Draw Your Weapons: New Commandos On Sale Now

The latest Commandos are on sale now in all good newsagents and we have the full lowdown on the titles below.

There's now than two months to go before Draw Your Weapons: Art Of Commando starts at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London. Helping mark the comics' 50th anniversary, this exhibition will explore the history of the war comic from its initial conception and subject matter to its continuing popularity, showcasing key artwork and illustrations from Commando.

"The preliminary sketches of the displays look stunning," Calum enthuses, "and we hope loads of readers, past and present, will be able to go and appreciate the workmanship on display in the original artworks."

Commando fans may be interested  in an interview with the Commando editorial team which recently ran in the Daily Record, which includes comment from Calum, deputy Scott Montgomery and writer Ferg Handley. It's clear from the feature that the belief among war comic fans that the comic is no longer published is a constant bugbear in the Commando office, and we hope we here at DTT are helping coounter that myth.

"If I had a pound for every time someone has said, 'Commando comics, are they still going?' I'd have retired long ago," Calum tells the paper. "Even people within the business will say that and when we tell them we put out eight issues a month, they go a bit quiet."

The Commando team also tell us that suggestions for stories readers want to seen again as part of the title's reprint issues are fairly flooding in to the Commando office. "I think we may have to put more space aside in the production schedule to cope with them all," says editor Calum Laird.

To add your choice to the list, send your nominations to: Commando, DC Thomson & Co., Ltd., Albert Square, Dundee DD1 9QJ; or e-mail your suggestions to: editor@commandomag.com; or send a message through the official website www.commandocomics.com. Nominations close on 19th August 2011.

Commando 4407: They Came By Night
Originally Commando No 6 (August 1961), re-issued as No 2563 (April 1992)
Story: Couglin Art: Savi Cover: Ken Barr

Without warning the periscope of a U-boat broke the surface. It turned and focussed on the Locksea Lighthouse. Then, slowly, the glistening, black hull of the submarine came up from the depths.

No one could deny the courage and cool cheek of the Nazi Commander who had made up his mind to capture this vital link in the guiding of our Atlantic convoys.

Then, into what was to be the most fantastic episodes of the war, sailed Skipper Jimmy Cleeves and his RAF rescue launch K20.

"Nowadays Commando writers have it tough," says Calum Laird in his introduction to this reprint. "In our 50 years, loads of plots have been used, and they have to try really hard to find a new angle on things. Back in 1961, though, when Commando first broke cover, the writers had a very open field to work with.

"So you might think that this sixth story to come out would be very straightforward. If you did, you’d be wrong. It has ships, subs, bombers, recce planes, a lighthouse… and even a carrier pigeon.

"Even when they’ve got it easy, Commando authors just can’t help writing cracking stories."

Commando 4408: The Cop Who Went To War
Originally Commando No 982 (November 1975), re-issued as No 2323 (November 1989)
Story: RA Montague Art: Ibanez-Igual Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

Dave Marley was a policeman - and proud of it. When the war came, he joined the Military Police and found that a lot of soldiers acted just like the blokes in civvy street who didn’t want to know a copper until they had trouble.

But now there was more than brawls and bank robbers to think about. There were difficult problems to be tackled with the added danger of shells and bullets crashing all around. Yes, it was a tough job, being a Military policeman…

"The Military Police do a difficult and dangerous job, and it’s not always appreciated by the common soldier, sailor or airman," says former editor George Low of this classic story. "In the rough and tumble of war, men fresh from action often don’t take it well when a Redcap gets on their case. How to win the doubters over? Prove that you are as tough and as capable of dealing with the enemy as the front-line fighters are.

"Roger Montague shows this up well in a crisp 1975 script and Ibanez-Igual did his bit with the line artwork.

The cover? That’s Ian Kennedy, of course. He draws a mean motorbike as well as the aircraft he’s renowned for."

Commando 4409 Codename: Houdini
Story: Mac MacDonald Art: Rezzonico Cover Art: Janek Matysiak

Andor Lakatos and his two younger brothers were a popular circus escapology touring Eastern Europe just before the start of the Second World War. When the Germans invaded of Poland in 1939 the three brothers were caught up in the chaos.

