Tank Girl’s first ongoing series continues, on a ridiculous radiation-scorched road trip through the wasteland of Action Alley! As Tank Girl and friends journey deeper into the desert, they stumble upon clues to the dark (well, dark-ish) secret behind Booga’s noble (well, noble-ish) lineage – where did all those talking mutant kangaroos come from, anyway?! Booga has stashed a secret stowaway… but it’s a kangaroo. Just a regular kangaroo. Doesn’t talk or anything. Weird…

In this episode of Action Alley, the gang actually reach Action Alley. Yes, it’s not just a thematic title, it’s a place! It’s a shortcut through the wilderness, which could cut days off their journey to visit Tank Girl’s ailing adoptive mother, but it contains great dangers.

One thing that I didn’t feel was all that dangerous was the cliffhanger ending to the previous issue, which saw Tank Girl apparently about to strike a low bridge. There is, however, sufficient clearance for the Tankmaster’s gun turret, so our heroine could simply duck down behind that… or so I had thought. Actually, Tank Girl escapes via other means, by sheer luck rather than intelligent reasoning – cue a comical Karl Pilkington look of confusion on her face. Unfortunately, she is knocked out as a result. Booga’s kangaroo stowaway might not be able to speak, but she certainly packs a punch…

With Tank Girl out for the count, her female friends come to the fore as the action heroes of this issue – Sub Girl in particular. It is she who decides that they should risk the hazardous shortcut when Barney is all for bottling out, and it is she who fends off some ape-like attackers with a chainsaw after Barney unwisely winds down the driver-side window. Barney acquits herself far less favourably, at one point ready to write off Tank Girl as a goner.

Following some flashbacks to an impoverished and monochrome childhood (which go some way towards explaining why she ended up being such a badass), Tank Girl does eventually wake up. She might wish she hadn’t bothered, though. After being hit by an arrow (as shown on the front cover), the situation for the entire team gets considerably worse…

6/10

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Tank Girl: Action Alley #2

Writer: Alan Martin
Artist: Brett Parson
Publisher: Titan Comics
RRP: UK £2.65, US $3.99
Age: Mature readers
32 pages
Publication Date: 23 January 2019

http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_revs/r2019/comic/19-01-23_tankgirl-alley2.html