Kirsty Capes chats with Tank Girl co-creator Alan Martin…
Alan Martin, co-creator of Tank Girl and novelist, spoke to us about his new four part mini-series with artist Brett Parson, Two Girls One Tank (check out our review here), published by Titan Comics. Alan talks about the future of Tank Girl, her thirtieth birthday, the writing process and Tank Girl’s continuing relevance to modern society. Read on to see what he said…
FM: How did you two come to meet and work with Brett Parson? What was the process of putting the series together?
AM: Brett worked on 21st Century Tank Girl with me last year, along with Jamie Hewlett, Phil Bond, and the rest of the crew. He was very enthusiastic, and extremely generous with his work, so he ended up with more pages in the book than any of the other artists. I found Brett through seeing a fan-art image of Tank Girl that he had posted online; I shared it on the TG Facebook page, and the response was phenomenal. After that, we just started cooking stuff up together. Our working relationship is very instinctive – he seems to know what my scripts mean, which is a feat in itself.
The latest comic sees Magnolia metamorphosise into a pseudo-Tank Girl. Can you explain some of the thought that went behind Magnolia’s characterisation? You’ve hinted that there’s a lot more to Magnolia than meets the eye. Care to elaborate?
Magnolia isn’t who she seems to be, there’s a big reveal in issue #2, for those who haven’t guessed already. It’s difficult to tell any more without giving the game away!
What can fans expect to see in terms of interaction between Mag and Tank Girl in the next three issues of the series?
Again, any interactions are all tied up with who Magnolia really is, and what has happened to her. We killed a character in the comic over twenty years ago, she hasn’t been seen since, but hardly anyone seems to have noticed!
Tank Girl is an anarchist, and in the late 80s her popularity was often linked to anti-Thatcherism in the UK. In a way I would suggest that she is a representation of the political climate we live in today too. Do you think this is true, and is it something that informed your writing process for TWO GIRLS ONE TANK?
I don’t see her as an anarchist, she’s apolitical. Anarchists reject hierarchy, and Tank Girl is very definitely the boss of her gang. She’s an outsider; Tank Girl, Booga, Jet Girl, Barney – they’re a gang of outlaws, they don’t interact with politics, they just do what the hell they want. I see Tank Girl as a Western, she has a frontier mentality, she pushes boundaries and makes her own laws and moral codes. I guess that could well reflect the current climate of disillusion and apathy with the political system, and that something new could form out of the chaos.
Following on from that, how have your own politics changed since the inception of Tank Girl, if at all, and how do you think this might have impacted on the character and stories?
My politics remain the same – I don’t believe in politics. The political systems in place in the world are just one blinkered way of looking at things, and are so ripe for corruption, manipulation, and misinterpretation. I’m waiting for the great leap forward. All this red and blue flag waving is just bollocks, it has never worked since the day it was invented.
Plenty of feminists see TG as something of an icon of the movement. But feminism has changed a lot, too, over the years. Is this something you are mindful of when writing? How do you see Tank Girl fitting in to contemporary feminist issues?
I never keep an agenda in mind when writing, I just let it all spew out onto the page and trust that I have evolved in some way that might be apparent through the story, and that readers will understand when I’m being sarcastic or ironic.
Tank Girl is celebrating her thirtieth anniversary soon, do you have any big plans for her birthday? Do you have any comments about how she has evolved over the years?
Over the last ten years she’s evolved with me, getting a little more serious, a little more responsible, more thoughtful. Two Girls, One Tank is just the first step towards her birthday celebrations. We have a party planned – plenty of booze, plenty of explosives, and a ticker-tape parade of blood and entrails. Start saving your pocket money.
A big thanks to Alan for the interview, and to Will from Titan Comics for his help putting it together.
Kirsty Capes – Follow me on Twitter
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Originally published May 20, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
