Convict Commandos return to, er - Commando!

Here's the lowdown on the latest Commandos, on sale now in all good comic shops.

Alan Hebden's Convict Commandos make a return for the first of two adventures - the second is out in a fortnight - while a Soviet tank does its best to burst out of one of this round of covers, courtesy of Janek Matysiak's pen.

Meanwhile, the Commando team have been scurrying around in the archives for another pair of dusty but classic... well, classics. We think you'll like 'em!

Commando No 4495 - Rain Of Terror
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Manuel Benet Cover: Manuel Benet

In action once again, the Convict Commandos - Jelly Jakes, Titch Mooney, Smiler Dawson and Guy Tenby - undertake their most dangerous mission yet.

As if ruthless Nazis and silent stranglers weren't hazardous enough, even the skies are loaded with death... and it's raining down on them!

Commando No 4496 - T54 A Tankful Of Trouble
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Morahin Cover: Janek Matysiak

In 1956 the Russians invaded neighbouring Hungary to quell a popular uprising. The newly-operational T54 tank - successor to the wartime T34 - was used by them to devastating effect in the campaign.

When British Intelligence learned that Hungarian rebels had captured a fully operational T54, a team were sent to recover the mighty machine's design secrets.

But with Hungarian government troops and the Russian Army on their trail, this mission was going to be no walk in the park!

Commando No 4497 - The Gold Collection - Break-Out!
Originally Commando No 41 (October 1962)
Story: Henderson Art: Ortiz Cover: Ken Barr

Night after night the tunnel leading from the German prison camp grew longer. Day by day the hope of escape increased.

Then came THE NIGHT... and only one prisoner knew that German fingers were ready to press machine gun triggers; that cold Nazi eyes peered through the gun sights... WAITING.

"This is well-crafted tale and no mistake. Sort of Ice Cold In Alex meets The Great Escape to use a film comparison," says Commando Editor Calum Laird. "The author manages to make what could be a tedious trek across the desert riveting by introducing a…well, let's just say a wild card to stop spoiling it. It's skilfully done and works really well.

"The cover is a magnificent piece of work - you could almost see it as a film poster, too. There's menace and fear in that face rendered in blues and blacks.

"The inside art holds up its end well, lots of dark half-shadows matching the tension of the tale and plenty of movement when the action gets going.

"Well worth another airing 50 years on."

Commando No 4498 - The Silver Collection - Gold Train
Originally Commando No 2102 (July 1987)
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Terry Patrick Cover: Jeff Bevan

With the Japanese war machine making swift advances through Java every day, it was vital that the country's gold reserves were moved to safety. Captain Jan Ruiter was assigned this task. All he had to do was escort a train carrying the gold to the coast. An easy enough job, you might think. But not when the troops under your command are a bunch of rookies and a group of battle-hardened Japanese veterans are hot on your trail!

"Every Commando story needs a good hero - so more than one must be even better," feels Deputy Editor Scott Montgomery. "A mix of characters - and the ensuing conflict as they clash - is essential. Writer Alan Hebden is a master of making memorable characters.

"At first glance, the hero of Gold Train is Captain Jan Ruiter, tasked with transporting gold reserves to safety. However, for me, Aussie train driver Hogey Dubbs - and even his clanking, trusty steam engine Esmeralda is like a character - steals the show. Now let's find out if they can stop the villains from stealing their gold!"

• 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

Falklands War commemorated in new Commando comics

The latest Commando comics from DC Thomson - on sale now in all good newsagents - include the first of two books with a Falklands theme to mark 30 years since the Task Force sailed to liberate the islands in the South Atlantic.

Commando No 4487: Mission To Patagonia
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Benet Cover: Benet

November 1982, a British Geological Survey team in the Antarctic make an extraordinary find - a downed Vulcan bomber. News of this amazing discovery brings Lieutenant Nick Tarrant of the SAS to the scene. There soon emerges the story of a clandestine operation that took place during the height of the Falklands War.

The top secret tale of the... Mission To Patagonia!

 Commando No 4488: Triple Whammy!
Story: Mac MacDonald Art: Carlos Pino Cover: Carlos Pino

Remember the antics of Hitler and Monty…? Or to give them their proper names, Fuhrer and Field-Marshal lookalikes Max Singer and Sid O'Brien. Well, they're back for another madcap (mis)adventure - this time involving the SS, Soviets, Scotsmen and even Scousers in South America. Don't worry it'll all make sense… probably.

