Commandos race into danger

The latest issues of Commando are on sale in all ggod newsagents now, with this batch including a pair of books written by Eric Hebden and another by his son Alan - a first for the war comic perhaps.

Commando 4435: The 8.15 to Danger
Story: Alan Hebden Art: John Ridgway Cover Art: John Ridgway

Railwaymen were in a reserved occupation during the Second World War as their particular skills were rated so highly. That didn’t mean they didn’t have to work hard or that they could dodge danger — there were always trains to haul and air raids a constant hazard.

Driver Arthur Beckinshaw and his fireman Ernie Entwistle were two such men, happy that they were “doing their bit” even though they weren’t in uniform. Then they were sent to the Middle East where they found that engine driving was a lot more dangerous than they could ever have dreamt.

Commando 4436: Bullet Magnet
Story: Sean Blair Art: Mike White Cover Art: Mike White

A “Bullet Magnet” — a man whose actions seem to draw hot lead in his direction. Richard Cooper was such a man, his soldiering skills such that he often raised his head too high in a scrap. But this one-time actor was to discover that there was another kind of bullet magnet, a man set up to take the hits for another. And when he found out he realised that the magnet was him!

Commando 4437: A Guy Needs Guts
Originally Commando No 3 (July 1961), re-issued as No 2539 (September 1992)
Story: Eric Hebden Art: Cecil Rigby Cover: Ken Barr

North Africa, 1942. In the Western Desert, that vast cauldron of scorching heat and flaming lead, were forged the toughest fighting men ever known — the men they called the Desert Rats.

And yet even they yielded pride of place to their truck drivers, those dare-devil fighting fools who, to keep vital supply lines open, blazed a trail of blood and glory across the Western Desert.

"One of the most difficult things about finishing a Commando story is deciding on a title," notes Editor Calum Laird in his introduction to this reprint issue. "Often we’ll start with one that doesn’t fit the finished cover or, worst of all, has been used before. I’ve lost count of the number of time we’ve come up with a winning title only to consult the records and have to chalk it off.

"When they titled Commando No 3, the field was much more open and buy did they make use of it! The cover artwork and that wording are a winning combination.

"Inside the story backs up the title. Grit determination and guts writ large. It’s a pity I can’t use that wording again."

Commando 4438: The Blades of War
Originally Commando No 1400 (March 1980)
Story: Cyril Walker Art: Ruiz Cover: Ian Kennedy

A claymore from the days of Scottish clan warfare… a Japanese Samurai sword…and the kukri of a Gurkha soldier. What was the strange bond that brought these blades together in the dark and hostile jungles of Burma?

"Certain story themes, like the pursuit of revenge or redemption, have cropped up many times in Commando’s history, and our talented writers still manage to make them seem fresh," says Deputy Commando Editor Scott Montgomery of this story. "However, I’m pretty certain that this book is the only one where a Scotsman, a Gurkha and disgraced Japanese soldier join forces in the Burmese jungle to fight a common enemy.

"It’s a tough, hard-hitting tale, this, but it is also a cracking read — a classic story of honour and vengeance, forged in the steel of battle…"

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

Raid yourself some new Commandos!

Keeping up the pressure on potential fans to subscribe to the war digest title, the Commando team are currently offering a copy of the latest  collection to those who take up the offer.

Selected by current Commando editor Calum Laird, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the comic, Rogue Raiders, the latest in this bestselling series of anthologies presents the ten greatest-ever commando raids stories.

Raiding is what Second World War commandos were trained for, and these thrilling comic-strip yarns show true-Brit heroes assaulting all kinds of enemy targets from the land, sea and air.

Stealthy, resourceful, daring and hard as nails, the commandos succeed against all odds in accomplishing their missions, whether against fanatical Nazi storm troopers or ruthless Japanese jungle-fighters.

Rogue Raiders includes the following stories: Operation Firebrand! (from Issue 526); Half-Pint Commando (225); Terror Team (1159); The Iron Sergeant (639); Time of Terror (544); The Mad Major (1435); Spring the Trap (1864); A Born Leader (1750); Marked Man (1628); and Ten Tough Paratroopers (2116).

Rogue Raiders is also available in all good bookshops: meanwhile, you might want to check out the latest issues of the comic, on sale now in all good newsagents...

Commando No 4391: Battling Bradley
Originally Commando No 252 (March 1967), re-issued as No 923 (April 1975)
Story: Lester Art: Alfredo Sanchez Cortes Cover Art: Hall

It didn’t matter very much what you gave Ken Bradley, boxer turned paratrooper, to fight with. His bare fists made him a match for a handful of Germans any day.

But give him a gun, especially a Tommy gun, and he’d take on anything that had a swastika painted on it. Even a tank… or a pill-box! What a man to have a your side.