Andor, in particular, was drawn against his will into wartime espionage. With danger at every corner it seemed unlikely even he could escape this murky world of shadows and treachery...

Commando 4410 “Talk… Or Die!”
Story: Tom Hart Art Benet Cover Art: Benet

It seemed a straightforward job, risky but straightforward. Flying a helicopter full of gold out of South Vietnam before the advancing North Vietnamese army got their hands on it.

 As an ex Australian Air Force chopper pilot, Brendan Beckett thought the job would give him no real trouble. So how did he come to be tied to a post, knee-deep in rising water? Well, it’s a long story...


• 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

Four shiny new Commandos including a new Convict Commandos story

Four new shiny Commandos, including a new 'Convict Commados' story, 'Mask of Death' by Alan Hebden with art from Benet, are on sale today - in newsagents and online. As usual, the releases include two carefully selected reprint titles - chosen by the Commando editorial team to mark the title's impressive 50th year.

Commando 4379: Mask Of Death
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Benet Cover Art: Benet

The Convict Commandos - Jelly Jakes, Smiler Dawson, Titch Mooney - and their leader Guy Tenby are back in action. This time they are planning to snatch a scientist from under the noses of the Nazis in occupied Europe. It’s no easy job and, with treachery afoot, the prison sentences they’re trying to avoid begin to look a very tempting alternative.
The second adventure for the latest band of Commando heroes.  

Commando 4380: Attack From The East
Story: Tom Hart Art Rezzonico Cover: Janek Matysiak

Most people would think that nothing much happened in the peaceful village of Helmsbeath, situated on a remote island on Scotland’s North West coast. And most people would have been right to think that…until the fateful day in late 1944 when Helmsbeath was invaded. Invaded by the armed and dangerous crew of a Japanese C3 submarine and the crazed Nazi scientist who was with them!

Would the villagers survive?  

Commando 4381 Jungle Fury
Originally Commando No 9 (October 1961), re-issued as No 2587 (August 1992)
Story: Couglin Art: Cecil Rigby Cover Art: Ken Barr

In the steaming jungles of Burma, man has a thousand enemies… the wild animals, the snakes and poisonous insects, the deadly fevers. But the fighting British jungle patrols had an enemy more deadly that any of these…the creeping Japanese soldiers who could appear from nowhere and sow the lead seeds of death before melting again into the waiting green background. But Sergeant Tom Flynn had his own way of silencing the Banzai cries of those Sons of Nippon. With a handful of men and a heart full of courage he fought his way through them - and with him he brought a strange prize… ten million pounds in solid gold.

"What hits you most about this story is the cover," says Commando editor Calum Laird, who picked out this title for reprint. "Ken Barr’s image leaps clean off the page and you can almost hear that soldier screaming blue murder. Inside, the story is of a jungle trek involving an elephant and train. It shouldn’t work, but it does picking up pace throughout. "Artist Cecil Rigby was a Commando regular from 1961 until No 3272 in late 1999 - a total of around 150 books - and he well captures the atmosphere of the jungle and the fury in this one."

Commando 4382 Six Of The Best
Originally Commando No 490 (July 1970), re-issued as No 1379 (January 1980)
Story: David Motton Art: Ramon de la Fuente Cover Art: Penalva

Six men - five private soldiers who couldn’t do a thing right and a brand-new Second Lieutenant who had never been in action. Left behind as a rearguard just in case the Jerries showed up, they landed in a hotter spot than anyone had bargained for - and became the most unlikely heroes of the Second World War!

"There are many types of hero but, in my opinion, the most interesting kind is the unlikely hero - the underdog," says Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor, of this reprint issue. "And, as you may have guessed from the title, in this brilliant tale you get six for the price of one (which, back in 1980 was a mere 12p — even at today’s prices we reckon we’re still good value). "So please join me in rooting for half-a-dozen ordinary (if admittedly a bit useless) blokes, left behind as a desert rearguard, determined to prove that they’ve got what it takes to be the best."  

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