Our death-defying doubles are in triple the danger and triple the trouble. But will this be their finest hour, or their final fling…?

Commando 4489 - The Gold Collection: Gun Fury
Originally Commando No 24 (May 1962)
Story: Elliot Art: Ortiz Cover: Ken Barr

Red is the colour of courage. Like the ribbon of the Victoria Cross; like the blood that heroes spill; like the famous Red Beret of the Parachute Regiment, whose amazing story this is.

Meet in these pages Cobber Kane, tough, wise-cracking Australian; Sergeant. Jim Parker, steady as a rock; “Blood 'n' Guts” Sanders, the hard-bitten RSM, whose one aim in battle was a VC to pin next to his MM…the kind of heroes who have made the Red Beret the badge of courage it is.

"Ken Barr's cover sets your expectations for this story" says Commando Editor Calum Laird of this re-presented tale. "The single figure, gun in hand, grenades at the ready and with a thick black outline to throw the image out, lets you know this is going to be an all-action story. If you were in any doubt, though, the first page, by Ortiz, with its dramatic title lettering underlines the cover's promise.

"The story, penned by Elliot, doesn't disappoint - any story where members of the Parachute Regiment capture and take over a Tiger tank has to be a winner.

"And yet, it doesn't shy away from war's darker side. In this story good men die, friends are lost, as conflict takes its toll. And that's maybe not what you would expect."

Commando 4490 - The Silver Collection: Full Speed Ahead!
Originally Commando No 2077 (April 1987)
Story: Malcolm McDevitt Art: Keith Shone Cover: Jeff Bevan

The Channel war against the German E-boats was a tough one and Andy Simpson relished the task. From the chaos of Dunkirk to the Battle of Britain he was in the thick of the action. But he had an even more difficult problem ahead of him - to admit he could make mistakes.

"This is a traditional sea story, which Commando has always done well," notes Commando Deputy Editor Scott Mlontgomery. "In the aftermath of Dunkirk, Lieutenant-Commander Andy Simpson, a motor torpedo boat skipper who has to make a split-second decision - and may well have made the wrong one - must face up to what he has done, however difficult this may be.

"Artist Keith Shone's thick black lines are reminiscent of the style of our Spanish veterans, like Manuel Benet, for example. While Jeff Bevan proves once again that he was king of the sea covers - with those pale, watery colours offset by a striking explosion."

• The Draw Your Weapons exhibition featuring art from Commando continues at the National Army Museum in London 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

Last Commandos of 2011 go on sale

The last four Commandos of the year are now on sale, and the veteran title sees off its 50th aniversary year with another batch of great stories old and new – and what a year it's been for the title.

"It doesn’t seem long since I was sending out the details of the first batch of the year but it was 104 issues ago," notes editor Calum Laird. "The good news is we’ve slightly increased our sales over the year and our subscriptions have increased by a whopping 45 per cent.

"This is great news in the current climate."

Commando 4455: Valley of Secret Weapons
Originally Commando No 98 (December 1963), re-issued as No 591 (October 1971)
Script: Eric Hebden Art: Ortiz Cover: Ken Barr

The Valley of Destruction, the Germans called it. It lay deep in the heart of the Tyrolean mountains, and there Germany's most brilliant scientists worked night and day building Hitler's deadly V for Vengeance weapons.

Sun-ray cannons, flying saucers, sound cannons, rocket-propelled tanks and jet-propelled soldiers - strange, terrifying weapons, years ahead of their time.

They were all there in that valley, being made ready to unleash on Britain...

One look at the cover tells you all you need to know about this story," says Calum Laird of this archive tale. "It's a real flight of fancy. (And I don't just mean because there are Germans with jetpacks.)

"Or is it?  As more information on the Third Reich's secret weapons programmes comes to light, some of the gear drawn up by Ortiz doesn't seem so far-fetched.

"Perhaps author Eric Hebden, who had been a Major in the British Army, had some inside knowledge -- who knows?

"Whether he did or not, it's a great story and Ken Barr's Nazis With Jetpacks cover sums the whole thing up. Now, I must fly!"

