In our interview, Dog Tag writer Mark Russell told me that he hope readers take away from the comic “the understanding that people in uniform are people first and uniforms second.” That’s something that good historians and history teachers aim to do and it’s very encouraging and heartening that Russell sees the importance of this approach in writing this new series.

And it tells you everything you need to know about the care and craftsmanship with which he will approach his new Mad Cave Studios series set during World War II. Russell is joined by artist PJ Holden, colorist JP Jordan, and letterer Buddy Beaudoin on Dog Tag to tell the tale of Corporal Tom Fuller, a fictional character who reports on the Allied effort against the Axis Powers in Europe while also acting as an Allied soldier. While Fuller and his story might be fictional, Russell and the rest of the creative team use actual World War II-centered events in each chapter, from the Battle of the Bulge to the Battle of Castle Itter and more.

I spoke with Mark Russell recently about the conceit of Dog Tag, some of the real World War II events that are woven into the comic, working with the creative team, and what he hopes readers take away from the comic. The series debuts next month with the final order cutoff being this Monday, April 13, 2026.

 

Dog Tag #1 cover A by PJ Holden

 

FreakSugar: I teach U.S. history in a high school, and I have relatives who were in World War II, so I’m 100% your audience. What can you tell us about the genesis of Dog Tag?

Mark Russell: Dog Tag tells the fictional story of Corporal Tom Fuller, a Stars and Stripes journalist, as he covers and fights the Allied invasion of Europe. While a fictional story, each chapter is based on the actual events of the war, including the Ghost Army in Dover, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Battle of Castle Itter, the only battle of the war in which Americans and Germans fought on the same side to defend the castle and its prisoners from the SS.

FS: For folks reading this, what is the idea behind Dog Tag?

MR: I wanted to tell a deeply human story about one soldier’s experience of the war, its costs, and the relationships you develop in the struggle to survive. So it tells a fictional story, but against the backdrop of the final and bloodiest year of the war, including both some events everyone knows but also some much more obscure, but still true, chapters of the conflict.

 

Dog tag #1 cover B by Sebastián Piriz

 

FS: What has collaboration been like with PJ Holden and the rest of the creative team? What have those conversations been like?

MR: PJ has been terrific to work with. I can’t wait for people to see the artwork he’s laying down for this series. And JP Jordan’s colors somehow both reflect the grittiness of the war while making the artwork pop even more. When we exchange emails, I feel like we are all on the same page and are willing to do whatever it takes to make this series as good and true to life as it can be, which is a wonderful feeling.

FS: You say the comic is based on real-life events. What kind of research did you have to do when delving into this history?

MR: Some of the events I knew about going into the series. Others, like the Battle of Castle Itter, came up in my readings about the endgame of the war. Which is kind of how I like to use research in my work. I bait my hook with a little nugget of knowledge or something I’d heard about, and then use the research to bring in bigger and far more interesting fish.

 

Dog Tag #1 cover C by Erica Henderson

 

FS: What’s one of your favorite historical facts that you learned in the course of your research?

MR: One of the details included in this series comes from Jack Kirby himself. He once talked about going to HQ in the middle of the Battle of the Bulge and being ordered to attend a USO show with Marlene Dietrich. He’d been fighting less than an hour before, sat down and watched a show, and then was back at the front fighting an hour later. It was just one of those slices of absurdity that made the experience of war feel real to me, so I included it.

FS: In addition to being entertained, what do you hope readers take away from Dog Tag?

MR: The understanding that people in uniform are people first and uniforms second. That when somebody dies in battle, that’s an actual human being with their own galaxy of experiences that are forever lost to the world. And that it’s never too late to turn your back on the bad ideas of history.

Dog Tag #1 goes on sale Wednesday, May 6, 2026, from Mad Cave Studios. Final order cutoff is this Monday, April 13, 2026.

From the official issue description:

Dog Tag is a journey through World War II that uses one soldier’s lived experience to confront the myth of glory in war and honor the quiet heroism of those who endured it as only writer Mark Russell and artist PJ Holden could tell it.

Dog Tag is a fictional story about a very real war. It follows the life and thoughts of Corporal Tom Fuller through the final year of World War II as his service takes him from the invasion of Normandy to the surrender of Japan. Borrowed from real world stories and little known events of the war, Dog Tag asks big questions about the war while focusing on the heroism of the ordinary people who lived and died during the conflict.