Commando Hits The Beach!

Thinking of hitting the beach this summer? Why not go Commando?

Nearly 50 years after it first invaded British news-stands, DC Thomson's pocket digest title Commando celebrates the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 2009 with the publication of eight action-packed stories that take readers straight into the heart of the battle.

Offering "thrilling stories of heroism on land, sea and air," including Fight Fire With Fire, Terror On The Battlefield and D-Day Plus, the issues follow the fortunes of ordinary Allied soldiers as they bravely take to the Normandy beaches and fight to defeat their German foes.

“D-Day was without doubt the most important 24 hours in the history of the Western World,” explains Commando editor, Calum Laird.

“Had we not had the benefit of the selfless efforts of the huge number of soldiers, sailors and airmen involved on that day, history would have been much blacker. Our eight stories, though fictional, are our way of saluting that generation while spreading the story of what they did. And what we owe them.”

Launched by Dundee-based publisher DC Thomson & Co Ltd in June 1961, Commando's very first issue was Walk – Or Die!, illustrated by Amador Garcia. It sported the first of many garish, exciting covers by artist Ken Barr, one amongst many early artists who set the visual tone for the ensuing five decades of comic strips, many with hard-hitting titles like Blood River and Cold Steel.

These pocket-sized books − their dynamic covers adorned with an iconic dagger logo – were filled with tales of wartime valour, honour, treachery and revenge. In their heyday, Commando was a publishing phenomenon. Circulation figures were huge: peaking at an amazing 750,000 copies one month during the 1970s.

To begin with, Commando almost always carried stories about the Second World War. Now, though, the reader can expect tales from almost any conflict, from Roman times to the first Gulf War. As long as there is an exciting action yarn with a morally-minded hero at its core, any time period will be considered. In the age of Blu-Ray, Playstation and iPod, Commando survives, stubbornly refusing to surrender in the dwindling comics market place.

Calum Laird also notes that this much-loved, comic institution has avid readers amongst members of the Armed Forces. Apparently, they are the ideal size for combat trouser pockets.

“I'm pleased to say that we send our regular bundles of Commandos to the men of Operation Herrick in Afghanistan,” says Laird. “If the professionals like to read our tales, it's good enough for me.”

In 2005, Carlton Books released The Dirty Dozen: The 12 Best Commando Books Ever!. This large format compilation book was a big hit, and more followed. The seventh volume, Fight Or Die!, a hand-picked collection of classic D-Day tales is due out very soon.

“Commando may have been at the heart of many a battle for 48 years, a veteran by anyone's standards, but it's not ready to throw in the towel just yet,” concludes Laird.


“Readers can expect more action and adventure every month for a long time to come.”

• Commando’s D-Day stories are Issues 4203-4206, published on 11th June − followed by Issues 4207-4210, out on 25th June 25. Visit www.commandomag.com for features, cover galleries, wallpapers, exclusive merchandise and subscription information.

Is The Dandy the World's Oldest Comic?

Mooching through some piles of old comics over the weekend, one of our readers noticed a 2007 issue of The Dandy (Issue 3007) proudly proclaimed the title was now a "record breaking longest running comic ever!"

Thanks to The Dandy's frequency change to a fortnightly title in recent years, in terms of number of issues The Beano has now claimed that title - and of course Commando, with eight issues a month, also beats its 2007 record. But The Dandy remains the UK's oldest comic... but is it also the world's oldest comic?

Surprisingly, in the UK, if you asked anyone what the most famous long-running UK comic was (even if they're not collectors) then the answer would most likely be The Beano. It's a question that's fooled many a TV quiz entrant down the years. In fact, it's DC Thomson's The Dandy (originally named The Dandy Comic, until June 1950), its first issue date 4th December 1937.

Commando, The Beano and The Dandy's have long beaten the previous "most issues" record holder, which was Comic Cuts, a title that ran for 3006 weekly issues, from 17th May 1890 until 12th September 1953. The Dandy is now at Number 3471, The Beano, still weekly, at Number 3483 - and Commando, first published in 1963, this month hit issue 4198 with Brotherhood Of Evil.

But what about age? Comic Cuts ran for 63 years and four months old before it merged with fellow Amalgamated Press title Knockout, itself merged with Valiant in 1963. In comparison, as well as running for more issues, The Dandy is now well into senior citizenship at 71 years, four years and two weeks old. While it may have more issues under its belt the weekly Beano, its first issue dated 30th July 1938, is younger -- currently 70 years, nine months and two weeks old.

