this comic. Technology already plays a large role in today’s society and many people could not live without it. It can be a great way to connect with friends and family, but it often makes people anti-social and unaware of their current surroundings. Instead of paying attention to the people and places around them, they pay attention to only what is on their device in front of them. DeConnick might be trying to open reader’s eyes to those who are attached to their technology. By putting these issues in a different and sometimes more extreme way will open people’s eyes to the problems of today’s world.

Many stereotypes were also portrayed throughout Penny’s flashbacks. Beginning on page 185, when she has a flashback to when she was in school, in Mother Siebertling’s office, Mother Siebertling is a walking, talking stereotype. Reader’s can see sorority letters on her wall, photos of her and her husband and a photo suggesting she had been in some sort of pageant. Conveniently, this woman is also blond, wearing a revealing top and a tight skirt. Mother Siebertling also seems to be obsessed with physical appearance, and is trying to make Penny look better on the outside. When people think of sorority women, or women in beauty pageants, the first thing that often comes to mind is a blond woman wearing lots of makeup and revealing clothes. Clearly, not every woman in a sorority or a beauty pageant looks like Mother Siebertling, but DeConnick is portraying a typical “it girl;” someone that supposedly everyone wants to be.  Mother Siebertling wants Penny to be prettier, skinnier and behave better. These are qualities that are often what men look for in a woman. DeConnick is showing societal expectations and standards expected of women that are unrealistic. Many other great qualities of women—such as intelligence, strength, faith-- are overlooked because they do not immediately appeal to the physical stereotype of a perfect woman. DeConnick is here once again warning of the “future” that is already a reality, that needs to change. 

Reading this comic, readers will experience many different emotions. Many readers might pity Penny and what she has been through and continues to go through. Many readers may feel anger towards the ignorant people who Penny has to interact with. Many readers may feel sadness in realizing that many of these fictional happenings in DeConnick’s “Bitch Planet” are actual realities for some people. For some, Bitch Planet was just a comic. But Kelly Sue DeConnick did not mean for it to be just a comic. I think that it was meant to serve as a wake up call. Yes, it is set in a futuristic society, but so many topics are already realities in today’s society. Many African Americans are treated unfairly, along with women. Women are expected to live up to a standard and stereotype. Technology is taking over the world, and keeping us from truly interacting and bonding with people. These are all very real issues in today’s society, and DeConnick brought light to them by formatting them visually and futuristically. What she portrayed as things that could become issues in the future represent real issues that are currently happening and need to worked on. 