Alan Martin is a British comics writer best known as author of the comic strip
Tank GirlTank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Rufus Dayglo, Ashley Wood, and Mike McMahon.The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home...
.
Hewlett and Martin
Martin and Hewlett first met in the mid-1980s in
WorthingWorthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, when Martin was in a band with
Philip BondPhilip J. Bond is a British comic book artist, who first came to prominence in the late 1980s on Deadline magazine, and later through a number of collaborations with British writers for the DC Comics imprint Vertigo....
called the University Smalls. They began collaborating on a comic/
fanzineA fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
called
Atomtan.
The
Tank Girl series first appeared in the debut issue of
DeadlineDeadline was a British comic magazine published between 1988 and 1995.Created by 2000 AD stalwarts Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon, Deadline featured a mix of comic strips and written articles targeted at older readers...
(
1988-Events and publications:* Jack Binder, creator of the original Daredevil, dies at c. age 86.* Tarpé Mills, creator Miss Fury, dies at c. age 73....
), a UK magazine intended as a forum for new comic talent, or as its publishers
Brett EwinsBrett Ewins is a British comic book artist best known for his work on Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper in the weekly comic book 2000 AD.-Biography:...
and Tom Astor put it, "a forum for the wild, wacky and hitherto unpublishable," and it continued until the end of the magazine in 1995.
The Tank Girl Film
In 1995, the comic was also adapted into a critically and financially unsuccessful film, albeit with a considerable
cult followingA cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. The film featured
Lori PettyLori Petty is an American film and television actress best known for playing "Tyler Endicott" in Point Break in 1991, "Kit Keller" in A League of Their Own in 1992, and the title role in Tank Girl in 1995.-Early life:...
as Tank Girl and
Naomi WattsNaomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
as Jet Girl.
Martin and Hewlett are known for speaking poorly of the experience, with Martin calling it "a bit of a sore point" for them. Despite its critics, the film did however undeniably broaden the comics' fanbase from a relatively modest UK cult following to an international audience.
Since 1995
After the film, Martin wandered around for a bit, staying at
communesA commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
with
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
friends, looking for stone circles and
ancient sitesRuins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
before settling in Berwick Upon Tweed in
NorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
with his wife Lou and son Rufus Bodie (named after
Lewis CollinsLewis Collins is an English actor best known for his tough-guy role as Bodie in The Professionals. He was educated at Bidston Primary and Grange School in Birkenhead. He started out as a ladies' hairdresser before playing drums and guitar in pop groups. He had a number of other jobs before...
' character in
The ProfessionalsThe Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
). Martin has played in various bands, written a Tank Girl "novel" (
Armadillo) published in March 2008 by
Titan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, as well as various screenplays and scripts. He wrote the first new Tank Girl
limited seriesA limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
in over ten years:
Tank Girl: The Gifting with award-winning Australian artist
Ashley WoodAshley Wood is an Australian comic book artist and illustrator who is well known for his cover art, concept design and his work as an art director....
and
Rufus DaygloRufus Dayglo is a London-based comics artist working for 2000 AD and Titan Books in the United Kingdom, and IDW Publishing and Image Comics in the United States...
. Published by American publishers IDW, the first issue of which was released in June
2007-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
. He is also producing
Tank Girl: Carioca with Brit comics' legend
Mike McMahonMichael McMahon is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd, Sláine and ABC Warriors, and the mini-series The Last American....
for
Titan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
which should see print in summer 2010. On 24 October 2008, it was announced that Alan and Rufus will be doing an exclusive page a month of Tank Girl for
SuicideGirlsSuicideGirls is a website that features softcore pornography and text profiles of goth, punk and indie-styled young women who are known as the "Suicide Girls"...
. The first page in the series was posted on 2 November 2008.
Summer 2008 saw
Tank Girl: Skidmarks appearing in all-new Nine-page episodes in the
Judge Dredd MegazineJudge Dredd: The Megazine is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in October 1990. It is a sister publication to 2000 AD. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Dredd's locale Mega-City One.-Content:...
, again written by Martin, with art duties taken on by
Rufus DaygloRufus Dayglo is a London-based comics artist working for 2000 AD and Titan Books in the United Kingdom, and IDW Publishing and Image Comics in the United States...
, who drew issues 2-4 of the
The Gifting, and
Visions of Booga for IDW Comics. In an interview Martin revealed that
Visions of Booga was the only Tank Girl comic that doesn't contain any major swear words: "It has a "bastard" here and a "bitch" there, but it doesn't have any F-words or C-words."
Martin and Dayglo have produced a comprehensive Tank Girl
www.tank-girl.com website which has info, exclusive art, forums, blogs, exclusive sneak previews, as well as links to all Tank Girl material in print.
Titan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
have released
The Cream of Tank Girl, compiled by Alan Martin, containing
Jamie HewlettJamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...
art and Alan Martin scripts, starting from her earliest beginning as a pin-up in
Atomtan, it features a brand new Hewlett cover as well as brand new script from Martin.
Interviews