Home › Comics › British Comics › Convict Soldiers, Snipers and Viking Warriors in action in new Commandos!

Convict Soldiers, Snipers and Viking Warriors in action in new Commandos!

By John Freeman on May 22, 2014

Here’s the full intel on the latest issues of war comic Commando from DC Thomson, on sale today in all good newsagents and for iPad and iphone.

Commando No 4707 – Target America
Story: Alan Hebden Art: Manuel Benet Cover: Manuel Benet
Preview: www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4707

Corporal “Spider” Mackay, the Convict Commandos’ replacement safe-cracker could be a handy man in a fight. Fearless and with a ruthless streak that struck fear into his enemies, he had yet to be bested.

This time, though, he’d been too hasty in his pursuit of a scrap and had got himself trapped in an intercontinental rocket with a monster high-explosive warhead under his seat. And in case you hadn’t guessed, the rocket’s target was America.

Was there any way out for Spider?

Commando No 4708 – Killer Gun
Originally Commando No 121 (June 1964), re-issued as No 659 (July 1972)
Story: Eric Hebden Art: Cortes Cover: Ken Barr
Preview: www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4708

Sergeant Gareth Owen’s sniper’s rifle was a short magazine Lee-Enfield No. 3 Mark 1(T), fitted with a Pattern 18 telescopic sight of X3 magnification.

He carefully set the wind scale and made a lateral adjustment to the telescope’s range drum. A Nazi head came into the sights, and Gareth’s crooked finger took the first gentle but deadly pressure on the trigger…

“If I told you the original working title of this story, you’ll realise just how far ahead of the game the early Commando scriptwriters, like Eric Hebden, actually were,” notes editor Calum Laird of this re-presented story. “Lurking underneath Ken Barr’s fantastic two-for-the-price-of-one cover (a full-colour illustration and a two-tone red and black one) is a tale of a man with the stain of shame on his character. An unjustified mark, perhaps, but it’s there all the same.

The story follows him and some of the disparate characters who make up a Commando team, beautifully rendered by Senor Cortes whose black and white work verges on the “film noir” with his fantastic shadow lighting.

What was the working title, you ask? Band Of Brothers!|

Commando No 4709 – Viking Warriors
Story: George Low Art: Jaume Forns Cover: Janek Matysiak
Preview: www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4709

Was that really a marauding Viking longship cutting through the waves alongside a sleek German E-Boat? Had some strange time machine brought them together?

No. It was all for a propaganda film being made in Nazi-Occupied Denmark in 1942. The Nazis wished to emphasise that their creed was akin to the wild Viking spirit shown by the legendary Berserker, Ragnar The Red.

However, all was not well — strange accidents started to happen all around as the film’s premiere approached. But it couldn’t have anything to do with Ragnar, could it?

Commando No 4710 – Two Minutes to Zero
Originally Commando No 937 (May 1975), re-issued as No 2267 (April 1989)
Story: Alan Lomas Art: Pat Wright Cover: Ian Kennedy
Preview: www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4710

The French village church lay bathed in the rays of a watery moon. The pale light threw black, gloomy shadows which hid the stealthy forms of two British soldiers grimly inching their way up to the roof. One slip meant disaster — not only because of the height but because the church was full of Nazis!

“Two minutes? I’d better get a move on…” says Deputy Editor Scott Montgomery as he’s asked to introduce this story.

“Here our main character — Bombardier Ted Marchmont — goes on an interesting dramatic journey; one that most fictional characters should go on in some shape or form.

“Apart from looking out for his mate, Gunner Tug Wilson, Ted seems to have few redeeming qualities — being arrogant, cynical, war-weary and clashing with his father, a high-ranking (and despairing) military career man.

“So, when embroiled in a siege against the attacking Germans, will our anti-hero become a true Commando hero?

“Join Ted on his journey and find out. But you’d better be quick. The clock is still ticking.

• There are more details of Commando on the official Commando website, the Commando Facebook page

• Commando Collections: Checklist

DOWNTHETUBES EXCLUSIVE COMMANDO SUBSCRIPTION OFFER

If you’re looking for a gift for a British comics fan, downthetubes has an EXCLUSIVE discount on a subscription to DC Thomson’s Commando comic, simply by ordering through the DC Thomson Online Shop using our special discount code.

• Follow this dedicated link to DC Thomson’s Commando subscription page

Some of our readers reported problems with the link recently, but the technical team at DC Thomson have now fixed things – so if you follow the link above, the discount is automatically applied – you do NOT need to enter the COMDT promotional code. Ignore the discount field on the check out page, too.

• More information on our dedicated Commando Subscription Offer Page

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.