I started reading Tank Girl in about 1992 or so, with the black and white Dark Horse Comics reprints, and the young punk rocker that I was fell instantly in love with her. She had a give no f**ks attitude long before the term existed, and a way with cursing that that enamored her to me. She has had a number of series’ since then, throughout the 90s, and even spawned a cult classic movie. And then, she just kind of disappeared on me. Well, she’s back and badder than ever in Titan Comics collected The Power of Tank Girl Omnibus.
Technically she’s been back since 2007. The Power of Tank Girl is an epic tome, 288 pages long, collecting The Gifting, Visions of Booga, and The Royal Escape, three stories that take TG, Booga, Jet Girl, Barney, and Jackie on insane journeys unlike any they’ve been on before. Original series co-creator Alan Martin comes back and brings Rufus Dayglo and Ashley Wood along for the bizarre ride on art duties. This HUGE collection (seriously, it’s big enough to use as a weapon) is like a visit from an old friend (albeit one who might try to kill you); it feels like she never left. If it’s post-apocalyptic, beer-swilling, explosive action with lots of creative cursing you’re looking for, The Power of Tank Girl is the book for you.
The stories bring the goods; The Royal Escape sees our heroes trapped outside a city they destroyed while the military surrounds them, Visions of Booga finds our happy couple lost without their tank while the Australian Mafia hunts them down, and The Gifting features an interrupted honeymoon and an attack on a children’s TV presenter. There’s a giant Barney statue, pooping in handbags, the Hipster Book of Gold, a tiny Jet Girl, and plenty of over-the-top senseless violence; you know, exactly the type of psychotic adventures you expect from Tank Girl.
Alan Martin’s writing is in great form here, even if it did take a little while to get into the first story. Once he hits the ground running, he’s off and unstoppable. The familiar humor we’ve come to expect is there; somewhere between high-brow and toilet. His dialog is disjointed in places, but it totally fits the tone of the series. The pacing started out a bit uneven, but overall is pretty brisk and forward moving, pushing the stories in sometimes surreal directions. Just wonderfully silly, insane, and brilliant stuff.
That art though; if ever there was a successor to Jamie Hewlett, it’s Rufus Dayglo. He was born to draw Tank Girl. The style, tone, and fun little background bits are all here. His characterizations of each character is spot-on, their mannerisms and body language bloody perfect, and he can say more with a facial expression than all the word balloons in the world. The colors by Christian Krank really make Dayglo’s art pop! Subdued when they need to be, or bright and colorful, this compendium proves yet again that Dayglo and Krank make a great team. I didn’t know what to expect from Ashley Wood on this, as he seemed an odd choice to say the least. While nothing like the previous artists to have drawn Tank Girl, he mostly made his style work for the book. It was an interesting change, and not as jarring as I expected. Definitely a choice from out of left field, and the style may not please many hardcore fans, but I rather liked it.
The Power of Tank Girl omnibus is a must if you are a Tank Girl fan, and even if you aren’t you might like it anyway. This is Tank Girl comics the way they were meant to be; over-the-top, violent, sexy, curse-y, sandwich-y, and explode-y. Tank Girl’s back alright, and she brought awesome with her.
The Power of Tank Girl omnibus is available today from Titan Comics.