"A story packed with action centred round a man determined to settle a debt of honour is archetypal Commando fare, isn’t it? If it wasn’t for the sting in the tail this would be a good action story," ," notes Commando Editor Calum Laird in a special introduction to this reprint. "The twist makes it a great one. One which has stuck in my mind for the years since 1967.

"Cortes’ artwork has a darkness about it which lends depth to the story and the cover really sums up what the whole thing’s about. I like to think that Commando’s still about the story values you see here and that someone reading a new tale today will remember it for as long."

Commando No 4392: Cossack
Originally Commando No 454 (January 1970), re-issued as No 1275 (December 1978)
Story: Peter Newark Art: Victor de la Fuente Cover Art: Penalva

For centuries the Cossack horsemen rode to war over the mighty steppes, their sabres red with blood, their savage battle-cries chilling their enemies with fear. But their greatest battles came in the Second World War when they pitted horse and sabre against Nazi tanks and machine guns.

It was a hard, tough war, even for the Cossacks — so you can guess what it was like for an RAF air-gunner who escaped from a German prison camp and rode with them!

"An RAF air gunner, just escaped from a German prison camp and riding with a distrustful band of sabre-wielding Cossack warriors, should be enough to get any keen Commando reader reaching for a copy.," says former editor George Low of this classic. "A challenging cover from Penalva and inside artwork from the incomparable Victor de la Fuente will more than satisfy the most demanding of fans. Peter Newark wrote the script and he was a master at this type of story which was the sixth to go on sale in 1970."

Commando No 4393: Operation Leviathan
Story: Sean Blair Art: John Ridgway Cover Art: John Ridgway

When the German onslaught forced France to capitulate in 1940, Frenchmen were forced to choose between co-existing with the invaders by serving the Vichy government or fighting on with the Allies. When Allied ships bombarded the French fleet to prevent it falling into German hands, killing many French sailors in the process, French loyalties were further divided.

Which way would the crew of the mighty French submarine Leviathan - with her twin eight-inch guns and ability to disappear below the waves - go?

Commando No 4394: Flak Alley
Story: Ferg Handley Art: Vila Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

In 1943, Pilot Officer Chris Buckley completed his photo-reconnaissance course and was delighted to be out of a stuffy classroom. Finally he was at the controls of a P51 Mustang.
As expected, he soon found himself dodging flak in the skies above German-occupied Europe. What he didn’t expect was to be dodging even more flak from his CO - who was convinced that Chris wasn’t up to the job!

• 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

Upping the action with new Commandos

Four new Commando titles are now on sale in all good newsagents. With Colditz wowing audiences on Yesterday, and the complete BBC TV series out now on DVD, surely there's no better time to pick up a war comic?

Commando 4343 Killer Shark
Story: K. P. Mackenzie Art: Peter Foster Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally No 2722 from 1993

Hitler’s U-boats were the killer sharks of the Second World War, roaming the oceans of the world, terrorising the shipping lanes. Gerhard Hagen, a Nazi to the core, was one of the most ruthless skippers of those hunter submarines.

But even a killer shark will eventually meet its match, and time was running out for Hagen…

Commando 4344 Action Team
Story: Ian Clark Art: Denis McLoughlin Cover: Alan Burrows
Originally No 2655 from 1993

Wangling a place in a special Combined Action Group, working with Vietnamese villagers, Marine Wayne Norris was sure he’d be a lot safer now than with the regular troops in the front line.

But he was about to learn the hard way that the CAG wasn’t called an ACTION team for nothing — especially when there seemed to be a traitor in their midst, sabotaging their every move!

Commando 4345 Operation “Ice-Breaker”
Story: Sean Blair Art: Vila Cover: Janek Matysiak

The Arctic ice cap — freezing, windswept and inhospitable. In the period when East and West faced each other in a tense nuclear stand-off, many things were concealed on and below its wasted landscape. From submarines to top-secret bases, the cloaking ice covered all.

But nothing was as monstrous as the weapon created by a team of ruthless scientists working for the Soviets and led by the mysterious “Chief Technician.”

Commando 4346 Seeing Double
Story: Mac Macdonald Art: Carlos Pino Cover: Carlos Pino

So, how did the epitome of evil, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, join forces with a sworn enemy — Britain’s most famous military leader, General Bernard Montgomery — and unwittingly become involved in a madcap, hair-raising adventure in the North African desert?

As you might have guessed, things aren’t quite as they seem. In fact, you may well be seeing double...

• 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.

