i saw the tank girl movie back in high school. probably in grade 10 or 11. i thought it was awesome. the creators of tank girl and the fans of the comic book series that spawned the movie all hated it. alan martin and jamie hewlett, tank girl's creators, hated the movie so much they actually gave up on the whole thing and locked tank girl away. hewlett of course went on to fame and fortune by teaming up with blur's damon albarn to create the gorillaz. ok, so here's the thing. i know the movie was a flop, and is hated by all who loved the comic so dearly before its production. however, as a teenager i saw the film, loved the anarchy of it and went off in search of the (at that time) incredibly hard to find original comics. it was then that i realized that the comics were in fact way cooler than the movie, and that hewlett was a comic god.
so, now hewlett's away and working on the gorillaz and martin comes back with a new tg graphic novel. with new artists. 3 of them. and the result? every bit as raunchy and nasty as the original tank girl (of course, because martin's still writing). but the art is something else entirely. the character designs are a little different, a little sketchier i think, and i find the panels can be a little difficult to decipher at times. the printing style is totally monochromatic and very retro with the screen printing dots very obvious. i'm not sure yet if i love it or hate it. it didn't resonate quite so well as the originals, but then i am a little older now and a little more boring, so that might have something to do with it. what i do love about this new offering though is the cover. which is way different from anything you would have ever seen in the originals. essentially, it's a semi-abstract oil painting of tank girl running with her tank in the background. even if i don't ever come to love the stories i would have bought this book for the cover art and ashley wood's tank girl gallery at the back of the book. for that alone.
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