Pigeons, Phantoms and Piracy - all in new Commandos!

Attention! Due to enemy sabotage, news of the latest Commando comics was temporarily lost in action, but we're pleased to announce, now, the latest issues on sale in all good newsagents.

Proceed immediately to your high street, corner shop or iPad and purchase! That is all.

Commando No 4547 – The Pigeon Patrol
Story: Mac MacDonald Art: Keith Page Cover: Keith Page

As the First World War raged around him, Lieutenant Kenny Dean cast his eyes skywards at the sound of any aero engine. The one thing he really wanted to do was to get into the air, but he would have settled for anything to do with flying.

So he should have been happy when his CO posted him to a flying unit? Shouldn’t he? Maybe not, for The Pigeon Patrol was not quite what he had in mind...

Commando No 4548 – Grand Slam!
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Carlos Pino Cover: Carlos Pino


In 1995 an English historian discovered a mystery that had been hushed up for fifty years – with hidden airfields, commando raids, and deadly dogfights over the Himalayas. And, ultimately, there was a daring mission involving Lancaster B1 Specials carrying lethal, ton-ten Grand Slam bombs – the biggest and most powerful of World War II.

It certainly is an amazing tale. One that has remained top secret… until now.

Commando No 4549 – Phantom Fighters
Originally Commando No 46 (September 1962)
Story: Peter Ford Art: Peter Ford Cover: Ken Barr

Out of the sun the Hurricanes roared down on the Luftwaffe’s unsuspecting squadrons like eagles upon their prey. All over the Western Desert they struck – airfields, convoys, enemy fighter patrols – no German was safe. They swooped, fought and killed – only to disappear, flitting away at zero feet among the sand dunes, vanishing from the sight of men like ghost planes.

Terror reigned in German hearts whenever the high-pitched scream of power dives warned of the coming of the… Phantom Fighters!

"A lot of the early Commando stories were set in the jungle of in the Western Desert," notes comic editor Calum Laird, "like this one.

"What the two settings have in common is that the men at the centre of the stories are away from any real command structures so they can behave like pirates, wreaking havoc on their enemies.

"Peter Ford – the artist and the author – takes full advantage of the set-up and adds spice by throwing a potential traitor into the mix of flying action.

"You wouldn’t have guessed that from Ken Barr’s breakneck cover, but you’ll enjoy it just the same."

Commando No 4550 – Skull And Crossbones
Originally Commando No 2127 (October 1987)
Story: Bernard Gregg Art: Ibanez Cover: Jeff Bevan

Most U-boat captains were honourable men, but not this one. As his submarine pulled away from the burning hulk of the British ship he broke one of the rules of warfare – he machine-gunned the defenceless men in the water.

Those sailors who survived would never forget the emblem on the side of that U-boat…a red shield with a skull and crossbones.

"When we first see our hero, engineer extraordinaire Charlie Shepherd, we can almost feel the oily claustrophobia of his ship’s engine room – Ibanez’s inks are as thick and black as the very oil that powers the vessel," notes Commando deputy editor Scott Montgomery.

"It’s a tough seafaring tale, this one. However, thanks to author Bernard Gregg, the sadistic cruelty of the main Nazi villain is neatly balanced by the appearance of a humane German E-boat officer, giving the story – which cleverly changes tack two thirds of the way through – even more depth (pun intended, apologies).

• downthetubes is pleased to offer an exclusive discount on a subscription to DC Thomson's Commando comic, entitling readers to save 50% by ordering using our special discount code! Follow this link to DC Thomson's subscription page. When prompted, enter this unique code COMDT - then make your payment and your subscription will be up and running!

• Official Commando web site: http://www.commandocomics.com/

• Commando Official Facebook page

• Click here for subscription information or write to: D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, The Subscribers Department, Commando Library, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL or Freephone (UK only) 0800 318846

• Commando is also available for iPad and iPhone. The apps are free to download through the Apple iTunes App Store and a digital subscription is priced at £4.99 per month, compared to a £99 annual print subscription. For those not sure there are four free issues to download prior to making a purchase.

• Commando Comics iPhone App on iTunes

• Steadfast! the Commando artwork exhibition at The Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen runs until 30th November 2012. There are more details about the exhibition on the museum website.

Boffins and Burglars infiltrate Commando!

The latest issues of Commando are on sale now, and it's intrguing to see how cover artist Janek Matysiak on #4464 and one of this set's reprint issues, 4466, has changed styles with a move to digital art.

Commando No 4463 - The Improbable Mission
Script: Alan Hebden Art: Manuel Benet Cover: Manuel Benet

Second-Lieutenant Clement Cleveley of the Army Educational corps was a real boffin. A research student before the war, his mathematical speciality was probability theorywhich didn't really fit with anything in service life.

As it turned out, that wasn't quite the case which was how, instead of peacefully working at a classroom blackboard, Clement ended up charging around the desert dodging bullets with a bunch of crack SAS men...

Commando 4464 - Night And Fog
Script: Alan Hebden Art: Morahin
Cover: Janek Matysiak (Not Ian Kennedy as it says in the credits grenade!)

In Occupied Europe during the Second World War, dawn raids and midnight arrests became regular occurrences. They were feared by all the occupied peoples but soon they began to lose their ability to invoke terror.

