Gunner, shot, tank! Commando Comics and The Tank Museum at Bovington have announced a second volume of The Tank Collection! Commando reprints, due for release in September.
The Commando Presents: The Tank Collection Volume 2 offers six classic Commando adventures features all things tanks, introduced by the Museum’s Senior Historian, Stuart Wheeler.
“My first exposure to the Commando comic was in the mid-late 1970s,” he recalls, “when I would holiday with my family at Hayling Island on the south coast. I vividly remember running along the sandy beach to the local newsagent on the seafront to purchase Ollie Lollies and a stack of Commando comics from the stand. I’d then spend the rest of the week voraciously reading through them, this being the era before the advent of the Walkman.
“Given the windy nature or the britisn summer nolasy exponence, une handy, digest-sized Commando was a far easier read than the larger weekly comics or the time.”
Hand-picked in association with The Tank Museum, Commando Presents: The Tank Collection Volume 2 features over 400 pages of action-packed artwork from writers including Heath Ackley, Georgia Standen Battle, Ferg Handley, former Commando editor George Low; and artists Bellalta, Manuel Benet, Carmona, Jaume Forns and Alberto Saichann.
From King Tigers, Mark IVs, Matildas and T-34s, these troopers fight on all fronts, as metal rages against men, women, and more metal…
Featured in this collection, which also includes the original covers by Jeff Bevan, Keith Burns, Ian Kennedy and others and are:
“Ghost Run” (first published in Commando 5617)
Story: Heath Ackley | Art: Jaume Forns | Cover: Neil Roberts
It should have been a normal run for drivers John Yateley and Jim Weaver, delivering much-needed supplies to the front line. But when an eerie sight appeared on a hilltop and the pair noticed it was the ghost of a tank from the wrong war… well, things were about to get very weird indeed!
This wacky, supernatural tale from the mind of Heath Ackley is brought to life by Jaume Forns, which featured a cover by Neil Roberts, is a homage to legendary Ian Kennedy’s cover for No. 1511, “Man of Mystery”.
“Hellcat vs Tiger” (first published in Commando 5669)
Story: Ferg Handley | Art: Alberto Saichann | Cover: Phil Robinson
The Siege of Bastogne, 1944. The M18 Tank Destroyer, also known as the Hellcat, was one of the most effective tank destroyers of the Second World War.
The Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, also known as the King Tiger or Tiger II, was a beast feared on the battlefield, formidable and threatening.
You might think you know the outcome of this duel, but Sergeant Mike Delaney was the commander of this Hellcat – and he wasn’t going to go down without a fight! That was if he could put the death of his last crew behind him…
Veteran writer Ferg Handley is teamed up with Alberto Saichann, this issue featuring artist Phil Robinson’s debut as cover artist on this issue.
“A Tank Called Tempest” (first published in Commando 5111)
Story: George Low | Art: Jaume Forns | Cover: Ian Kennedy
When an Australian, a Kiwi, a South African and an Englishman step into a tank – sparks are sure to fly!
Lieutenant Ranald Booker had to write an article about cooperation between the Commonwealth nations. But, despite being confronted with fighting the Germans and Italians in North Africa, some troops were more interested in scrapping with each other.
So Ranald had an idea to form a tank crew made up of a soldier from each Commonwealth country. But the question on everyone’s lips was… could they actually work together?
Jaume Forns’ steadfast attention to different nationals’ uniforms is put to the test in this George Low tale, which takes the Commando trope of bickering foes come friends and cranks it up to eleven.
“Clash of Giants” (first published in Commando 5100)
Story: Allan | Art: Bellalta | Cover: Ian Kennedy
The British Cruiser tanks swarmed over the desert. As fine a show of armoured might as ever gladdened an infantry regiment who needed help. But beneath the tank crews’ khaki uniforms beat Nazi hearts with nothing but hate in them. And soon the barrels of British guns would be turning on British troops…
Bellalta’s stunning interiors hurl gale-force winds and deadly siroccos at the reader, as Allan’s story throws us straight into the perils of 1941 North Africa, right alongside Tommy pongos and tank crews.
“Tank Wife” (first published in Commando 5311)
Story: Georgia Standen Battle | Art and Cover: Manuel Benet
“My husband was killed defending the Motherland. I decided I wanted to personally take revenge on the fascist dogs for his death. I won’t stop until every German in Russia has tasted every ounce of my anger… sometimes I’m so angry I can’t even breathe.”
The driver of a T-34 tank named ‘Wife’ was no ordinary driver, she was a woman scorned and hell awaited any Nazi who stood in her tank’s path…
This story was originally part of a special set to mark International Women’s Day in 2020.
“Ratso and the Sergeant” (first published in Commando 5458)
Story: Jeff Bevan | Art: Carmona | Cover: Jeff Bevan
Called “Ratso” by everybody, Private John Ratsey more than lived up to his nickname. He was lazy and work-shy, and not averse to a little bit of petty theft if he was sure he could get away with it.
If he was such a disreputable character, why then was Sergeant Jamie Taylor trying to ensure that no harm came to him as their tank unit valiantly attempted to halt the German advance?
Commando Presents: The Tank Collection Volume 2 is currently anticipated to be in stock end of September 2026, and only available from The Tank Museum shop.
• Commando Presents: The Tank Collection Volume 1 is available directly from The Tank Museum website here
Please order separately to other items if you wish for your wider basket to arrive before this arrives in stock
Mock-up spreads are subject to change. Thanks to Jeremy Briggs for the news tip
• Commando Comics are online at commandocomics.com | DC Thomson – Subscriptions | Commando Comics on AmazonUK | Commando Comics on Magzter | Follow Commando Comics on Facebook | X | YouTube
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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 - Collections, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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