A seminal piece of British comic book history is heading to the block, carrying a valuation that reflects its enduring cult status. The original Page 3 artwork from the very first issue of Deadline, marking the debut of Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin’s Tank Girl, is set to be auctioned by Ewbank’s on December 18.
For collectors and historians of the medium, the piece represents a significant “first.” While it captures the character’s introduction to the world in 1988, the strip also features the titular Tank’s inaugural appearance. The auction house has placed an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 on the lot.
The Punk Rock of Comics
Before Jamie Hewlett conquered the music world with the virtual band Gorillaz, he was defining the visual aesthetic of late 80s and 90s counterculture through Tank Girl. Published in Deadline, a magazine that blurred the lines between comic strips and music journalism, the character became a symbol of chaotic, punk-infused feminism.
The artwork in question is a study in analogue comic creation. Executed on Bristol board using graphite, ink, and correction fluid, the 60 x 47.5cm panel offers a raw look at Hewlett’s early process. It includes hand-lettered panels and affixed card corrections—physical remnants of a pre-digital era in graphic storytelling.
According to the auctioneers, this page has never been offered on the open market, having been sold privately to the current vendor shortly after publication.
Tom Francis-Duma, the Comics specialist at Ewbank’s, highlighted the rarity of the lot:
Jamie Hewlett is renowned for his bold, kinetic, punk-influenced visual style that blends comics, music, and animation into a unique pop-culture aesthetic. Tank Girl was at the forefront of the counterculture movement in the 1990s and remains one of the strongest characters ever set down in the world of graphic art.
This has to rank among the most desirable pieces of artwork from any comic strip ever created. Only one other page from that first issue of Deadline has ever been sold at auction before, as far as I am aware, and it was not as important as this one.”
From Page to Screen to Tabletop
The visual narrative of the page sees Tank Girl embarking on her premiere adventure, charging from a cliff face to confront “Rocky Deadhead” and a gang of renegade kangaroos – a surreal precursor to the mutant kangaroos (Rippers) that would become central to the lore.
While the 1995 feature film adaptation starring Lori Petty famously struggled at the box office, it has since garnered a dedicated following, further cementing the IP’s place in geek history.
For those whose budget does not quite stretch to the five-figure sum required for the original art, the universe of Tank Girl remains accessible. The anarchic spirit of the comic has been adapted into a tabletop format; the Tank Girl roleplaying game allows players to create their own havoc in the Australian outback. You can find the RPG and its sourcebooks digitally via Noble Knight Games.
The auction will take place online via Ewbank’s on December 18.
