Commando Comics Issues 5935 through 5938 are on sale this Thursday from all good TG Jones and select newsagents, offering another powerful mix of action, horror, and real‑world heroism.
Perfectly timed to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March, this latest set includes the heroic tale of a tenacious nurse in Crete in 1941, written by Hailey Austin, a Lecturer of Visual Media and Culture at Abertay University with a particular interest in comics, video games and the international creative industries, inspired by true events; and the explosive fifth chapter of “Commandos vs Zombies“, written by Commando‘s own Georgia Standen Battle, one of the title’s first female writers in 30 years.
Spanish artist Vicente Alcazar makes a welcome returns to the title on art dutires for the new Zombies story, whose many credits in his career span work for US publishers DC Comics – particularly his 1970s run on Jonah Hex – and Marvel Comics, as well as many Commando stories.
Vicente has a long association with the war comics genre, collaborating with fellow Commando artist Carlos Pino under the dual pseudonym CARVIC, drawing war stories for the magazine Chío (1967) and for various past UK comics and companies, including IPC’s War Picture Library.
If you missed previous “Zombies” stories, DC Thomson have republished them in two collections, Commando Presents: Commandos vs. Zombies Volume 1 and Commando Presents: Commandos vs. Zombies Volume 2, released in 2023 and 2025 respectively. (AmazonUK Affiliate Links)
There are plenty of stories of the 28th (Māori) Battalion who played a pivotal, heroic role in the May 1941 Battle of Crete. They were known for fierce, close-quarter combat and bayonet charges. Key actions included defending Platanias, counterattacking at Maleme airfield, and fighting at Galatas. Despite heavy losses and a challenging withdrawal to Sphakia, they earned a reputation as elite, feared fighters. After the evacuation of allied troops, 71 Māori were left behind, and become prisoners of war.
Commando 5935 (Home of Heroes): Commandos Vs Zombies 5
Story: Georgia Standen-Battle
Art: Vicente Alcazar
Cover: Neil Roberts
After the explosive events on the island, Oberführer Randolph Mensch flew towards his private prisoner-of-war camp. Housed there were the Soviet and British inmates Mensch used for his vile, mad experiments.
Miles away, a small raiding force of British Commandos were on a doomed mission – and they had no idea what was awaiting them at the camp!
Commando 5936 (Gold): The Good Soldier
Story: Feldwick
Internal Art: Denis McLoughlin
Cover Art: Ron Brown
First published 1984 as No. 1818
Mario Galasso was a very good type indeed — brave, cool-headed and thoughtful. In battle, he would never ask his men to do anything he wouldn’t do himself.
But when he returned to his home village after the war, he was arrested for war crimes! And the trouble was, he seemed to be the only one who knew he was innocent…
Commando 5937 (For Action and Adventure): Captured in Crete
Story: Hailey Austin
Art and Cover: Carlos Pino
The Island of Crete, 1941. What did an English Nurse, a Māori soldier, a Cretan monk and a German general all have in common? They were all captured in Crete!
After German paratroopers descend on the island, the Allied forces, nurses and Cretan people must fight back against the invaders in any way they can. Resistance and soldiers unite, while Nurse Stavros moves over 500 wounded soldiers to a cave and tricks the Germans into feeding them — all inspired by true events!
Commando 5938 (Silver): The Two Deserters
Story: Feldwick
Internal Art: Blasco
Cover Art: Jeff Bevan
First published 1982 as No. 1607
It wasn’t that Mike Briers had really meant to desert. Not exactly. It was just that Foxy Billings had persuaded him to leave the rest of the lads so that the two of them would have a better chance of escaping the Germans.
So how was it that he found himself wearing civilian clothes and fighting for his life on top of a French goods train that was about to be sent to its destruction?
• Commando Comics is online at commandocomics.com | DC Thomson – Subscriptions | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Commando Comics on AmazonUK | Commando Comics on Magzter
• If there’s a past Commando comic you would like to see reprinted, contact the team via generalenquiries@commandomag.com
Commando Comics 5935 – 5938 Cover Gallery
More Zombies!
• Commando Presents: Commandos vs. Zombies Volume 1
By Georgia Standen Battle (Writer) Vicente Alcazar (Art), Neil Roberts and Ian Kennedy (Cover Art)
In the freezing woods of Norway, dead men leave footprints in the snow. Their SS uniforms are riddled with bullet holes, their hearts frozen solid, and their rotting flesh frostbitten. What should have been a routine raid takes a horrific turn for Commandos Leo Mantelow and Lionel Stone as they face down something from out of a nightmare!
Blending war and supernatural horror in a classic British Comics black-and-white format, this collection brings together the three bestselling Commandos vs Zombies issues from Britain’s longest-running war comic.
This collection features all the original covers, as well as a brand-new wrap-around by Neil Roberts, and a never-before-seen prose story is included as a bonus, alongside an interview with the creator, and contributor biographies.
• Commando Presents: Commandos vs. Zombies Volume 2
By Georgia Standen Battle (Writer) Vicente Alcazar (Art), Neil Roberts (Cover)
Deep in German-occupied Norway lies a dark forest and a shadowy factory hidden within. Inside its fetid walls, two Nazi doctors work feverishly, tampering with nature itself to create a German soldier like no other — stronger, faster… with an unyielding loyalty to the Third Reich. But what they unwittingly created was something far worse!
Included in this latest deadly volume is the prequel to the best selling Commando vs Zombies trilogy, alongside two brand-new spinoff comics expanding the Commando vs Zombies universe!
• Commando Comics is online at commandocomics.com | DC Thomson – Subscriptions | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Commando Comics on AmazonUK | Commando Comics on Magzter
• Ned and Katina: A True Love Story
By Patricia Grace (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Ned Nathan, a Māori soldier from Te Roroa, Ngāti Whātua, and Ngāpuhi, was wounded in Crete during World War Two. While recovering, he met Katina Torakis, a young Cretan woman from Sklavopoula whose family risked their lives sheltering Allied soldiers. Despite language and cultural barriers, they fell in love.
After the war, Ned returned to marry her in the village church in 1945. Together, they then headed to New Zealand, settling in the Far North and built a life in Aotearoa — weaving her Greek heritage into their Māori whānau (family). Their story is told by Patricia Grace in Ned & Katina: A True Love Story; a tale of courage, sacrifice, and aroha that bridged two worlds.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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