Official Commando pressrelease for issue 4000
THIS MEANS WAR!
Still going strong more than 45 years after they first blasted onto British newsstands, Commando celebrates its landmark 4000th issue in April 2007.
These 65-page, pocket-size comic books - with their pulpy, lurid covers, adorned with the instantly recognisable Fairburn Sykes dagger and logo - were always filled with thrilling tales of wartime bravery, honour, treachery and revenge.
Whether air, sea, or land-based - hurtling over the skies of the Battle of Britain; deep in the claustrophobic humidity of the Burmese jungle; or stifling in the arid African desert, Commando always promised a cracking good read.
The very first issue was "Walk - Or Die!" published in June 1961, illustrated by Amador Garcia, and sporting the first of many garishly exciting covers by artist Ken Barr, who was instrumental in setting the visual tone for the ensuing five decades of comic strip entertainment, many with hard-hitting titles like "A Guy Needs Guts", "Blood River" and "Cold Steel".
Commando was initially launched as Dundee-based publisher DC Thomson & Co Ltd’s answer to War Picture Library, printed by their main business rival, International Publishing Company (IPC).
In their 1960s and 70s heyday, the success story of the Boys paper and picture libraries were a publishing phenomenon. Appropriately enough -- given the subject matter -- there was a major war between ‘the big two’ for supremacy of the newsstands. DC Thomson had the likes of Victor, Hotspur and Warlord, while IPC’s arsenal included Battle and Action, in addition to their picture libraries. Weekly circulation figures were regularly in the hundreds of thousands.
"Those were the glory days," says George Low, Commando editor, "and we peaked at a figure of 750,000 copies in one month during the seventies. Very satisfying and exciting."
Although Commando almost always printed stories about the Second World War to begin with, there are now tales from almost any conflict, including themes from Roman times to the Gulf War. As long as there is an exciting action yarn with a morally minded hero at its core, almost any time period will be considered.
Now, sadly, in the age of DVD, Playstation and I-Pod, many publications have bitten the dust. However, Commando survives, stubbornly refusing to surrender in the dwindling comics market place, that now counts only The Dandy, Beano, and 2000AD as the publishers of wholly original material.
In 2005, Carlton Books released The Dirty Dozen: The 12 Best Commando Books Ever!. This large format compilation book was a big hit, and True Brit followed up this success, a year later. A third volume is planned for publication in Autumn 2007, and a special ANZAC edition for Australia and New Zealand is also due out very soon.
"What does the future hold?" asks George Low. "Well, that’s up to us all in a way. We’ll do our best here to keep our writers and artists busy with new stories of exciting heroes and evil villains. Just go out and buy them and we’ll all be happy!"
In the meantime, Commando enthusiasts can enjoy reading the 4000th issue, a mysterious tale about a reckless Czech pilot and the legacy he left behind among a group of former colleagues.
(Commando, No. 4000 is "Aces All!"- published on April 24.)
