Commando No 4579 – The Regimental Spoon
Soldiers’
lucky charms and mascots come in all shapes and sizes — from medallions to pet
goats and all things in between. But surely one of the oddest objects to become
a talisman of good fortune was a spoon. Yes, that’s right, a humble spoon.
Don’t believe it? Well, between these covers
is the story of how this kitchen utensil went to war with generations of the
same family — and returned home safely every time.
Make up your own mind if the tale is true.
Story:
Mac MacDonald
Art:
Keith Page
Cover:
Keith Page
Commando
No 4580 – Burma Vengeance
In
the dense Burmese jungle, British troops were being driven back towards India,
their spirits sapped by a series of defeats at the hands of the advancing
Japanese.
Corporal Dan Farley had been left in command
of a group of fearful survivors. They expected to be killed at any moment…but
then a grizzled veteran Sergeant – ruthless and tough – came of out of nowhere
to save their skins.
Dan wanted to be like this lethal newcomer,
but the mysterious NCO was on a mission of his own. He had a score to settle
with a brutal Japanese Colonel. This quest was personal and it could only end
in death…but whose?
Story:
Alan Hebden
Art:
Vila
Cover:
Janek Matysiak
Commando No 4581 – Hero From Hollywood
Almost
every man has a hero…the one bloke in all the world he’d give his right arm to
be like. Corporal Joe Brent’s number one he-man was the big, granite-fisted
American film-star – Chet Marvin.
In the days before the war, Joe queued up to
see every movie he made, and marvelled at the sheer guts of the man.
Then, one day in 1941, against a background
of exploding German bombs and throbbing aero-engines, Corporal Joe Brent and
his celluloid hero met face to face. It should have been the greatest day in
Joe’s life.
But this was no Hollywood film set. This was
war! And when the shot and shell are no longer blanks, it’s easy to sort out
the men from the boys…
Introduction
A
little bit of “conspiracy theory” never goes amiss in Commando and author Eric
Hebden takes full advantage here with his invasion that never was. The main
thrust of the story, though, is a hero with feet of clay — or a bad case of the
jitters — and he manages that with equal aplomb.
The art is strong, inside and outside, by
two men who handle the drawing of horses with the same skill as Hebden handles
the story. And horses, as the best of artists will tell you, are tricky beasts
to capture.
Giddy-up and get reading!
Calum
Laird, Editor
Hero
From Hollywood originally Commando No84 (August 1963), re-issued as No559 (June
1971)
Story:
Eric Hebden
Art:
Jones
Cover:
Alvaro
Commando No 4582 – The Secret Tanks
The
French Char-B tank was one of the best fighting vehicles of the Second World
War. But France had surrendered in 1940 so why were there a lot of them in the
desert in 1943? And why did they have enemy markings? It was a secret which the
Germans were determined to hide but which the Allies were equally determined to
uncover.
Introduction
This
solid tale features a story-telling device that works well in Commando – the
linking of World War II with the Great War which had ended a little over twenty
years previously. Here, the connection is a fighting father and son, and the
dependable sergeant that served alongside them both.
Then, of course, throw into the mix the
“Secret Tanks” of the title – great, clanking French Char Bs – and we have a
classic in the making.
Commando legend Gordon Livingstone’s art is
up to his usual high standard here, and shows his versatility in drawing action
and adventure, whatever the conflict.
Scott
Montgomery, Deputy Editor
The
Secret Tanks, originally Commando no 2210 (August 1988), re-issued as No 3708
(April 2004)
Story:
David Heptonstall
Art:
Gordon Livingstone
Cover:
Jeff Bevan
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