Tank Girl
Tank Girl is a British comic book created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Philip Bond, Glyn Dillon, Ashley Wood, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, Jim Mahfood, Brett Parson, Jonathan Edwards, Craig Knowles, Rufus Dayglo, Andy Pritchett, and Mike McMahon.
The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home. She undertakes a series of missions for a nebulous organization before making a serious mistake and being declared an outlaw for her sexual inclinations and her substance abuse. The comic centres on her misadventures with her boyfriend, Booga, a mutant kangaroo. The comic's style is heavily influenced by punk visual art, and strips are frequently deeply disorganized, anarchic, absurdist, and psychedelic. The strip features various elements with origins in surrealist techniques, fanzines, collage, cut-up technique, stream of consciousness, and metafiction, with very little regard or interest for conventional plot or committed narrative.
The strip was initially set in a futuristic Australia, although it drew heavily from contemporary British pop culture.
Publication history
Martin and Hewlett first met in the mid-1980s in Worthing, while studying at The West Sussex College of Art and Design. Martin was in college band The University Smalls with fellow comics enthusiast Philip Bond. One of their songs was called "Rocket Girl". They had started adding the suffix 'girl' to everything habitually after the release of the Supergirl movie, but "Rocket Girl" was a student at college who Bond had a crush on and apparently bore a striking resemblance to a Love and Rockets character. They began collaborating on a comic/fanzine called Atomtan, and while working on this, Jamie had drawnThe image was published in the fanzine as a one-page ad, but the Tank Girl series first appeared in the debut issue of Deadline, a UK magazine intended as a forum for new comic talent and it continued until the end of the magazine in 1995.
Tank Girl became quite popular in the politicized indie counterculture zeitgeist as a cartoon mirror of the growing empowerment of women in punk rock culture. Posters, shirts, and underpants began springing up everywhere, including one especially made for the Clause 28 march against Margaret Thatcher's legislation. Clause 28 stated that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship." Deadline publisher Tom Astor said, "In London, there are even weekly lesbian gatherings called 'Tank Girl nights.'"
With public interest growing, Penguin, the largest publishing company in Britain, bought the rights to collect the strips as a book, and before long, Tank Girl had been published in Spain, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Argentina, Brazil and Japan, with several United States publishers fighting over the licence. Finally Dark Horse Comics won, and the strips were reprinted in colour beginning in '91, with an extended break in '92, and ending in September '93. A graphic novel-length story named Tank Girl: The Odyssey was also published in '95, written by Peter Milligan and loosely inspired by Homer's Odyssey, Joyce's Ulysses and a considerable quantity of junk TV.
Characters
- Tank Girl: Her real name in the strip is Rebecca Buck, but this is very rarely mentioned throughout. In the kickstarter edition of 21st Century Tank Girl, it is discovered that she was actually born under the name Fonzie Rebecca Buckler. According to her own history included as a preface to one of the books, her first words were "cauliflower penis". When she was 7, she started a collection of novelty pencil sharpeners. She later became a tank pilot and worked as a bounty hunter before shooting a heavily decorated officer, having mistaken him for her father, and failing to deliver colostomy bags to President Hogan, the incontinent Head of State in Australia, resulting in him publicly embarrassing himself at a large international trade conference. These events resulted in Tank Girl becoming an outlaw with a multi-million dollar bounty on her head. She is prone to random acts of sex and violence, hair dyeing, flatulence, nose-picking, vomiting, spitting, and more than occasional drunkenness. She also has the ability to outrun any ice cream van – even Mr. Whippy.
- Booga: A mutated kangaroo, formerly a successful toy designer of "products Santa would've sacrificed a reindeer for," and presently Tank Girl's devoted boyfriend. She met him when he sneaked into her tank one night to pinch a pair of her knickers. He is a big Dame Edna fan and once impersonated Bill Clinton. Booga, often against his will, always does the cooking, particularly the great British institution of tea. He follows Tank Girl everywhere and does, by his own admission, whatever she tells him. This includes murder.
- The talking stuffed animals:
- Stevie: A wild-haired blond Aboriginal man who owns a convenience store and chain-smokes. Being TG's ex-boyfriend, Booga is always a bit jealous of him. He has various familial ties and connections with Aboriginal culture and remote traditionalist tribespeople.
