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iffer 's review for:
Bitch Planet, Volume 2: President Bitch
by Valentine De Landro, Taki Soma, Kelly Sue DeConnick
I had a lot of feelz while reading this book. I probably mentioned this in my review of the first trade paperback, but I was initially afraid that it would be white feminism and still fetishization, since, despite loving comics, I'm conditioned to brace for the complete BS that comes from the comic book industry too often. But Bitch Planet is still succeeding at defying my skepticism. It's brash, and it's sarcastic, but it's thoughtful, and it's a collaboration of people trying to create something good. I think that what really drives this home is the interviews at the end of the books about why the comic was written and drawn in certain ways. Although the comic will never be perfect, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro are willing to use their platform to do the best that they can, including collaborating and having hard discussions (in the case of this volume, working with trans women).
Part of the feelz was because it's disconcerting to see something that is supposed to be dystopian satire that is a believable future, but I think that another part of it was seeing people portrayed in a complex and respectful way that reflect me, and people I know and care about, and their intersections. It reminded me of something that Sandra Oh said about Crazy Rich Asians, except extended to people I care about who are part of groups that are often marginalized (BIPOC, queer, fat, disabled):
"It is because seeing yourself reflected...is really emotional when you don't even know that you're carrying so much grief of never being seen."
Part of the feelz was because it's disconcerting to see something that is supposed to be dystopian satire that is a believable future, but I think that another part of it was seeing people portrayed in a complex and respectful way that reflect me, and people I know and care about, and their intersections. It reminded me of something that Sandra Oh said about Crazy Rich Asians, except extended to people I care about who are part of groups that are often marginalized (BIPOC, queer, fat, disabled):
"It is because seeing yourself reflected...is really emotional when you don't even know that you're carrying so much grief of never being seen."