VE-Day, 8th May 1945, marked the end of hostilities on the continent of Europe after six years of fighting. So Commando Lieutenant Andy Rook and his team should have expected a quiet time when they were sent to a remote, mountainous area of Italy.
Unfortunately it seemed that some of the locals hadn’t got the message as bullets continued to fly as thick and fast and deadly as before.
Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover: Keith Page
Young Lieutenant Jim Whitney was a fire-eating paratrooper who asked nothing better than to be dropped where the Nazis were thickest. The more there were around, the more he could shoot, Jim reckoned.
When it came to fighting you couldn’t blame Jim for thinking his middle-aged scientist father was a bit past it. “Boffins” belonged in their laboratories.
Yet in their most dangerous raid to date, to find out about the new German radar detectors in Sicily, Jim only discovered after he’d hit the ground that the VIP who dropped with them to steal the German secrets was none other than his own peace-loving Dad — and that was when the fighting really started…
Introduction
Commando has long had the reputation for clean-cut, lantern-jawed heroes winning out over blood-thirsty fanatical enemies. Whether that’s your take on Commando, I don’t know, but there’s no denying there’s a fanatical, kill-them-at-all-costs character in this tale. And, spoiler alert, he’s British.
Now you didn’t expect that. Or maybe you did. Maybe you saw past the hint in Chaco’s cover.
Alonso’s art is very distinctive, strong blacks, bags of action and movement and his very individual treatment of the character’s eyes. That’s what I recall from my early reading days. It was good to get re-acquainted.
Calum Laird, Commando Editor
Story: Kellie
Art: Alonso
Cover: Chaco
Originally Commando No 95 (December 1963)
The Germans called them The Black Devils — the men who moved through the night to strike swiftly and silently, seemingly at will.
And although the name could have been because of the black camouflage paint they wore on their faces, it could equally well have described the black fear they struck into their enemies’ hearts.
Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Olivera
Cover: Janek Matysiak
Doug Robb and the crew of his flying boat were good blokes, well-trained, steady in action. They did their dangerous job and they did it well.
Then they met Kevin Smythe-Black and his crazy gang of Marine Commandos. That was the day that changed Doug’s airmen into…
PIRATES WITH WINGS
Introduction
Like many comic readers who grew up in the early 1980s, I was a huge fan of Cam Kennedy’s extraordinary art on stories like The VCs, Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd for sci-fi title 2000AD. Back then I was too young to have read any of his Commando books from the previous decade so it has been a complete joy to finally see some of the brilliant Mr Kennedy’s earlier work, packed with the same distinctive and dynamic line art. We’re sure that you will enjoy this bona fide Commando classic from 1974 — simply unmissable stuff.
Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor
Story: R.A. Montague
Art: Cam Kennedy
Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally Commando No 878 (October 1974), re-issued as No 2172 (April 1988)
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