That's when an evil Nazi scientist decided that it wasn't enough just to arrest people. He wanted to make them disappear into the... Night and Fog

Commando 4465 - Terror Zone
Originally No 2673 (June 1993)
Script: Mike Knowles Art: Carlos Pino Cover: Phil Gascoine

It started as a routine training patrol to test five top Aussie recruits - until their radio packed in and their NCO was killed in an accident.

Then the dense New Guinea jungle became a terror zone as a bullet flew from out of the shadows. Someone - or something - was trying to kill thembut there wasn't supposed to be an enemy for thousands of miles!

"Commando fans have always held Carlos Pino's artwork in high regard, and rightly so," notes
Commando Editor Calum Laird. "Here he brings the clammy jungle and a band of dishevelled Japanese to life in a few strokes of the pen and brush.

"He's giving form to a story by another long-serving Commando regular, Mike Knowles, whose plots have entertained for long enough to earn him a long-service medal and a well-deserved retirement.

"The late Phil Gascoine did a limited number of Commando covers, but every one was a little gem - even when he had to show an all but invisible figure in the background."

Commando 4466 - The Lion's Den
Originally Commando No 2632 (January 1993)
Script: Bernard Gregg Art: Janek Matysiak Cover: Janek Matysiak

That's where safe-cracker turned secret agent Danny Gregg was headed, to wrest secrets from deep within a Nazi lair.

And he had to succeed. For Danny the reward would be a pardon from his criminal past. For Britain it could mean the difference between victory and defeat!

"At the heart of every Commando story is just that, the story," says Calum Laird. "And here Bernard Gregg, who wrote almost 100 Commando tales between 1972 and 1999, weaves a cracking plot. He takes the safecracker given the chance to go straight idea and gives it a fresh twistor two.
  
"He's ably complemented by artist Janek Matysiak whose detailed artwork and envelope-pushing layouts really bring things to life. Nearly 20 years later, Janek's still working for Commando doing covers, but this black and white work is up there with the best of them."

• The Draw Your Weapons exhibition featuring art from Commando continues at the National Army Museum in London this month and runs until 30th April 2012. For the latest information visit: www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/special-displays/draw-your-weapons-art-commando-comics


• Official Commando web site: http://www.commandocomics.com/


• Commando Official Facebook page


• Click here for subscription information or write to: D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, The Subscribers Department, Commando Library, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL or Freephone (UK only) 0800 318846


• Commando is also available for iPad and iPhone. The apps are free to download through the Apple iTunes App Store and a digital subscription is priced at £4.99 per month, compared to a £99 annual print subscription. For those not sure there are four free issues to download prior to making a purchase.


• Commando Comics iPhone App on iTunes


• Commando Comics iPad App on iTunes

New Commandos Hit the News Stand

The latest four Commandos from DC Thomson, on sale one week earlier than is traditional, are available now from all good newsagents...

Commando 4287: Guided Missile

Story: Bernard Gregg Inside art: Vila Cover art: Ian Kennedy

Over the Austrian mountains in 1944, a German Dornier 217K bomber launched a strange, rocket-like craft, which performed a high-flying dance of death with an RAF Lancaster. And no matter how the Lanc jinked and turned, the rocket kept closing, until it finally destroyed its prey.

Despite the markings, these planes were both German-made and only models, but the secret rocket was one which could change the whole course of the war... if the Nazis were allowed to perfect the real thing!

Commando 4288: Bombs on Target!

Story: Cyril Walker Inside art: Ian Kennedy Cover art: Ian Kennedy

Dropping bombs accurately wasn’t easy. Often, they fell wide and wrecked innocent targets... like the night death rained down on a small English country town because a Nazi pilot lost his nerve.

The response of the survivors was to help pay for a bomber to strike back. This is the story of that one Lancaster and its remarkable record...

• This is number four of a five-book series featuring art by Ian Kennedy. The three previous re-issues resulted in calls for the other two to be pulled from the vaults. Number five is available on the official Commando website as an exclusive web comic.


Commando No 4289: Fly into Fear

Story: Ferg Handley Inside art: Morahin Cover art: Ian Kennedy

Sergeant Tom Sellers longed to fly, eagerly joining the RAF during the Second World War. Training didn’t go well, though — he was nervous when night-flying, failed vital coursework and didn’t make the grade. Disappointed, he accepted his lot and re-trained as an RAF mechanic, posted out East.

There, Tom found himself caught up in a major behind-the-lines operation with the Chindits in Burma. Then he ended up back in the air, doing vital reconnaissance work. Would his old anxieties come back? Would he... fly into fear?

Commando 4290: War Of The Wagtail

Story: Alan Hebden Inside art: Benet Cover art: Benet

Wagtail. It doesn’t sound very warlike, does it?

But, in the hands of a British desert strike force, a Wagtail recce kite would become a very warlike flyer indeed...

Next month, Commando celebrates VE-Day 65 by running four new War’s End stories - plus a re-issue of the seven-part series commissioned for VE-day 50 which many readers won’t be old enough to have seen.

• Official Commando web site: www.commandomag.com


• Click here for subscription information or write to: D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, The Subscribers Department, Commando Library, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL or Freephone (UK only) 0800 318846