|
The Australian Outback, a few decades in the future. Tank
Girl takes time out from her busy beer-swilling schedule to
do some bounty hunting, before delivering colostomy bags to
President Hogan, taking on the Australian Mafia, and other
outrageous adventures...
This
volume brings together the first 13 episodes of Tank Girl's
exploits, which originally appeared in Deadline magazine
way back in 1988 and 1989 (god, that makes me feel old). The
artwork has been shrunk down to American comic format, but
has the advantage of being printed in full colour. However,
it would appear that some of the original art has been mislaid,
because certain pages seem to have been scanned directly from
a previous printing - shame. A couple of pages from the fifth
episode are printed out of sequence, but it is possible that
this was how they appeared originally.
It
is apparent from the opening instalments that the work of
Brett Ewins, Brendan McCarthy and even Kevin O'Neill inspired
Jamie Hewlett (who more recently designed the virtual pop
group, Gorillaz), but his art quickly establishes an unmistakably
zany style all of its own. The character of Tank Girl possesses
what has to be the most wicked smile in comics since 2000
AD's Slaine.
The
stories range from just plain odd to laugh-out-loud funny,
loaded with comical sexuality, violence and post-modern winks
at the reader. "How can I hear everything he's saying?" wonders
Tank Girl as she chases a wanted kangaroo. "Must be something
to do with comics and all that crap!" Many a male reader will
fall in love with the heroine's sexy yet grungy outfits -
or lack of on frequent occasions. Females will appreciate
the character's in-your-face attitude, as she takes no crap
from anyone and ruthlessly dominates her kangaroo boyfriend,
Booga. A couple of later instalments hint at some higher purpose
behind Tank Girl's existence (well, it couldn't have sunk
any lower, could it?), casting her in the guise of a kind
of Aboriginal Earth mother.
It
must be said that the text panels contain rather a high incidence
of bad spelling and punctuation, so make sure you're a mature
reader, or else this graphic novel might rot your brain. Actually,
it'll probably rot your brain anyway, so what the hell...!
With
a new introduction by Alan Martin, this volume also includes
a cut-out and dress (should you want to!) Tank Girl. If you've
never before had the chance to enjoy these early adventures,
or if you just fancy a blast from the past, then take this
girl home with you now.
Richard
McGinlay
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
(Please note all prices exclude P&P - although
Streets Online charge a flat £1 fee regardless
of the number of items ordered). Click on the
logo of the desired store below to purchase
this item.
|
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
