Tank Girl

Listen. I have got a tank and I'm not afraid to use it.

Real Name:Rebecca Buck

Aliases:Tank Girl, Rebekka

First Appearance:Deadline #1 (1988)

Creators:Jamie Hewlett, Alan Martin

Publisher:Deadline Publications

Teams:None

Abilities

•Drives a heavily armed tank across the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback
•Expert marksman — proficient with every firearm, explosive, and improvised weapon imaginable
•Highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant with a chaotic, unpredictable fighting style
•Virtually unkillable through sheer stubbornness and refusal to die
•Boyfriend is Booga, a mutant kangaroo — their relationship is the strangest love story in comics
•No superpowers — just attitude, violence, beer, and a tank
•Has fought corporations, governments, mutants, armies, and boredom with equal fury
•The ultimate punk anti-hero — rejects every authority, convention, and expectation
•Created as a direct response to mainstream comics — the anti-superhero for people who hate superheroes

Powers & Abilities

Combat Skill80

Durability75

Marksmanship85

Willpower100

Unpredictability100

Attitude100

Biography

Rebecca Buck lives in a post-apocalyptic Australian Outback. She has a tank. She has a mutant kangaroo boyfriend named Booga. She has an unlimited supply of beer, ammunition, and attitude. She has no patience for authority, corporations, governments, or anyone who tells her what to do. She is Tank Girl — the most anarchic, irreverent, and genuinely punk character in the history of comics.

Created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin in Deadline #1 (1988), Tank Girl was born in the pages of a British indie anthology magazine alongside strips by Brendan McCarthy, Brett Ewins, and other UK underground artists. Hewlett's art was explosive — a collision of graffiti, manga, punk poster design, and controlled chaos. Martin's writing was stream-of-consciousness absurdism: half story, half attitude. Together they created a character who felt less like a comic book hero and more like a manifesto spray-painted on a wall.

Tank Girl became a cultural icon in the UK, influencing the Britpop visual aesthetic of the 1990s. Hewlett went on to co-create Gorillaz with Damon Albarn, bringing his Tank Girl visual language to the biggest animated band in history. Lori Petty portrayed Tank Girl in a 1995 film that failed commercially but became a cult classic. The character has been published by Deadline, Penguin Books, DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse, IDW, and Titan Comics — surviving every publisher change because the character doesn't belong to any system.

Tank Girl is the anti-superhero. She has no powers, no origin story, no moral code, and no interest in saving anyone. She drinks too much, fights too much, and drives a tank through anyone who gets in her way. She is funny, violent, absurd, and absolutely free. In a medium dominated by spandex and melodrama, Tank Girl is a reminder that comics can be anything — including a beer-soaked, tank-driving, kangaroo-dating celebration of pure, unfiltered anarchy.

First Appearances — Deadline Magazine

Deadline #1

1988

First appearance of Tank Girl — Rebecca Buck debuts in the British indie anthology magazine Deadline. Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin create the punk anti-hero who drives a tank through the Australian wasteland. Hewlett's anarchic art is unlike anything in comics. A legendary British indie key.

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Deadline #2

1988

Second Tank Girl strip — Hewlett and Martin continue the chaos. Tank Girl, Booga, and Sub Girl wreak havoc across the Outback. The anarchic tone is established immediately.

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Deadline #5

1989

Early Tank Girl — the strips become more elaborate and more insane. Hewlett's art evolves rapidly, incorporating collage, graffiti, and pop culture debris.

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Deadline Magazine Era

Deadline #10

1989

Tank Girl grows — the strip becomes Deadline's most popular feature. Hewlett's art is chaotic, beautiful, and completely original. Martin's writing is stream-of-consciousness punk poetry.

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Deadline #20

1990

Tank Girl at her peak — the character becomes a cultural icon in the UK indie scene. She represents everything mainstream comics won't touch: anarchy, sex, drugs, and genuine rebellion.

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Deadline #30

1991

Late Deadline era — the magazine continues with Tank Girl as its flagship. Hewlett's art influences a generation of British artists, designers, and musicians.

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Deadline #42

1992

Tank Girl in the final Deadline issues — the magazine that launched her runs its course. Tank Girl will outlive it by decades.

