Comics are a format certain audiences enjoy, due to the visuals that can be easily understood by a wide range of audiences. There are different messages and corresponding techniques used by artists and writers to accurately convey the meaning behind their work, and thus, comics come in varied forms. Many are in grayscale and overly detailed, while many others are simplistic and blooming with colors. There is no correct way to make a comic – the techniques used are meant to help move the message along into reader’s minds for a better understanding. The use of color theory is often in colored comic panels, as colors are read by the audience in certain manners. Thus, these are used to set emotions throughout the plot. With this theory being in place, the reader can pick up on tones of the characters and their meanings in a more precise way. Color usage is how the words can be given more emotion, and picked up in a certain manner by the audience. In the excerpt of the comic, Bitch Planet, colors are used strategically throughout scenes to convey the mood and deeper meaning behind characters and their messages to the audience.

Bitch Planet has underlying themes of racism, sexism, and non-intersectional feminism within the characters’ speech and reactions to Penelope. These are not outright stated, but are easily read by the viewers with the repeated actions against Penelope’s character and identity. Along with these passages and themes, colors are heavily changed and drastic in each scene to depict the mood and messages for conflicts. In present time, Penelope is interrogated by the “fathers” – within these scenes, she is wearing a harsh orange against blue and white backgrounds. The blues and whites are used for the government officials; these colors are known to be used for mechanical objects, as well as conveying calm (blue) and pure (white) feelings. This is the contradiction with Penelope’s situation, as she is wearing a fierce orange mainly used for prisoners and also meant to invoke a feisty personality. With these colors used to help set the mood, the reader can understand that this conflict is against Penelope – that she is a prisoner that requires “help” from the picture-perfect government. The fathers refuse to comprehend how Penelope loves herself and desires to change her. Her identity is wrong to them due to not fitting their standards of “normal”. This is a repeated theme throughout the excerpt – within her flashbacks and back to present time.

With each of the flashbacks presented in the comic, a specific color scheme is used for each scene to properly give off the mood for each one. In the first presented memory, she is helping her grandmother cook. It is a slightly tense, but overall playful interaction. This memory seems to be a fond one for “Penny”, before it is suddenly halted by the police force showing up to her grandmother’s front lawn. This is abruptly ended with Penelope being told to run by her grandmother; signaling that this situation is one that would not have ended well. In the last panel for this scene, harsh shadows and blacks are used to give the sudden contrast of the situation. This is repeated on the next page by having harsh lines behind Penelope’s head, when she argues against the fathers about being taken in by the state and how they refuse to acknowledge her mother. This then moves into the next flashback, and it begins with the repeated black shadows from behind Penelope. The rest of the scene is mainly deep grays, while the flood of people all have a similar light complexion to contrast against Penelope’s darker skin. These colors show how the environment is stark and uniformed, and thus, shows how Penelope does not truly fit in. When she is called into Mother Siebertling’s office, the background takes on a pink hue as she explains to Penelope why she is wrong in her ways and that she should not be a “fool”. The pinks used here can help set the mood for how Mother Siebertling is the definition of femininity – fair skin, light hair, low weight and clothes that help show off her figure. This is a harsh opposite of Penelope, and it is supported even further by Siebertling insulting Penelope’s family history and by asking how to “control her hair” despite Penelope having natural curls. With these statements, it is shown that people like Siebertling have roots in racism – by trying to “control” Penelope’s natural afro-curls, this is a statement of deeming black hair as bad and needing to be more like white hair. This ends once again with a harsh black shadow, this time of Siebertling with a straightener, to change Penelope to fit society’s expectations better. Again, when the scene switches back to the present, harsh black shadows are in the scene, portraying how more and more angry Penelope is with how she is being treated and acknowledged. In the final flashback, browns and grays are used to give an overall gloomy feeling – Penelope is not happy with her job, and customers encourage this further by treating her poorly. When the screen comes on to discuss the news, a pink woman against a white backdrop appear. This, from the explanations earlier, shows the picture-perfect society that they live in and what is expected of women. As the light-skinned customers continue to discuss trivial things while also dissing Penelope for who she is, she grows angrier and loses control. When this happens, the shadows are made stronger. Thus, in the final scene, the colors appear brighter – with the fathers harsh white screens in the background and Penelope strapped down with a gray background. As she sees her ideal self in the mirror, the colors are light and have a white gradient. This gives off a happy, satisfied mood. This shows that Penelope, despite everything that has happened, is comfortable with herself and proud. In the last couple of panels, the harsh black shadows behind her reappear – confirming that throughout her frustrations, she still loves who she is. 

In the excerpt of the comic, Bitch Planet, colors are used strategically throughout scenes to convey the mood and deeper meaning behind characters and their messages to the audience. Within each scene, a certain memory and discrimination is in place, and thus, more easily read by the audience. With this, comics are a good form of visual story-telling, and Bitch Planet portrays the conflicts and emotions very well via use of color against each conflict.  As colors and shadows are used a repeated motif throughout the panels, it can ease the reader along to properly convey the emotions and moods for each scene.
