Thanks to Doug for pointing it out to me.
m4_define([v_maj], [1])
m4_define([v_min], [8])
m4_define([v_mic], [99])
-dnl m4_define([v_rev], m4_esyscmd([(git rev-list --count HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo 0) | tr -d '\n']))
+m4_define([v_rev], m4_esyscmd([(git rev-list --count HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo 0) | tr -d '\n']))
##-- When released, remove the dnl on the below line
dnl m4_undefine([v_rev])
##-- When doing snapshots - change soname. remove dnl on below line