4LN Comic Review – 21st Century Tank Girl #1

SERIES: 21ST CENTURY TANK GIRL #1
WRITER: Alan Martin
ARTISTS: Jamie Hewlett, Warwick Johnson-Cadwell, Philip Bond, Jonathan Edwards, Brett Parson, Jim Mahfood, Craig Knowles
COVER: Jamie Hewlett
PUBLISHER: Titan Comics
PAGECOUNT: 32pp
COVER PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE DATE: June 10

Summary from Titan Comics:

JAMIE HEWLETT RETURNS TO TANK GIRL!

After a break of 20 years, artist extraordinaire Jamie Hewlett (GORILLAZ) is leaping back on the Tank Girl wagon, re-teaming with series co-creator Alan Martin to bring you a whole new take on the foul-mouthed, gun toting, swill-swigging hellion!

Featuring riotous 100% original content from Hewlett & Martin along with contributions from a host of series stalwarts and newcomers, get your head down, put your hands over your private parts, and prepare for a chaotic collection of strips, pin-ups, and random carnage!

Overview –
Tank Girl returns! And that… unfortunately… means nothing to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that to be a jerk. I just never read Tank Girl because it debuted when I was 4. I did, however, eventually see the Tank Girl movie, because that thing is a cult classic, and those are my favorite kinds of movies.

I say all of that to say… I was not sure what to expect from this comic. I went into it with an open mind and no expectations whatsoever. Let me tell me you, that was a good thing. I honestly don’t know if anything could’ve prepared me for how bizarre this comic is, and I mean “bizarre” in the best possible way.

As I’m sure many people are, I’m familiar with Jamie Hewlett from his work on the Gorillaz band. I certainly appreciate the art he’s done there with that unprecedented partnership of music and art, and he again does a fantastic job here in this #1 issue. (As does the rest of the art team, but more on that later…) His style is very unique. When you see his artwork, you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that it’s his.

Alan Martin I’m much less familiar with, but after reading this, I’m a fan. He makes Tank Girl a dirty-minded bad-ass, who would never even pretend to entertain the notion of taking shit from anyone. She’s brutal, she’s funny, and she doesn’t need anyone to save her or come to her rescue. She is the quintessential anit-damsel in distress, and she will beat your head with a baseball bat for even looking at her the wrong way.

21st Century Tank Girl is a unique comic. It has an anthology-like structure where there are multiple stories with different artists drawing the same characters in their own specific style. I’m not aware of many comics that would be similar to this. The one that comes to mind the most are the Spongebob Comics from BONGO, which employ the anthology-like structure, but with the same running creative team.

I really want to tell you about the different stories but honestly, I feel like you need to experience them for yourself. Each one is different than the last, and they really offer something for everyone.

Overall, if you’re like me and you appreciate really out there stories, and you’re also a little bit ADD, then 21st Century Tank Girl is probably right up your alley.

Music Pairing-
Well, obviously…