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Swipe File: Kelly Sue DeConnick's Bitch Planet And Alex De Campi's Grindhouse

Published Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:00:30 -0600

Announced at yesterday's Image Expo. Kelly Sue DeConnick's Bitch Planet.

In 2014, Kelly Sue DeConnick (PRETTY DEADLY, Captain Marvel, Avengers Assemble) and artist Valentine De Landro (X-Factor) are bringing the Women in Prison trope to outer space in BITCH PLANET. Sure to be a campy, kick-ass adventure, BITCH PLANET is the story of five leading ladies ready to bust out of their prison cells.

DeConnick admitted the tricky dilemma she set up for herself in wanting to work with the Women in Prison trope but still honor feminism. "I have a profound and abiding love for exploitation films, but as a feminist, I also find many (if not most) of them deeply problematic—for reasons that are both obvious and that I can't expound on without sounding like an academic paper," said DeConnick. "These are two WILDLY mixed feelings. And I love mixed feelings. It happens that mixed feelings are the perfect soil composition for fiction."

"Kelly Sue pretty much sold me on this with the title. It's called Bitch Planet—how can you not love that?" said Eric Stephenson, Publisher at Image Comics. "But seriously, it's a true pleasure to have Kelly Sue working on a second title at Image, and even better that she's doing it with Valentine De Landro. Mark my words, this is your new favorite comic."

A science-fiction take on the Women in Prison exploitation feature, BITCH PLANET follows five prisoners on an all-female penal planet, ready to make their escape by way of a gladiatorial exhibition against a team of visiting male prisoners. DeConnick summed BITCH PLANET up with, "there are five women, all ridiculous and real, and all very different. One shouldn't be there. The other four are unrepentant and guilty as Hell."

BITCH PLANET is a new, ongoing science-fiction action series coming to Image Comics in 2014.

But published in December and January…

Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight #3 (of 8)
Alex de Campi (W), Simon Fraser (A), and Francesco Francavilla (Cover)
On sale Dec 4
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
The correctional transport ship Antares is home to the baddest beauties this side of the Milky Way, but when their demented warden starts taking her jollies from the prisoners' hides, the babes of Block E fix to bust out!
• Trashtastic cover by Francesco Francavilla!
• Artist Simon Fraser (2000 AD) joins writer Alex de Campi (Smoke, Valentine)!

Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight #4 (of 8)
Alex de Campi (W), Simon Fraser (A/C), and Dan Panosian (Cover)
On sale Jan 1
FC, 32 pages
$3.99
Miniseries
The maniacal warden of the prison ship Antares has pushed its comely cons to the limits of human endurance—but these bad mamas won't take their punishment lying down! Alex de Campi and Simon Fraser dish up the riotous finale to "Prison Ship Antares" in the proud sexploitation tradition!

Swipe File? Alex De Campi took to Facebook to put her case.

COMICS FANS: If you heard about Kelly Sue DeConnick's upcoming sci-fi women in prison comic BITCH PLANET from Image and can't wait for it… well, you don't have to! Because Dark Horse published the same thing (by me) in November and December. Named as USA Today's "Most Insane" comics read of 2013, and #8 on Bleeding Cool's top 11 comic series of 2013… come to my GRINDHOUSE!

I've had so, so many emails of people going, "WTF?!". It's just… an odd choice, to bite the work of one of the handful of other women writing creator-owned comix at DH/Image.

I have emailed and suggested a cross-over. If she replies in the affirmative, great! If not, other Sun Tzu quotes (about bodies and rivers) will apply.

We were planning to do a Grindhouse Christmas Annual anyway (because OBVIOUSLY) and I suggested to her we do a joint 64-page one and each take 32 pages.

We look forward to the response. And please, none of the stereotypical jokes on this one, okay?

In Swipe File we present two or more images that resemble each other to some degree. They may be homages, parodies, ironic appropriations, coincidences or works of the lightbox. We trust you, the reader, to make that judgment yourself? If you are unable to do so, please return your eyes to their maker before any further damage is done. The Swipe File doesn't judge, it's interested more in the process of creation, how work influences other work, how new work comes from old, and sometimes how the same ideas emerge simultaneously, as if their time has just come. The Swipe File was named after the advertising industry habit where writers and artist collect images and lines they admire to inspire them in their work. It was swiped from the Comic Journal who originally ran this column, as well as the now defunct Swipe Of The Week website.

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