World War One saboteurs, bob sleighing Generals and more in new Commando comics!

By John Freeman on February 8, 2018

The latest issues of DC Thomson’s war comic Commando (Issues 5095 – 5098) are on sale now in all good newsagents and via various digital platforms. Soldiers sabotage Jerry lines after the Somme during World War One, bobsleigh down mountains in the French Alps with Allied generals, speed away in a Singer sports car through Singapore, and dig their way to freedom with the Sappers!

Commando 5095: Home of Heroes – Seized at the Somme
Story: Ferg Handley | Art: Morhain | Cover: Ian Kennedy

In what became known as The Great War, no other battle was as infamous as the Somme. With 20,000 British troops killed on the first day, it is an offensive that will never be forgotten. But when British Privates Billy Osgood and Alfie Adams are captured during the battle by the Germans, they are led away from the front line to a German POW camp where they are forced to work against the Allies. Well, not if Billy and Alfie have a thing or two to say about it!

Ferg Handley’s story is a chilling account of the brutality inflicted on prisoners of war, as his Allied heroes suffer at the hands of the Huns. Meanwhile, Morhain’s interior artwork, alongside Ian Kennedy’s hauntingly realistic cover are full of danger, from the jagged trees, barbed wire and wide open threat of no man’s land, to the claustrophobic intensity of the trenches!

Commando 5096: Gold Collection – And Everywhere that Casey Went…
Story: Gerry Finley-Day | Art: Aguilar | Cover: Penalva
Originally Commando No. 458 (February 1970). Reprinted No. 1311 (April 1979)

Handcuffed together, Yank Butch Casey and Commando Bill Craig hated each other’s guts. But now, with Jerries dressed as American M.P.s and a plan to assassinate a New Year’s party full of Allied generals, they were going to have to work together. Racing to the villa on Mont Ceindre in the French Alps, getting up there would be easy compared to getting back down alive…

Penned by Gerry Finley-Day of Battle Picture Weekly fame, and illustrated by Aguilar, this issue doesn’t shy away from action or atmosphere, creating a delightful winter package, wrapped up in neat bow with a dynamic snowscape cover from Penalva.

Commando 5097: Action and Adventure – Singapore Strike
Story: George Low | Art: Keith Page | Cover: Janek Matysiak

Light as a feather and with not an inch of spare flesh on his scrawny frame, Fred Burton looked as though he could be knocked down by the next strong gust of wind. But looks could be very deceiving, as one Japanese Kempeitai captain was about to find out, for Fred was actually a master of martial arts!

George Low’s story fleets from one side of the world to another, trading the rain-soaked London Docks for a tropical paradise, as Janek Matysiak’s cover and Keith Page’s interiors offer a bright and sunny alternative to the winter gloom for you to lose yourself in!

Commando 5098: Silver Collection – The Sappers
Story: Roger Sanderson | Art: Keith Shone | Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No. 2672 (June 1993)

The Corps of Royal Engineers or ‘Sappers’ were a hardy bunch – and they had to be. Digging under enemy lines, the conditions were dark, damp and cramped, so it wasn’t long before intense claustrophobia could set in. That was precisely what happened to Martin Clark, after he was buried alive under Le Chateau Noir, only managing to dig himself free three days later.

Now, working as a desk wallah in the Second World War, would he ever be able to go underground again? And if he did, would he be able to finish what he started twenty-nine years earlier?

Keith Shone’s interior artwork perfectly complements the dark mood and grit of Roger Sanderson’s story, compacting the characters within his frames and drawing on the dreaded sense of claustrophobia, you cannot help but feel when reading this issue!

Commando is Britain’s longest serving war comic, publishing stories of action and adventure since 1961. These stories, with their mixture of excitement, danger and courage under fire, and the dynamic artwork that accompanies them, have won the comic a loyal readership over the decades. On land, at sea, and in the air, Commando’s stories cover every corner of the globe and are set throughout world history, the epic tales of bravery in battle making Commando Comics the Home of Heroes!

Web: www.commandocomics.com

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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.