However, in terms of sheer longevity, these two stalwart British comic titles are still younger than the longest running comic in the US: DC Comics Detective Comics first monthly issue is dated March 1937, making its current age 72 years and two months, while its nearest US rival is Action Comics, its first monthly issue dated June 1938 (and currently 70 years 11 months old).

Timewise then, Detective Comics is the longest running comic in the western world that we know of. But issue wise, with UK comics traditionally being weekly, The Beano holds the crown.

So The Dandy is the world's oldest longest-running comic? Well, we're pretty sure that The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck, originally published in several languages in Europe in 1837, is no no longer in circulation, or Japan's Shiji no yukikai, first published in 1798. Britain's Boy's Own Paper, first published in 1891, is long gone, as is Australia's The Kookaburra, first published in 1931.

But here on downthetubes, we're well aware that countries whose comics heritage we're not as familiar with may yet lay claim to the crown of oldest ongoing title. We welcome any information readers of this article may have...

While the UK has beaten the US in terms of volume of issues, when it comes to first issue values those DC Comics still hold sway. UK comics generally aren't considered that collectable in the US, so prices of early Dandys and Beanos are a lot less than their respective US 'counterparts'. There are estimated to be only some 30 to 40 extant copies of each of these title's first issues in existence, so they don't come up for auction very often. A copy of The Beano Number 1 sold for £12,100 in 2004, and a copy of The Dandy #1 - complete with free gift - sold for £20,350.

In comparison, an original copy of Detective Comics #27 - the first to feature Batman - has previously sold for $1,470,000 (£968,363), while Detective Comics #1 has sold for $654,000 (£430823). But both have been pipped to the post by a copy of Action Comics #1 featuring Superman - which sold for a staggering $1,560,000, or £1,027,651. (More most-valued US comics here)

Links:

• The History of Comics

• Comic History Links

• British Comics History: Comics UK Site
Includes superb 'family trees' of comics - find out which title merged with what and more...

• Wikipedia: Manga

This piece last updated 21 May 2009. Special thanks to 'Ian' for initial research on this one, and more info from "Yumi")

Original Artwork Competition from Stref

Stephen 'Stref' White, creator of the upcoming graphic novel Milk is offering his fans the chance to own an original piece of signed artwork from the book. Join the Milk fan group on Facebook then follow the links there to answer the ten questions (all the answers can be found within the samples posted on the Milk group page on Facebook).

The competition is open until 1st July 2009, when all the correct entries will be put into a draw, with one lucky winner will be chosen.

Milk is Stephen's first published graphic novel and will soon be available from Insomnia Publications. Highly praised by comics writer Alan Grant, it's a collection of short stories, but unlike most anthology strip titles they're all the work of one man - 'Stref', each piece is masterfully executed in a completely different style.

The book will be about 100 pages long, and consists of at least 14 short stories, a gallery of artwork, and plenty of "back matter" covering Stref's extraordinary style, the history of the project, and his creative techniques and inspirations.

"Milk contains as many styles of storytelling as it does styles of artwork," Stephen revealed in an interview for online popular culture 'zine RKYV last year (Issue 18 - PDF version). "Some stories are simple and straight forward, while others are more cryptic and metaphorical.

"Sometimes when I work I let the pen do its own thing, almost like free association
writing. Often I am left with a picture that I myself do not understand and only after a bit of time can I look back at these pictures and figure them out. I have had something on my mind that needed out, it’s kind of like a process of cleaning out my brain!"

Cold Day at Marvel UK: Strip by Strip Feature

As previously noted, Panini UK has just released Cold Day in Hell, its first collection of Doctor Who strips featuring the Seventh Doctor, played on TV by Sylvester McCoy, in May 2009.

downthetubes has now published an in-depth 'strip by strip' feature based on interviews with most of the strip creators - including Lee Sullivan, John Ridgway, Mike Collins, David Hine and Alan Grant - who worked on the stories featured.

The feature is an extended version of material provided fora back up article published in the collection, and includes comments from writer Simon Furman, who was unable to contribute to the print edition version due to time contsraints.

It also includes material cut for space reason but does not include interview material with the strips' editor, Richard Starkings -- you'll have to buy the book for that!

• Read the Cold Day in Hell Strip by Strip feature on downthetubes

• Buy A Cold Day in Hell from amazon.co.uk

• Buy A Cold Day in Hell from amazon.com