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Tank Girl Collected & Dark Horse

Tank Girl (Penguin TPB)

1990

First Tank Girl collection — Penguin Books publishes the Deadline strips in trade paperback. Tank Girl reaches bookshops and a wider audience. The first comic many non-comic readers ever bought.

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Tank Girl 2 (Penguin TPB)

1991

Second collection — more Deadline strips collected. Hewlett and Martin's vision fully realized in a single volume. Essential collecting.

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Tank Girl: The Odyssey #1

1995

Tank Girl at DC/Vertigo — Peter Milligan writes Tank Girl for the American market during the film's release. Jamie Hewlett provides covers. Vertigo publishes.

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Tank Girl: Apocalypse #1

1995

Tank Girl: Apocalypse — Alan Grant writes for DC/Vertigo. The American Tank Girl comics capitalize on the Lori Petty film.

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Tank Girl & Booga

Deadline #1

1988

Booga introduced — Tank Girl's mutant kangaroo boyfriend appears from the beginning. Their relationship is the strangest, most genuine love story in indie comics. They fight, drink, and survive together.

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Tank Girl: Skidmarks #1

2009

Skidmarks — Rufus Dayglo draws Tank Girl and Booga in a desert road race. Alan Martin writes. The most action-packed Tank Girl story. Their partnership is the engine.

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Tank Girl: Bad Wind Rising #1

2010

Bad Wind Rising — Martin and Dayglo continue. Tank Girl and Booga face new threats. Their relationship survives everything the wasteland throws at them.

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IDW Publishing

Tank Girl: Visions of Booga #1

2008

IDW's first Tank Girl — Alan Martin writes with Ashley Wood art. Tank Girl finds a new American publisher. Wood's painted art gives Tank Girl a different visual tone.

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Tank Girl: Skidmarks #1

2009

Skidmarks — the most popular IDW Tank Girl. Rufus Dayglo's art channels Hewlett's energy. Martin writes at his funniest.

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Tank Girl: The Royal Escape #1

2010

Royal Escape — Martin and Dayglo. Tank Girl kidnaps the Queen. The most British Tank Girl story possible.

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Titan Comics Era

Tank Girl: Gold #1

2016

Titan Comics Tank Girl — Alan Martin writes with Brett Parson art. Titan becomes Tank Girl's new home. Gold sends her on treasure hunts. Parson's art honors Hewlett while finding its own voice.

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Tank Girl: Two Girls One Tank #1

2016

Two Girls One Tank — Martin and Parson. Tank Girl and Sub Girl team up. Titan publishes the most accessible modern Tank Girl.

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Tank Girl: Action Alley #1

2018

Action Alley — Martin writes, Parson draws. Tank Girl in full action mode. Titan continues the legacy.

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Tank Girl All Stars #1

2018

All Stars — Martin assembles multiple artists for an anthology-style Tank Girl. The character's punk spirit thrives at Titan.

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Jamie Hewlett's Art

Deadline #1

1988

Hewlett's debut — his Tank Girl art is chaotic, explosive, and completely original. Graffiti meets manga meets punk rock poster design. Every panel breaks rules.

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Hewlett Tank Girl collections

1990

The Penguin collections showcase Hewlett's complete Deadline work. His art influenced Gorillaz (which he co-created with Damon Albarn), the Britpop visual scene, and an entire generation of artists.

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Tank Girl: 21st Century Tank Girl #1

2015

21st Century Tank Girl — Hewlett returns to draw Tank Girl for the first time in years. Martin writes. Titan publishes. The creator comes home. The most anticipated Tank Girl release of the decade.

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Tank Girl's Defining Moments

Deadline #1

1988

The debut — a girl with a tank, a mutant kangaroo boyfriend, and no respect for anything. Hewlett and Martin create the punk icon.

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Tank Girl (Penguin TPB)

1990

Reaching the world — the Penguin collection brings Tank Girl to bookshops. The comic that non-comic readers bought.

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Tank Girl: 21st Century Tank Girl #1

2015

Hewlett returns — the creator draws his creation again. The punk spirit survives into the 21st century.

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Tank Girl: Gold #1

2016

Titan era — Tank Girl finds a permanent modern home. Martin and Parson keep the anarchy alive.

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Collector Highlights

Deadline #1

1988

The holy grail — first Tank Girl. First appearance in the British anthology magazine. Hewlett and Martin. Extremely scarce in high grade. The most valuable British indie key of the late 80s.

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