- Barney: Busted out of a mental hospital by TG, she is more or less insane. In The Odyssey, she is responsible for killing the whole cast, thereby sending them all to the land of the dead, from which TG was forced to save them by finding the Prince of Farts.
- Sub Girl : Described as "like a beautiful flower floating in the loo", she pilots a submarine. A friend of TG's since childhood, she used to come round her house with Jet Girl and try on her mum's underwear.
- Jet Girl : A talented mechanic who flies a jet. All her friends call her "boring".
Subsequent ''Tank Girl''
Martin has played in various bands, written a Tank Girl novel published in March 2008 by Titan Books, as well as various screenplays and scripts. He wrote the limited series Tank Girl: The Gifting with Australian artist Ashley Wood.
On 28 September 2012 Titan Books released The Hole of Tank Girl, which encompasses the original Hewlett and Martin material, as well as additional content.
Hewlett and Martin released the series 21st Century Tank Girl on 10 June 2015.
Martin and artist Warwick Johnson-Cadwell have also created a kid-friendly spin-off called Young Tank Girl, published in the digital anthology Moose Kid Comics.
Collected editions
Tank Girl has been collected into a number of trade paperbacks over the years. The entire back catalogue was reprinted by Titan books in 2002 and these books were "re-mastered" in anniversary editions, stripped of their subsequently-added computer colouring and line work repaired. In 2018 the entire Hewlett and Martin back catalogue was once again reprinted under the "Tank Girl Colour Classics" banner, this time as collectable hardbacks, with all new colouring and extra material.| Title | Authors | ISBN | Release date | Comments |
| Tank Girl 1 | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 26 April 2002 24 April 2009 | Consists of the first 15 episodes, originally published in Deadline Magazine, starting Sept. '88, all originally in black and white. | |
| Tank Girl 2 | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 21 June 2002 24 April 2009 | Consists of the next 17 episodes, some colour, some black and white. | |
| Tank Girl 3 | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 25 October 2002 24 July 2009 | Rounds up a final 9 episodes, including some featuring Booga as the star. Some colour, some black and white. | |
| Tank Girl – The Odyssey | Jamie Hewlett and Peter Milligan | 27 December 2002 25 September 2009 | Consists of 4 issues released between June and October 1995, published by DC's Vertigo imprint. These comics were printed in full colour. | |
| Tank Girl – Apocalypse | Alan Grant, Andy Pritchett, and Philip Bond | 21 August 2003 26 February 2010 | Consists of 4 issues released between November 1995 and February 1996, published by DC's Vertigo imprint. Again these comics were in full colour. | |
| Tank Girl – Movie Adaptation | Peter Milligan and Andy Pritchett | 28 March 1995 | A graphic novel adaptation of the movie released by Penguin books in 1995. This was not reprinted or remastered by Titan Books | |
| Tank Girl: The Gifting | Alan C. Martin and Ashley Wood | 23 November 2007 | Four issue mini-series published by IDW Publishing. The first new Tank Girl comic material since 1995. | |
| Tank Girl: Armadillo and a Bushel of Other Stories | Alan C. Martin | 21 March 2008 | A fiction text novel with cover art by Jamie Hewlett | |
| Tank Girl: Visions of Booga | Alan C. Martin and Rufus Dayglo | 28 November 2008 | Four issue mini-series published by IDW Publishing | |
| The Cream of Tank Girl | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 24 October 2008 | A retrospective art book by Titan Books | |
| Tank Girl: Skidmarks | Alan C. Martin and Rufus Dayglo | 30 July 2010 | 12 part series in the Judge Dredd Megazine, re-published by Titan Comics as a four issue mini-series | |
| Tank Girl: The Royal Escape | Alan C. Martin and Rufus Dayglo | 25 February 2011 | Four issue mini-series published by IDW publishing | |
| We Hate Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Rufus Dayglo | 19 January 2011 | Collecting the Tank Girl One-Shots: Dark Nuggets, Dirty Helmets, and Hairy Heroes by Image Comics | |
| Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising | Alan C. Martin and Rufus Dayglo | 27 January 2012 31 December 2014 | Four issue mini-series published by Titan Comics | |
| The Hole Of Tank Girl | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 28 September 2012 | A hardcover, large-format book with slipcase, collecting the first three Hewlett & Martin books by Titan Books | |
| Tank Girl: Carioca | Alan C. Martin and Mike McMahon | 26 October 2012 | Collecting the six-issue mini-series published by Titan Comics | |
| Tank Girl: Everybody Loves Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Jim Mahfood | 22 February 2013 | Collecting the three-issue mini-series published by Titan Comics | |
