Review by New York Times Review
DeConnick and De Landro's sci-fi women-in-prison comic book transforms misogynist tropes into lavaspitting feminist rage. This first collection establishes the premise: In the near future, the smug old-boy network that runs the world is sending "noncompliant" women off to a prison planet officially called the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost. De Landro's chunky images make his characters' postures and faces speak for them, and the guest artist Robert Wilson IV draws a chapter devoted to the series' most compelling character, the dreadlocked juggernaut Penny Rolle, locked up for offenses including "insubordination" and "wanton obesity." (Forced to experience a vision of her ideal self, Rolle sees herself exactly as she is.) There's nominally an overarching plot, but DeConnick is more concerned with building up her cast of misfits and outcasts, lampooning patriarchal rhetoric and upending the mechanics of exploitation flicks: One of the most suspenseful sequences in the book is technically a lesbian shower scene, framed to be anything but arousing.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 18, 2015]
Review by Booklist Review
In the not-too-distant future, America is ruled by paternalistic capitalism, and women are held to impossibly high standards. That might sound awfully familiar, but DeConnick and De Landro take it to extremes. Noncompliants women who don't meet a wide variety of standards are sent off-world to the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost, or, as it is colloquially known, Bitch Planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, businessmen, who go by the icky title of father, try to drum up ratings for a compulsory TV event, a sport called Megaton. What could be more alluring than adding some lady inmates to the mix? Though this sounds like it could get exploitative, DeConnick and De Landro never miss an opportunity to shine a light on sexism, revealing tender backstories for the characters and showcasing the ugly language of the men in power. De Landro expertly uses color to heighten the mood noxious greens and yellows subtly highlight moments of sexist rhetoric, while the prisoners are rendered in warmer, more realistic tones. Hard-hitting and funny, this smart, thought-provoking comic pulls no punches.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In one of the most stunning works of satire this medium has seen in recent memory, DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel) and De Landro (X-Factor) craft a modern riff on pulp sci-fi exploitation novels that's equal parts brutality and thoughtfulness. In a nightmarish future, "noncompliant" women are rounded up for minor infractions (or none at all) and sent to a prison planet. One inmate, Kamau Kogo, catches the attention of the Fathers and is put in charge of a doomed sports team designed to be annihilated in the name of compliance. Using her wits and raw strength, Kamau must turn adversity into an asset if she is to bring change to her world. DeConnick pulls no punches, crafting a relentless narrative that is hauntingly reminiscent of the misogyny facing women around the globe today; De Landro expertly supplies gritty inks, in-your-face colors, and a host of diverse character designs that underscore the book's intersectional feminist message. The result is a must-read unlike anything else being published in comics. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Paying tongue-in-cheek homage to lurid exploitation films, DeConnick (Pretty Deadly) introduces a Hunger Games element into a totalitarian world-state based on male supremacy. Officially the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost, Bitch Planet is an off-world penal colony for women convicted of "non-compliance"-criminal and/or aesthetic. Shortly after newbies Kamau and Penny arrive, the state adds a team of women inmates to the popular and deadly Megaton world games. Kamau and her cohorts are promised freedom if they win-but is that the truth? The women prisoners are depicted as vivid, diverse, imperfect, strong, and often naked as they squabble, strategize, fight, and occasionally make sexual overtures to loved ones or to manipulate males in charge. The men are mostly corrupt oppressors but can be relatives, suckers, or potential allies. DeLandro's (X-Factor) classic, semirealistic color art includes subtle visual jokes, flashbacks with a grainy feel, and bogus 1950s-style ads. VERDICT This adult drama offers heavy plot traction as well as food for thought, with twisting plot, superb characterizations, and excellent writing. Fans of Orange Is the New Black will enjoy this edgier, futuristic approach.-MC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
