Tank Girl – Bad Wind Rising

European Comics
Tank Girl – Bad Wind Rising
By Hervé St-Louis
February 14, 2012 - 00:20

Titan Books
Writer(s): Alan C. Martin
Penciller(s): Rufus Dayglo
Inker(s): Rufus Dayglo
Colourist(s): Sofie Dogson
Cover Artist(s): Rufus Dayglo
ISBN: 978-0857687425
$19.95 US, $22.95 CAD

Tank Girl and Booga split up, but before they do, they create havoc around their world, forcing mad scientists, their friends and other kangaroos to get involved in the matter. What is the real source of power they suddenly wield? This collected edition compiles a recent four-issue mini-series.

I didn’t like this book. There I said it. I’ve read some Tank Girl before and it was fun. The book starts strong with an interesting premise and just doesn’t deliver after the first issue. All there is after that is the introduction of several new characters that don’t really advance the plot. The end chapter is just some mumbo jumbo scientific essay without any real point. I struggled to finish reading this book. Often, some comics to look mature and groundbreaking will dabble in quantum physics and existentialism. There’s such an attempt here, where when the story is over, the reader will ask what was that all about? Some characters lend themselves to that kind of goofiness. It didn’t work for me here.

Now, if you’re a fan of Tank Girl, you’ll enjoy the in your face storytelling and the mature handling of Tank Girl’s sexuality. It’s crude but fun.

The real point of this book is to look at the artwork. It’s good and filled with details. Colourist Sophie Dogson used a tone-centered colour palette that reduces the number of hues used, but creates a dynamic black and white feel. It works with the artwork which has that special comic book feel. It has a lot of irreverence à la continental Europe. Rufus Dayglo adds a lot of details to every page and towards the end, even more Easter eggs. However, reading this book was not easy because of the many text captions that bogged down the pace of reading to a halt. If you’re a hardcore fan of Tank Girl, get the book. If you want to find out more about this classic character which is over 20 years-old there are better volumes collected that you should start with first.

Rating: 6/10