| Tank Girl: Solid State Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell | 14 January 2014 | Collecting the four-issue mini-series published by Titan Comics | |
| The Power of Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin, Ashley Wood, and Rufus Dayglo | 30 September 2014 | An omnibus edition compiling the three Tank Girl graphic novels "The Gifting", "Visions of Booga", and "The Royal Escape" published by Titan Comics | |
| 21st Century Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin, Jamie Hewlett, Brett Parson, Craig Knowles, Jim Mahfood, Jonathan Edwards, Philip Bond, and Warwick Johnson-Cadwell | 4 November 2015 | Collecting the three-issue mini-series published by Titan Comics | |
| Tank Girl: Two Girls, One Tank | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 6 December 2016 | A four-issue mini-series published by Titan Comics, first part in a trilogy | |
| Tank Girl: Gold | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 25 April 2017 | A four issue mini-series published by Titan Comics, second part of the trilogy | |
| Total Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, Rufus Dayglo, and Jim Mahfood | 10 October 2017 | An omnibus edition compiling the three graphic novels "Everybody Loves Tank Girl", "Bad Wind Rising", and "Solid State Tank Girl" published by Titan Comics | |
| World War Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 17 November 2017 | The third and final chapter in new Tank Girl trilogy and anticipated follow-up to Tank Girl: Gold. Published by Titan Comics | |
| The Way of Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin, Jamie Hewlett, Ashley Wood, and Brett Parson | 17 April, 2018 | A square format art book, featuring artwork and panels taken from Tank Girl's back catalogue, along with new and unseen material. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| The Wonderful World of Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 28 August, 2018 | A four-issue mini series comprising four stand-alone stories. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| The Legend of Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 11 September 2018 | An oversized, hardback omnibus edition, celebrating Tank Girl's 30th anniversary, compiling the three graphic novels "Two Girls One Tank", "Tank Girl Gold", and "World War Tank Girl". Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl Colouring Book | Alan C. Martin, Jamie Hewlett, and Brett Parson | 16 October 2018 | An oversized, square format paperback, featuring black and white line art. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl Colour Classics Book One | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 11 December 2018 | A hardback collection of the original Hewlett & Martin strips, recoloured for the 30th anniversary, augmented with unseen material. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl All Stars | Alan C. Martin, Brett Parson et al. | 29 January 2019 | A four-issue mini-series of short stories and prose pages, featuring a host of Tank Girl artists, celebrating Tank Girl's 30th anniversary. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Dirty Old Tank Girl | Alan C. Martin, Rufus Dayglo, and Mick McMahon | 19 March 2019 | An omnibus edition compiling the two graphic novels "Tank Girl: Skidmarks", and "Tank Girl: Carioca" Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl: Action Alley | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 13 August, 2019 | The first four-issue arc of Tank Girl's first ever on-going series. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl Colour Classics Book Two | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 24th September 2019 | A hardback collection of the original Hewlett & Martin strips, recoloured for the 30th anniversary, augmented with unseen material. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl Forever | Alan C. Martin and Brett Parson | 25th February 2020 | The second four-issue arc of Tank Girl's first ever on-going series. Published by Titan Comics. | |
| Tank Girl Colour Classics Book Three | Jamie Hewlett and Alan C. Martin | 26th May 2020 | A hardback collection of the original Hewlett & Martin strips, recoloured for the 30th anniversary, augmented with unseen material. Published by Titan Comics. |
Film
The comic was also adapted into a critically and financially unsuccessful film, albeit with a small cult following. The film featured Lori Petty as Tank Girl and Naomi Watts as Jet Girl. Martin and Hewlett are known for speaking poorly of the experience, with Martin calling it "a bit of a sore point" for them.In September 2019 it was reported that a Tank Girl reboot movie is in development with Margot Robbie's production company LuckyChap Entertainment optioned rights from MGM, Robbie co-produce with her partners Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, Mallory Westfall writing and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte directing.
Interviews
- – With Alan Martin about the Tank Girl relaunch
- – about the 2007 relaunch from IDW comics.