Zeb Larsen reviews Bitch Planet #2…
Now framed for murder INSIDE the prison, Kam is offered leniency if she’ll train her crew for a death sport bout against a visiting team of male prisoners. From 2014 Best Writer Eisner nominee KELLY SUE DeCONNICK (PRETTY DEADLY, Captain Marvel) and VALENTINE DeLANDRO (X-Factor) with colorist CRIS PETER (CASANOVA).
After Bitch Planet’s blowout first issue, which seems to have knocked everybody’s socks off, this issue slows the action down a little bit to focus on storytelling. This is by no means a bad thing: now that DeConnick and De Landro have grabbed our attention, it’s time to start introducing the universe that they’ve created. Don’t mistake the dialed-down action for a dull issue, though, because we got a few very interesting storylines. I will be discussing spoilers ahead, so read on at your own discretion.
Kamau is under suspicion for the murder of Marian Collins in the last issue, and a woman interrogator comes to speak with her about her past. Kamau was an athlete before the “new Protectorate,” which appears to be the patriarchal world government. The prison officials don’t really seem to care about Marian’s murder, however: they want Kamau to form a team to compete in a competition called “Megaton.” The leaders of this Protectorate, including a “Father Anderson,” are concerned that viewer engagement with the games are down, and they seem to think Kamau is what they need to boost engagement. Kamau doesn’t want to go along with the plan, but one of the prisoners has a plan to turn the tables on their captors.
So after seeing glimpses of the world in the last issue, we get to actually spend some time here. What we have is a very literal patriarchy, one where “father” appears to be the highest title one can receive. Patriarchal language is peppered throughout the female interrogator’s discussion with Kamau, mostly regarding the role of fathers as leaders. Speaking of the female interrogator, her role is an interesting one. She explicitly states that the council is not “anti-women,” and that she must be an example of this. She’s the perfect example of a collaborator, and one that gives a plausible face to an ugly regime.
For a book with such a didactic purpose, there’s also a lot of humor to be found here. One of my favorite sequences shows Kamau and her fellow inmates running around a track, with what appears to an enormous holographic workout video playing in the background. Was it meant to be a dig at workout videos? I hope so. Or there’s Penny, the heavier inmate who manages to kick everybody’s ass eight or nine times over. Next issue promises to focus on her, which I’m really looking forward to.
There are still more questions about the nature of this dystopia. For such a patriarchal system, I haven’t seen any mention of religion or conservative interpretations of the Bible. Is this a totally secular patriarchy? That’s a fascinating concept if it’s the case and tweaks the influence of Handmaiden’s Tale of this book. How are the competitions structured between men and women? And just how did this government come to power? All of this would illuminate the sexism that undergirds this world.
This series is living up to the promises made by the first issue, especially as a main plot starts to come together. Make no mistake, this is going to be one of the big books of 2015.
Zeb Larson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=84503534&v=qqtW2LRPtQY&list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E&feature=player_embedded&x-yt-ts=1421914688
Originally published January 27, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
