Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett’s “Tank Girl” is one of the more inventive properties to have come out of ‘90s comics, and it’s a credit to its endurability that it still sees releases today. The latest comic finds our protagonist in the wildly different setting of World War II with her allies by her side. But can this comic still find fresh grounds to explore even with this reinvigoration?
Written by Alan MartinCover by Brett Parson
Illustrated, Colored and Lettered by Brett ParsonWith a few bars of gold left, and Sub Girl’s uneasy feeling that she left something behind, Tank Girl hires her scientist friend to reinvent time travel. The Third Reich have no idea what is coming their way!
Alan Martin doesn’t tread lightly as we’re thrust into the heat of the comic the same way as Tank Girl is: naked and shell-shocked. The pace picks up right away from there, wasting no time as Martin has Tank Girl beating Nazis to a pulp with her bare hands (in an eerie art-mirrors-reality moment) and rallying the Americans. It’s uncompromising and raw, not only invoking comedic effect but also staying close tonally to the WW2 comics of old.
Martin does a great job exploiting the absurdity of Tank Girl’s situation. True to form, Tank Girl is a powerful protagonist, going most of the issue half-naked to the shock of these old-timey soldiers. It’s refreshing to see Martin not make a big deal of her gender, and just have her take command of the soldiers. I can see some people might have an issue with the historical accuracy of the situation, but it’s a gratifying representation of the character, especially as Tank Girl runs into battle screaming ‘GIVE US YOUR SOFT FURNISHINGS! OR I’LL PISS UP YOUR BALLS!’
Tank Girl’s supporting cast is well accounted for, enough that you get a pretty solid grasp of everyone even if you’re new to the brand (which admittedly I am). Barney is less of a go-getter than Tank Girl is here – choosing more to embrace the absurdity of their context rather than take command of it. Martin writes her with just the right amount of insanity to make her quirky but still likeable – one of panels in her introduction sequence has Barney falling from the sky, nakedly clutching a soldier’s chest and commenting on how nice his build is. Similarly, Booga is introduced with the same panache – but isn’t written with the same depth as Tank Girl or Barney. Martin instead opts to use him as comedy relief as he gets drunk before making tomato sandwiches for a Nazi dinner. It’s disappointing we don’t get to see these characters interact together in this situation, but it makes for fun reading watching each adapt to the context in their own ways.
Brett Parson carries some heavy art duties here, handling everything including the lettering, but he doesn’t show any sign of lacking in either departments. Each page comes pre-yellowed, emulating the feel of an old fashioned comic book. The real treat here though is that Parson’s art style feels it wouldn’t be out of place in the ’40s, but also works as a solid throwback to Hewlett’s work. The best example of this is the general contrast between American soldiers and the Tank Girl cast – most notably, on the seventh page where Tank Girl is blowing cigarette smoke into the soldier’s face. Another great use of this is on the Barney debut scene, the very first panel has a generic soldier barking orders from closed eyes, while Barney stands naked and dismissive.
One unique aspect of this comic I feel is the vivid scenery that Parson places us in. This isn’t any random scorched-earth battlefield. Parson draws this as feeling very much set in The Ardennes Forest region, as panels use old architecture boarded up or standing ruined amidst a snowy vegetation area. It works effectively setting up Booga’s debut scene well – Parson draws the Third Reich’s secret headquarters as a quaint, pretty location within the alps. Additionally, the isolated nature of the setting boosts the cut-off feel, raising the stakes especially high when Booga realises he’s cooking for a dinner of Nazis.
Continued belowIt’s important as well to draw upon your setting, and as this is “World War Tank Girl”, a lot of military action is required. Parson draws this beautifully, both to create fast-paced action and boost the script’s comedic nature. We get an almost Tarantino level of gore peppered throughout – right from the start, Tank Girl stomps naked and drenched in blood through a field of Nazis, before jumping into a tank full of them and coming out the other side with a weapon and even more blood. One of the more visceral scenes towards the end even includes our delightful protagonist booting a grenade into a zombie-like Nazi’s mouth before it promptly blows his head off.
But as I said, there are a lot of action scenes that are well thought out and add some serious style to the book. One of my favourite single panels happens in the introduction of Tank Girl, as we see her running over a rooftop being fired upon from afar. It’s in this small moment we get a big sense of setting – snow drifts over the scene while old tiled-roof houses stand burning in the background. Tank Girl effortlessly dances through the panel still retaining her take-no-prisoners scowl, giving us all the character development we need.
“World War Tank Girl” proves that this franchise is more relevant than ever in this political climate. Martin and Parson present us with an absurdly fun protagonist it’s hard not to root for, and her weirdo friends getting into manic situations. Parsons presents some of the more unique art we’ve seen in this comic, and the most important part? It’s completely accessible and free from being drenched in continuity, making it easy to recommend it to fresh faces.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – Martin and Parson have created a comic that revels in sheer, infectious fun, making it impossible not to be sucked into their fast-paced adventure.
