Commando
Issues 4919-4922 – On Sale 2 June 2016
Commando
No 4919 – Seeing Red
Second
Lieutenant Wesley Muldoon was a gifted but hot-headed U.S. air force pilot.
Before being called up he had studied politics at university and held unpopular
communist beliefs.
Seizing a chance to ferry an
aircraft to America’s Soviet allies, Muldoon was delighted to see Russia for
himself. Soon he even became part of a Russian squadron, flying his Airacobra
P39 aircraft against the Luftwaffe hordes.
However, despite his idealised
views, Muldoon realised he could not trust all of his new “comrades” and that
danger lay ahead.
Story:
Shane Filer
Art:
Rezzonico
Cover: Ian
Kennedy
Commando
No 4920 – Half-Pint Commando
It was a
Commando raid with a difference. Among the elite soldiers, fighting right
alongside with a tommy-gun was a boy of only sixteen who wasn’t even in the
army!
When the Commandos found young
Terry Nelson stowed away on their landing craft, it was too late to do anything
but give him a gun and take him along — and the boy gave those hardy warriors
no cause to ever regret it.
Introduction
I can only
imagine that there was a fair amount of trying to anticipate reader
wish-fulfilment when this story was first published 50 years ago. Perhaps not,
but I guess that most fans would’ve loved to find themselves in the shoes of
Terry Nelson — the sixteen-year-old hero who stows away on a landing craft
during a daring Commando raid.
Yes, I’ll admit the premise might
be stretching credibility a tad but that’s fine with me every now and again.
We’re all about delivering exciting adventure and action and this tale
certainly fits that criteria.
Scott
Montgomery, Deputy Editor
Half-Pint
Commando, originally Commando No 225 (August 1966)
Story:
McOwan
Art:
Segrelles
Cover:
Hall
Commando
No 4921 – A Soldier’s Legacy
Private
Steve Kirby was very skilled and more than ready for the tough basic training
that he and his fellow new recruits had to endure in the spring of 1944.
Eventually the instructors wanted
to know why Steve seemed to have an advantage over everyone else. The dedicated
conscript revealed that has father had been an infantry corporal in World War
One and Kirby Senior had taken it upon himself to train his son in military
drills and techniques, should they ever be needed.
However, Steve soon discovered
that his father’s legacy was not always a welcome one and, of course, no amount
of training could truly prepare anyone for combat…
Story:
Ferg Handley
Art: Keith
Page
Cover:
Keith Page
Commando No
4922 – Trial By Combat
The
Patwari Rifles was a proud regiment, one of the Indian Army’s finest fighting
units. So when one of their platoons disappeared in Burma, evidently having
deserted to the Japanese, the regiment’s shame was fierce.
There was only one thing to do —
the guilty men had to be brought back to prove themselves in battle against the
enemy. If they were to die honourably doing it, so much the better — for that
was the way of the Patwari Rifles. Death with honour was better than the disgrace
of a court-martial.
Introduction
One of the
interesting things about selecting stories from our archives is finding out the
working titles of these classic tales. Of course, some were perfunctory — so
that staff could keep a track of the latest “Submarine” or “Machine-Gunner”
script.
“Trail By Combat”, though, had
the wonderfully lurid working title of “Slaves Of Kali” — and it certainly tied
in well with Ian Kennedy’s fantastic cover, which features a shadowy rendition
of the Hindu deity. However, the then-editorial team undoubtedly made the right
decision as the eventual published title reflected the actual theme of the
story more succinctly.
Scott
Montgomery. Deputy Editor
Trial By
Combat, originally Commando No 1124 (May 1977), re-issued as No 2467 (May 1991)
Story:
R.A. Montague
Art:
Castro
Cover: Ian
Kennedy
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