REVIEW: TANK GIRL: Two Girls One Tank #4

Story: Â Alan Martin
Drawn & Lettered: Â Brett Parson
Additional Colors: Â Ned Ivory

The first question I had prior to my review was can Tank Girl, created in 1988, still offer relevancy today? Â Does the punk visual art style still hold favor?

My questions were answered with a resounding “YES!” with issue 4. Â I suppose, as it is with all comics and pop culture in general, the “beauty”, “relevancy” and “charm” are all in the eye of the beholder. Â I would recommend this as a perfect introduction to Indie comics regardless of your Indie exposure.

In answering my first question, the heroine one could argue holds even greater relevance today as 1988. Â A strong female character who is fiercely loyal to her friends and doesn’t struggle to fit into what societal niche she is expected to reside, is as familiar an ideal for 2016 as it was in 1988.

The art style is also just as good as when it was created. Â The portrayal ofÂ independence, equality and anti-authoritarianism shines in both the script and the art. Â The dialogue is definitely not for young comic readers but for this old man it was stellar!

The issue is an emotional ride pulling out huge laughs and dropping you to some extremeÂ despair. Â The Tank Girl and Sub Girl brawl is a perfect example of the continual theme of highs and lows in the issue. Â The reliability of the dilemmas faced by the group, although larger than most will face, are a major factor in the issues success.

The art is very good, I found only a couple small panels in which the characters looked odd. Â This is barely worth a mention as the largest portion of the art is a perfect match to the highs and lows of the emotional script.

If I had to provide a descriptor to answer both my pre-review questions it would be, EVOLUTIONARY. Â Alan Martin and Brett Parson have managed to evolve Tank Girl from a post-apocalyptic punk character into the 21st Century, but the character remains very much the ass-kicking heroine from her origin. Â While it may not be for everyone, if you fancy crazy, irreverent ass-kicking FUN, I think you will enjoy this book.

[yasr_overall_rating]