#1 For Christmas
Tank Girl Book #1, Puddings, and the question of self-publishing
Try as I might, it’s been an uphill struggle to keep Tank Girl Book One in print. My publishers seem intent on only ever doing one print run of each edition, and stock is all gone within a year or so, with no sign of returning. Currently the only way to get a new physical copy of Book One is to buy the Colour Classics boxset, which just isn’t cricket - it’s prohibitively expensive for the Tank-Girl-curious reader to dip their toe in. So a few months back I decided to take the issue into my own hands. The result is a new edition of the book that looks a lot like it did back in the day, when it was first printed in 1990.
For anyone interested in the whys-and-wherefores of self-publishing this book, let me know in the comments, and I’ll go into it deeper there. Meanwhile, for those of you who might fancy a copy for yourselves, or as a subversive gift to give at Christmas, signed paperback copies are now available in The Official Tank Girl Store, and (unsigned) copies in softcover and hardcover are on sale through Amazon in many countries (search for “Tank Girl Book One”).
The book is full of the good ol’ stories that Jamie and I created back in the late 1980s/early 90s, with some extra morsels, and a new introduction from me. If you buy from us through the Store you will also get a poster magazine, two badges, and replica set of Tank Girl Postcards, as sold through Deadline Magazine in 1989.
I’m gonna make the listing live now, so there will be no big launch tomorrow, and the books are already live on Amazon.
In the studio today, Lou and I are busy sending out orders all around the world, but we are also steaming our Christmas Pudding on the stove. It snowed today, and the house smells of figgy pudding (I actually put figs in it this year - I always wondered why it was referred to as “figgy” when there were no figs in it). With a flurry of snow and a whiff of figs, things felt about 8% Christmassy. For us, it’s still not time to pull a tree in from the wilds and get our baubles out until we’re well into December. Are you an early Christmaser? Or do you hold your fire until you see the whites of their snowballs? I have a great recipe for gluten-free Christmas Puds, let me know if you’d like a copy of it.
I’m gonna sign off now, but if you are interested in the details of how the new edition of TG Book One was self-published, let me know in the comments below.
Big love to you dudes
Alan XXX
Always interested in anything you have to say Alan! I’d be sure to buy a book all about paint drying if your name was attached! (What a sycophant).
Let's get that recipe, details on the self publishing would be very interesting indeed... FIrst published TG is essential and should be read first then again and again!