Commando 4456: Jump - Or Die!
Originally Commando No 94 (November 1963), re-issued as No 587 (October 1991)
Script: Kellie Art: Cortes Cover: Ken Barr

The dull throb of the Dakota's engines pounded remorselessly in the paratroopers' ears as they filed in to their jumping order.

Nobody spoke, nobody smiled, nobody spared a kindly glance for the next bloke in line. Lips were dry and taut, and eyes glowed with a mixture of determination and FEAR!

And even as the red light changed to green for GO, Captain Bob Brown knew that he was the most afraid of all.

Which was all wrong, because he was meant to be officer in charge of this mission, an example to all the others...

"British Paras were involved in no end of covert operations in the Second World War," notes Calum Lard. "This was a problem, because most of them took place under the concealing cloak of darkness.

"Why is this a problem? Well, a dark night is one of the most difficult things an illustrator can ever be called on to draw. By definition, there's very little light to see anything by.

"This doesn't seem to have put artist Cortes off, however. His drawings of the Paras in action at night make superb use of black ink without losing any detail and without looking anything apart from, well, night.

"Kellie's script is as full of action and conflict as you'd want, while Ken Barr's cover leaves you in no doubt about the menace in the title."

Commando 4457: Fireman On The Front Line
Script: Alan Hebden Art: Olivera Cover: Janek Matysiak

As a fireman during the London Blitz, Ted Roscoe was exempt from Armed Forces duty, as his was a reserved occupation deemed important to the war effort. He knew all about danger just the same, though, dodging bombs as he fought fire after fire. However, the Army needed Ted's expertise too and he soon called to the front line.

Here Ted found himself embroiled in a deadly game of survival, with not just the enemy's hand against him!

Commando 4458: The Sea Wolves
Script: Mac MacDonald Art: Keith Page Cover: Keith Page

Like wolves, the torpedo boats and gunboats of the Allies and Axis hunted the seas of the Adriatic in packs. Like wolves they fell on their prey, always going in for the kill.

And, just as amongst packs of wolves, there had to be a top dog - would he be British or German?

• 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

Classic and New Commando tales go on sale

The latest salvo of DC Thomson's Commando title are on sale in all good newsagents and on iPad -- and there's also some good news for fans of the glorious cover art that graces many of these comics this month.

DC Thomson are now making every Commando cover available as an A1 poster — massive and very impressive.

"The price is on the website at an introductory rate," notes Commando editor Calum Laird. "There are also several hundred from the back catalogue. More to be added when time allows.

"Of the four books out this week, Dare Devil DFC has to have been titled by the bravest artist ever as the title is painted directly on to the artwork.

"Can you imagine what would have happened if his brush had slipped?"

Commando 4415: Hellfire Landing
Originally Commando No 5 (August 1961), re-issued as No 2555 (April 1992)
Story: Bernard Castle Art: Ortiz Cover Art: Ken Barr

Break-out! Street by street through a small coastal town in occupied France, No 5 Commando group were fighting desperately towards their target.

Down a lane they were suddenly faced with a blank wall. They turned back, only to find Nazi storm-troopers had sealed the entrance with murderous machine-gun fire.

But on this mission there could be no giving up. These battle-hardened, fierce young men just had to fight their way onward, for to them had been entrusted the well-nigh impossible task of seeking out Germany’s latest and most ghastly secret weapon.

"This is an absolutely classic Commando tale, done to the rules we try to follow to this day," notes Calum Laird, in a special intorduction to this reprint issue. "Two heroes, one with nothing to prove, one with everything to prove. And the man with the work to do is doubted by almost everyone.

"Throw in an almost suicidal special mission, tons of hot lead and high explosive and the recipe is complete. The dish is best served hot — as you can probably tell from Ken Barr’s cover art and Ortiz’s atmospheric black and white panels.

"I think I’ll read it again…"

Commando 4416: Dare Devil DFC
Originally Commando No 20 (March 1962)
Story: Maitland Art: Peter Ford Cover Art: Ken Barr

Meet Squadron-leader McMunn, DFC, who did with his Spitfire things no Spitfire was ever built to do. Fighter ace, hero, and, some said, a raving maniac!

Not even his own pilots understood why McMunn courted death as he did. But they all knew that they’d follow wherever he led.

