Wicked and wild, Tank Girl – Carioca by co-creators Alan Martin and Mick McMahon (Judge Dredd) holds nothing sacred as it dissects religion, rebellion, the media, and pop culture.  A glorious, new, pre-distressed hardcover from Titan Books, Carioca follows Tank Girl, her kangaroo boyfriend Booga, and her loyal band of misfits as they struggle against institutionalized biases in an attempt to right the wrongs of the world.  

Lashing out against game show host Charlie Happy after he disgraces her and Booga on national television and unfairly denies them the top Quizbingo prize of his and her mountain bikes, Tank Girl finds herself careening down a violent road of revolution and introspection.  After exacting her revenge, she and her gang, known as Team Tank Girl, commence on a grand search for peace in which they, among other things, start a religion, save a small town from bandits, develop super powers, renounce a religion, shut down a factory utilizing child labor, defeat a gang of assassins, and still find time for a party or two, all in 136 glorious pages!  

McMahon’s style is blocky, angular, and flat, but with a refreshing energy and an incredible ability to guide the reader’s eye that comes from years of professional credits.  And, McMahon’s Tank Girl with her inverse mohawk, impish smile, and jutting chin is defiance personified.  The story is shocking and funny and self referential, and Martin almost miraculously writes pages laden with social commentary, asking relevant questions about culture, religion, and humanity while seemingly taking none of it seriously.  But, perhaps that’s exactly the point.

It’s a lager-fueled adventure combining a delicate balance of moral fortitude, spiritual enlightenment, and heavy artillery, and it is available from the one and only Titan Books.