Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1 Review

 

Cover A: Jamie Hewlett

Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1 Review

Writer: Alan Martin

Artist & Cover Artist: Jamie Hewlett

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99 US

Release Date: September 9, 2026

 

Brian Smell is bored. So, as he rides a train between Horsham and Worthing Art College, he opens a paperback. When his friends board the train, Simon and Barry display no interest in Blue Helmet. But the beautiful Shit Face, a fan of Kerouac's oeuvre, offers to compare notes on "The Jack" sometime. Can Brian absorb enough of Jack Kerouac's literary style, themes, and underlying meanings to impress her? And what adventure has Jack Kerouac recorded in this book? Let's leap into Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1 and see!

 

Story

After loading the old Hudson, Jack and his friend Allen hit the road. But as they listen to tunes, they come upon a fiery wreck. Unable to help the passengers, they continue until they come upon a young woman standing in the road. Although she is injured, Tank Girl appeals for assistance with her boyfriend. So, Jack and Allen help Tank Girl and Booga into the back seat of the convertible. Then, they resume their journey along the open road as Tank Girl tends the Kangaroo's wounds.

 

In Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1, Jack Kerouac relates his journey in flowing prose. Tank Girl gets dialogue in scenes, while Jack's narration lends scope to their adventures. Every day brings something new and exciting. Tank Girl pulls pranks and displays an amorous nature. Yet, she also engages in thieving and killing.

 

The first half of Alan Martin's story flows like a dream, with the quartet untouchable amid their Bonnie-and-Clyde escapades. Yet in Part 2, the tables turn. The old Hudson has failed them. While they've picked up a fun, fifth companion, their situation seems dire. Then Booga suggests a way to improve their lot. The Kangaroo's suggestion seems inspired, and Jack Kerouac begins to imagine a future to howl about. But when his life seems on the cusp of change, Jack Kerouac begins to wonder if, while Tank Girl delights in tearing down the world, she lacks the vision to build a better one in Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1.

 

 

 

Cover B: Jamie Hewlett (Cardstock)

 

 

Art

As Brian sits clutching his book in the train carriage, wearing his jacket and newsboy hat, Shit Face displays far more fashion sense than Simon and Barry. Her purple jacket glows like the attractive face framed by short, blue hair. But when Brian studies his paperback, a yellow car drives through an orange desert. Purple hoodoos and arches arise in the distance. Ironically, Jack and Allen's orange glow evokes a face on Barry's T-shirt, while Simon's red forehead and eyes link him with the book cover.

 

While Jamie Hewlett lavishes a vibrant palette on his art, panel-packed pages combine with close-ups in larger panels. Occasionally, images merge, forming a collage of the wild lifestyle Tank Girl enjoys and Booga condones. Tank Girl even lets her hair grow as much as it can, linking her more with the hippies and hangers-on than Allen’s freethinking movement. Yet when trouble strikes, Tank Girl wears a newsboy hat like Brian Smell in Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1.

 

Handwritten black uppercase letters inhabit white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Words swell for louder voices, while gunfire, revving engines, and deadly weapons hurtle toward their targets. The Son of Zoro provides youthful commentary in a strip lining the bottom of each page in Part 1. Then, doodles occasionally lurk along the bottom in Part 2 as the story travels on the road to its destination. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

Cover C: Jamie Hewlett (Virgin Cardstock)

 

 

Final Thoughts

While a young art student seeks inspiration from classic literature, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg seek new experiences in the American Southwest. Tank Girl and Booga seem to epitomize the radical change the travelers seek. Yet as Jack ascends into a wondrous new land, where everything seems possible, he wonders if his new friends have embraced the ideals of the Beat Generation in Tank Girl: Blue Helmet #1.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

For more from Martin and Hewlett, see Tank Girl: Summer Love Sensation #1 Review.