Tank Girl: All Stars #3 Review
Writer: Alan Martin
Artists: Brett Parson & Jim Mahfood
Letterers: Brett Parson & Jim Mahfood
Publisher: Titan Comics
I will admit that I have only been a fan of Tank Girl for about a year now and have only read the earlier comics by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Discovering the original Tank Girl comics has been awesome because I really enjoy reading them. They are hilarious and raunchy and pure non-stop fun.
Reading those early Tank Girl comics had me expecting something very different from this Tank Girl: All Stars series, especially seeing that Alan Martin was going to be back writing it. What I was expecting was a new series that was going to have interesting artwork from several guest artists and stories that were as bizarre and dirty as the originals were.
I am very happy to say that the artwork from guests artist met my expectations beautifully. This third issue’s first half illustrated by Jim Mahfood is exactly what I want to see in Tank Girl comics. It is rough, it is a little unpleasant, and it is kind of filthy and that is what Tank Girl comics is all about! Mahfood’s artwork isn’t just this awesome rough style that fits Tank Girl, but it is incredibly unique in such a way that I now want to check out Jim Mahfood’s other artwork.
The second half contains the ongoing story from the first two issues that is also written by Alan Martin but is being illustrated by Brett Parson. Before I address my disappointment about the writing, I want to express my love for Parson’s work in this issue. The artwork in this story by Parson is absolutely amazing. I am honestly blown away by how he is able to achieve the rawness that fits Tank Girl while also drawing some of the cleanest detailed artwork that I have seen in a while. His action scenes are exceptional and the atmosphere he creates is gorgeous.
Now that I have shared my appreciation for the artwork in this issue, I now need to express my disappointment in the writing for this issue and the series so far as a whole. Alan Martin has written some of the most ridiculous and unusual stories and dialogue in the early Tank Girl comics that I have read. Naturally, I expected that with him being the writer for this new Tank Girl: All Stars series, but that is sadly not the case.
For the record, I do not dislike the writing at all. I imagine that if this were a new series with new characters, I would be madly in love with the story and dialogue. But I went into this series with the knowledge of what Martin can accomplish with this Tank Girl character and dialogue and he is not bringing that to this new series. The writing may be more raw than other current comic book series and the characters are still unique and interesting, but the storytelling is unfortunately not original enough to satisfy me.
I definitely enjoyed this third issue, but not in the way that I expect to enjoy Tank Girl comics. The art is impressive and is absolutely the highlight of the issue for me. But Tank Girl: All Stars #3 falls short from the lack of eccentricity that made the original Tank Girl comics so fresh and interesting. I can only be entertained so much when I am also disappointed in the storytelling that original Tank Girl writer Alan Martin is delivering.
Artists: Brett Parson & Jim Mahfood
Letterers: Brett Parson & Jim Mahfood
Publisher: Titan Comics
I will admit that I have only been a fan of Tank Girl for about a year now and have only read the earlier comics by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Discovering the original Tank Girl comics has been awesome because I really enjoy reading them. They are hilarious and raunchy and pure non-stop fun.
Reading those early Tank Girl comics had me expecting something very different from this Tank Girl: All Stars series, especially seeing that Alan Martin was going to be back writing it. What I was expecting was a new series that was going to have interesting artwork from several guest artists and stories that were as bizarre and dirty as the originals were.
I am very happy to say that the artwork from guests artist met my expectations beautifully. This third issue’s first half illustrated by Jim Mahfood is exactly what I want to see in Tank Girl comics. It is rough, it is a little unpleasant, and it is kind of filthy and that is what Tank Girl comics is all about! Mahfood’s artwork isn’t just this awesome rough style that fits Tank Girl, but it is incredibly unique in such a way that I now want to check out Jim Mahfood’s other artwork.
The second half contains the ongoing story from the first two issues that is also written by Alan Martin but is being illustrated by Brett Parson. Before I address my disappointment about the writing, I want to express my love for Parson’s work in this issue. The artwork in this story by Parson is absolutely amazing. I am honestly blown away by how he is able to achieve the rawness that fits Tank Girl while also drawing some of the cleanest detailed artwork that I have seen in a while. His action scenes are exceptional and the atmosphere he creates is gorgeous.
Now that I have shared my appreciation for the artwork in this issue, I now need to express my disappointment in the writing for this issue and the series so far as a whole. Alan Martin has written some of the most ridiculous and unusual stories and dialogue in the early Tank Girl comics that I have read. Naturally, I expected that with him being the writer for this new Tank Girl: All Stars series, but that is sadly not the case.
For the record, I do not dislike the writing at all. I imagine that if this were a new series with new characters, I would be madly in love with the story and dialogue. But I went into this series with the knowledge of what Martin can accomplish with this Tank Girl character and dialogue and he is not bringing that to this new series. The writing may be more raw than other current comic book series and the characters are still unique and interesting, but the storytelling is unfortunately not original enough to satisfy me.
I definitely enjoyed this third issue, but not in the way that I expect to enjoy Tank Girl comics. The art is impressive and is absolutely the highlight of the issue for me. But Tank Girl: All Stars #3 falls short from the lack of eccentricity that made the original Tank Girl comics so fresh and interesting. I can only be entertained so much when I am also disappointed in the storytelling that original Tank Girl writer Alan Martin is delivering.
A Look Inside