Between these covers is the blazing saga of the Spitfire Squadron they called McMunn’s Irregulars — a law unto themselves.

"When this story came out, I was too young to read it, but I remember reading it a few years afterwards at a mate’s house," says Calum. "I think it was his big brother’s. So until a few minutes ago I had only read it once. Yet it all seemed very familiar, so full of action and movement, just as I recalled it.

"Ken Barr’s cover sets the tone for the tale wonderfully brought to life by Peter Ford’s artwork — his Spitfires look set to fly out of the pages of this story. I can only say a big thank you to Commando’s first editor, Chick Checkley, for commissioning it."

Commando No 4417: The War Of The Tin Goose
Story: Norman Adams Art: Morahin Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

South America, 1935: The crew of Tin Goose Airlines — a small air-freight company — had hit hard times after an accident destroyed all but one of their aircraft. A battered Ford Trimotor 4AT was all they had left.

They needed work fast, any kind of work, or they faced ruin. So when a seemingly straightforward contract came up they simply had to take it. They couldn’t know that the job could lead them to a far worse fate than bankruptcy!

Commando 4418: The Wilderness War
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Olivera Cover Art: Janek Matysiak

Sergeant Gene Malone was determined to protect his squad of GIs and had trained them hard in preparation for the combat they’d see in North Africa. Unexpectedly, however, their embarkation orders were for the Aleutians — a string of barren islands off the coast of Alaska.

Here they would be fighting the merciless Japanese on unfamiliar territory and in treacherously cold conditions. It would take all of their courage, spirit and resources to survive...


• 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

Ramsey’s Raiders in latest Commando comic

Four new Commando comics are on sale now in all good newsagents - here's the intel... Don't forget, downthtubes has a special offer on Commando subscriptions - check out the ad elsewhere on this page


Commando No 4363: Raiders - Operation Anvil
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Keith Page
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

Ramsey’s Raiders are in the bad books after a little fun at the expense of some arrogant American troops during a routine training exercise. There again, Captain Jimmy Ramsey and his Special Raiding Force team were never really ones for sticking to the rules.
Every cloud has a silver lining, though, because it gave them the chance to get back to business with a dangerous mission to Norway — one that would provide an unexpected opportunity to settle a score with an old enemy…

Operation Anvil continues the story of The Raiders started in Operation Hammer — two unofficial missions kept secret…until now.


Commando No 4364: Duel over the Desert
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Morahin
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

High above the arid deserts of Egypt during the First World War, two Royal Flying Corps officers in their RE8 biplane were carrying out vital reconnaissance missions over the positions of their Turkish enemies.

All was not running smoothly, though. Lieutenant Tim Blake was a decent enough pilot but got nervous under pressure. And he was teamed up with an abrasive know-it-all observer, Lieutenant Danny Woods.

So far, it looked like a recipe for disaster. Could they ever stop fighting each other long to concentrate on the enemy?

Commando 4365: Closer than Brothers
Story: Eric Hebden
Art: Ortiz
Cover Art: Ken Barr
Originally Commando No11 from November 1961

What a trio! Tom, Dick and Harry. Three ordinary names, but what extraordinary blokes.

A Scottish captain, an English sergeant, and a corporal from the West Indies, they were probably the closest pals ever known in the British Army.

And what fighters! No matter the odds, nothing was ever known to stop them. Between them they had all the guts in the world.

What a band of brothers! What a trio to belong to! Join them in this, the first of their amazing stories, told just as it happened…

• This story has never been re-issued before in any format — it’s a genuine classic from 1961 re-produced as closely as the Commando team can manage to the original.


Commando 436: Ace without Honur
Story: Bill Fear Art: Gordon Livingstone
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No 1196 from February 1978, re-issued as No 2508 in October 1991

It should have been an honour to fly as wingman to Philip Templeton. Wasn’t he “The Shark” — the sleek, efficient, deadly fighter ace? His boyish charm and good humour had won him many admirers, so why feel uneasy?

Could it be you saw the other side of the man, the cold, calculating glory-hunter who let nothing stand in his way, even murder? If the victim were an enemy in time of war then that could be understandable, but what if The Shark’s next victim was his wingman? That’s right — you!


• Official Commando web site: http://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

• You can read interviews with former Commando editor George Low, current editor Calum Laird and writer Ferg Handley on the downthetubes main site.