Three shots of comics are served down and neat for you today, burning up and investigating the insides of your body and soul!  We start off with the return of Tank Girl, John Bryne singes the Earth with a solar flare, and Nathan Edmondson delivers another story that branches out into a new fantasy genre, the mysteries of Dream Merchant.

SOLID STATE TANK GIRL #1 (of 4)
WRITER: Alan Martin
ART: Warwick J. Cadwell
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Titan Comics
UPC: 07447028032301
Buy it HERE


Remember Tank Girl? I sorta do. There was a 1995 movie, right? With the guy from Body Count and SVU.

Do you remember rock and roll radio, The Clash, Love and Rockets? The creators crammed all of that into a dyke role model with post apocalyptic kangaroo sidekick that live in a tank in Australia.

Jamie Hewlett went on to form Gorillaz, and original creator Alan Martin sort of wandered the countryside (seriously) looking to uncover ancient mysteries.

Martin has since resurrected the character in 2007, and Titan Books has released his latest story, Solid State Tank Girl with art by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell.

We see familiar faces—Booga, Jet Girl and Tank Girl.

We’re in a radio repair shop, something likely useful I the ‘80s or in post apocalyptic times. Booga zaps himself on an old radio and Tank Girl is put to task to revive him.

How do they do it? Honey I Shrunk the Kids style.

There’s a delightful few pages of ball humor before they do the Osmosis Jones bit and float into the gross kangaroo insides.

To cram just one more Netflix classic in there, perhaps the reason Booga has fallen ill could be found in the plot of Three Men and a Baby.

A fun, punk rock read with a female leading cast.

A backup story pits Tank Girl against Dick Strangeballs!

Tank Girl is Dead. Long Live Tank Girl!

DOOMSDAY.1 #1 (of 4)
WRITER/ARTIST: John Byrne
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: IDW Publishing
UPC: 82771400459500111
Buy it HERE


Master of storytelling and the comic book form John Byrne reboots a classic concept of his from the ‘70s withDoomsday.1 this week.

The four issue limited series is a post apocalyptic tale of solar flares wiping out the most of the habitable places on Earth.

Stuck in orbit on an international space voyage, a crew of seven watches helplessly as the planet is decimated by fire.

On the ground, The President, The Pope, a prison and a submarine crew hunker down away on different parts of the planet to save themselves. This gives us an idea that some pockets of humanity will survive the destruction.

A sacrifice is made in space to return the astronauts home after many orbits and the flare subsiding. A crash landing in the southern United States leaves the crew to to survive on a familiar an foreign planet.

I am a fan of John Byrne’s polarizing artwork and storytelling, and follow his work at IDW closely—from Angel to Star Trek. This book is for fans of The Walking Dead, Planet of the Apes, and Mad Max. Will these astronauts survive past the four issue mini-series, or will they bake on the surface of a planet they used to call home? I’m along for the ride!

Dream Merchant #1 (of 6)
WRITER: Nathan Edmondson
ART: Konstantin Novosadov
Publication Date: May 15, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Image Comics
UPC: 70985301362400111
Buy it HERE

Nathan Edmondson is no stranger to poking around in someone’s head.

His spy-fi action comic Jake Ellis takes place somewhat in protagonist Jon Moore’s head, as the specter of Jake Ellis guides him through missions. The Dream Merchant mini series is off to a strong start here.

Winslow has been plagued by persistent and recurring dreams, that preoccupy his waking moments. He’s checked for observation into a mental hospital in Burbank.

While there he befriends the cafeteria worker, juvenile delinquent Anne, who has a fondness for Wilson and lends him many books on dreams.

Sleep demons chase the two out of the hospital and they are guided by a mysteriously shrouded mentor with a staff, one who seems to have control over the dream state. The two hop a train and escape onto the road, following the bizarre figure.

This is a different type of story that Edmondson’s other work, The Activity or Jake Ellis in that there is no spy action or military tech involved yet.

This is more of a teenage adventure story that half takes place in the realm of dreams. The flavor of the dream world is more Harry Potter than it is ‘The Dreaming’ of Sandman books, and a bit more fun. Chapter 1 has the heroes on their journey, with no hints at where the roads may take the three next.

Art by Siberian Konstantin Novosadov is more Disney cartoon than Darwyn Cooke ‘50s illustration, but the solid black line work and facial expressions are seemingly influenced by both. 

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]