Aces High! Commando celebrates the Battle of Britain

The latest batch of titles from DC Thomson features the first three books in Commando’s six-book 'Aces High' salute to the RAF on the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Editor Calum Laird commissioned two brand new stories and also scoured the Commando archives for four cracking air stories which haven’t seen the light of day for decades.

Included in the reprints is Mustang Ace, John Ridgway’s first ever Commando book, first published in 1971. At the time he had a day job and it took about four months of evening and weekend work to complete. He used very think board back then and the stack of art stands about six inches high! John has gone on to establish himself as a fixture in the British comics world and the Commando team like to think that DC Thomson gave him a helping hand in the beginning.

The remaining three books in the 'Aces High' series will be released on the 16th September.

Commando 4323: Island Ambush
Story: Sean Blair Art and cover: Mike White

The SOS came through weak and distorted by static. An American survivor of one of the many battles of the Pacific war, calling for help from a lonely island.

Radio operator Eric Aburto aboard PT Boat 1101 heard the message and knew he had to go to the man’s aid -- not only was he a fellow US serviceman…Eric was sure he recognised a voice from his past!

Commando 4324: One-Eyed Ace ('Aces High' story)
Story: Alan Hebden Art and Cover: Keith Page

Newly-commissioned Pilot Officer Johnny Dangerfield dreamed of racking up the five kills needed to call himself an ace -- and was determined to face anything the Nazis threw at him to do it.
However, it was to be the actions of one of his own squadron’s pilots that would cause him to lose an eye and Johnny’s dreams of being an ace would be over... Or were they?

Commando 4325: Mustang Ace ('Aces High' story)
Story: Mac Macdonald Art: John Ridgway Cover: Ken Barr
Originally No 546 from 1971

An ace... that’s what Joe Jennings was, one of the few gifted pilots who could make his kite do anything but talk. Nobody believed there was a Jerry alive who could match Joe in combat.

Yet the day did dawn when Joe was shot down in flames. And how it came about makes a fantastic story.

Commando 4326: Clash of Aces ('Aces High' story)
Story: Peter Newark Art: Amador Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally No 465 from 1970

When Squadron-Leader Alec Scott in his old, lumbering Gloster Gladiator was set about by a flashing Messerchmitt 109, it was David and Goliath all over again.

This time David needed more than a sling to down Goliath -- but the big ’un was cut down to size just the same!

• 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

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

Commando Strikes!

Here's the rundown of the latest Commando titles on sale now from DC Thomson, which continue in part to celebrate artist Ian Kennedy's 40-year plus career...

Commando 4263: Fury Strike
Story: Alan Hemus Inside artwork and full wraparound cover: Ian Kennedy (Originally published in No 3024 from 1997)

Have a look at how these two aircraft — one British, one Soviet — match up:

HAWKER SEA FURY
ENGINE — 2470hp piston
SPEED — 460mph
ARMAMENT — 4x20mm cannon

MiG 15
ENGINE — 2700kg thrust turbojet
SPEED — 680mph
ARMAMENT — 1x37mm machine gun, 2x23mm machine guns

Which one do you think would come out on top in a dogfight? Maybe the MiG? Well, you’ll find out if you read this amazing story...

Commando 4264: Jack's Private War

Story: Ken Gentry Inside artwork and cover: Ian Kennedy (Originally No 813 from 1974. Ian’s first complete story/cover combination)

“A splinter of metal is lodged in your heart. If it moves, you will die." These words struck Flight-Lieutenant Jack Hammond like a hammer blow.

His immediate thought was to lie still, keep quiet, not move. But then he reasoned — if I’ve got to go, I might as well go out fighting! It was then that Jack declared his own private war on the Nazis — and he didn’t care whether he survived it or not.

"Ken Gentry was, I think, based in South Africa," notes Commando editor Calum Laird, "which in the days of snail mail made the delivery of one of his scripts a long drawn-out process, especially if there were changes need to the synopsis."

Commando No 4265: Blast From The Past

Story: Alan Hebden Inside art and cover: Keith Page

When the Germans bulldozed their way into France in 1940, it re-awakened memories of the First World War.

In one case it also re-awakened a vast cache of explosives left forgotten in that country. A terrifying reminder of what had happened 25 years before. And for one soldier, Lieutenant Johnny Stafford of the Royal Engineers, this was only the first blast from the past this war would bring.

Commando No 4266: Battle Over Britain

Story: Sean Blair Inside artwork and cover: José Maria Jorge

In June 1940, the RAF battled in the skies of over Britain to turn back armadas of German bombers and fighters launched against them. The fighting was desperate and deadly.

But this wasn’t the first time that British airmen had done battle in those same skies. Years earlier, airborne attackers had streamed across from Europe to attack. And just as in 1940, it was up to a handful of brave men to turn them back.

• For more information, check out the official Commando site at: 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