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A bevy of Jeff Bevan covers for Commando, out this week

By John Freeman on May 1, 2019

Pirates in disguise on the cold seas, airmen trapped in a secret U-boat den, a dispatch runner behind enemy lines in World War One and a day of doom for one British naval lieutenant! It’s all going on in brand new issues of Commando from DC Thomson (Issues 5223 – 5226), out this Thursday and available through all good newsagents.

This release offers not one but two tremendous covers by the late, great Jeff Bevan, as well as all-new covers from Graeme Neil Reid and Neil Roberts.

Plus, don’t forget the brilliant The Art of Ian Kennedy, an astonishing trip through decades of work for DCT, is on sale now, available to order in all good bookshops, including Amazon here. (Read about the book’s official launch here and a review here)

Here’s your guide to the upcoming issues…

Commando 5223 – Home of Heroes: Guardians of the War Grave
Story: Dominic Teague | Art: Vicente Alcazar | Cover: Neil Roberts

Vicente Alcazar makes a triumphant return to Commando after a too-long hiatus! And we’re extremely glad he came back to lend his unique, gritty style to Dominic Teague’s epic tale of pirates and privateers in the cold North Atlantic and beyond! With an ominous and mysterious cover by Neil Roberts, the story of Guardians of the War Grave just might surprise you!

Commando 5224 – Gold Collection: Cave of Secrets
Story: Watson | Art: Watson | Cover: Jeff Bevan
Originally Commando No. 930 (1975)

We’ve got double the Jeff Bevan for this run of Commandos, kicking it off with the never before reprinted classic, “Cave of Secrets”! An exciting story about three airmen who crash-land on a mystery island that just happens to have a big U-boat shaped secret! You won’t believe the capers these airmen get into to survive – including floating a depth charge on a dinghy!

Commando 5225 – Action and Adventure: Mud and Mayhem
Story: George Low | Art: Paolo Ongaro | Cover: Graeme Neil Reid

There’s nothing but mud and mayhem in the trenches of George Low’s story, and poor Private Ned Nolan just can’t seem to catch a break! As if running across the war-torn hellscape of the First World War front line wasn’t bad enough, Ned’s luck is about to get worse when he gets blown off his aching feet and straight into a crater face to face with a Jerry!

Commando 5226 – Silver Collection: Day of Doom
Story: CG Walker | Art: Peter Foster | Cover: Jeff Bevan
Originally Commando No. 2666 (1993)

“Day of Doom” is the second half of the Jeff Bevan double feature in this Commando run! Based on the interior image on page 16, Bevan’s stunning wraparound cover is bright and magnificent, and really depicts the feeling of CG Walker’s doom-laden story about Lieutenant Peter Cobb, a man whose luck just keeps getting worse. And that’s not even mentioning Cobb’s run-in with a Greek obsessed with his old gun!

• The Art of Ian Kennedy is available to order here on Amazon (Using this Affiliate Link helps support downthetubes, thank you)

• Read Colin Noble’s review of The Art of Ian Kennedy

• Read Jeremy Briggs report on the official Launch of the book

• Commando Comics on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.