COMMANDO EARLY TITLES
Created
Commando
war stories in pictures published by D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd, were first
released June 1961 with issue 1: 'Walk - or Die' this title was later released as
issue 2523.
Below
are the first ten titles with their respected reprints inc: the story outline,
author, cover artist and story artist.
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1 WALK - OR DIE! June 1961 |
2523 Reprint of Issue 1 December 1991 |
2 THEY CALLED HIM COWARD! June 1961 |
2531 Reprint of Issue 2 January 1992 |
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The Story…Corporal Tom
Gerrard of the Royal Armoured Corps was just an ordinary bloke, easy going
and cheerful. Colonel Karl Oberth, tank commander, was a brutal, merciless
Nazi officer. And somewhere out in the scorching inferno of the Here then is the story of the
epic fight put up by Tom and his crew against the might and power of the
panzers and their swaggering colonel who thought he could sweep the British
off the face of the desert. Author: Castle Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Amador Garcia. |
The Story…The victorious
Japanese Army was island-hopping its ruthless way towards Australia, and many
a brave Aussie soldier standing his ground on the jungle-covered islands was
bulldozed aside by the sheer power of the enemy. One Englishman caught up in
this desperate battle had been christened Bob Palmer. COWARD was the name the
Aussies had branded him with, though, and that made him the lonliest soldier
in the company… for nobody speaks to a coward. But Bob was as brave as any
man, and he was out to prove that - with a vengeance! Author: Castle Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Armando Bonato. |
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3 A GUY NEEDS GUTS July 1961 |
2539 Reprint of Issue 3 February 1992 |
4 MERCY FOR NONE! July 1961 |
2547 Reprint of Issue 4 March 1992 |
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The Story… And yet even they yielded
pride of place to a unit of their truck drivers, dare-devil fighting fools
who - to keep the vital supply lines open - blazed a trail of blood and glory
across the desert sands. Author: Eric Hebden Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: C.T. Rigby. |
The Story… Sitting tensely
together in the Dakota on their way to the night drop into Occupied Europe,
ten hand-picked paratroopers jokingly nicknamed themselves the ten little
soldier boys. Fate must have smiled, for it turned out to be a grim and deadly
jest. One by one, at the hands of
the Nazis, they were picked off. One by one, they died the death of heroes… Author: Castle Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Gordon
Livingstone. |
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5 HELLFIRE LANDING August 1961 |
2555 Reprint of Issue 5 April 1992 |
6 THEY CAME BY NIGHT August 1961 |
2563 Reprint of Issue 6 May 1992 |
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The Story…Street by street
through a small coastal town in Occupied France, a Commando group was
fighting desperately towards its target. Down a lane they were suddenly faced
with a blank wall. They turned back, only to find that Nazi storm-troopers
had sealed the entrance with muderous machine-gun fire. But on this mission there
could be no giving up. They had to fight their way onward - for they had been
entrusted with the almost impossible task of seeking out Author: Castle Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Leopoldo Ortiz. |
The Story…Without warning the
U-boat periscope broke the surface to focus on the Locksea Lighthouse. Then
slowly the glistening, black hull came up from the depths. No one could deny
the courage and cool cheek of this German captain who was out to capture this
vital link in the guiding of Allied convoys in the Then, into what was to become
one of the most fantastic adventures of the war, sailed skipper Jimmy Cleeves
and his R.A.F. rescue launch… Author: Coughlin Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Ros |
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7 THE SHIP THEY COULDN'T
SINK July 1961 |
2571 Reprint of Issue 7 June 1992 |
8 RED RUNS THE RIVER July 1961 |
2579 Reprint of Issue 8 July 1992 |
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The Story…The mighty German
battleship lay silent in the Atlantic fog, waiting, her guns loaded and
ready. And straight into this trap a convoy of heavily laden Allied merchant
ships was sailing. On the radar screen the German
captain watched its progress with a grim smile. He was master of their fate
and would not spare a single ship. But there was still a gleam of hope for
the convoy - a destroyer of the Royal Navy which made up with the courage of
its crew what it lacked in size and fire-power. Author: Gray Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Ferran Sostres. |
The Story…Many and fearsome
are the perils on a swift-flowing jungle river after dark. The men of the
Japanese river patrols knew all these dangers but, armed to the teeth, they
feared none of them. Then, one black night, there
glided into that swirling river a new menace that was to strike terror into
every Jap…a British soldier with hatred in his heart and a Commando knife
clamped between his teeth. Author: Eric Hebden Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Raphael Auraleon. |
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9 JUNGLE FURY! October 1961 |
2587 Reprint of Issue 9 August 1992 |
10 HUN BAIT October 1961 |
2595 Reprint of Issue 10 September 1992 |
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The Story…In the dense
Burmese jungles, a soldier had a thousand enemies - the wild animals, the
snakes and poisonous insects, the deadly fevers. But for the retreating
British there was an even deadlier enemy…the elusive Japs who struck suddenly
then melted back into cover like ghosts. Sergeant Tom Flynn and a
handful of men had the tough task of fighting their way through against such
an enemy. And with them they brought a vital prize - a massive fortune in
solid gold! Author: Coughlin Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: C.T. Rigby. |
The Story…They were keeping
him away from the front-line - a man like Sergeant John Kelly? This big
Aussie had such a deep hatred that it turned him into a fighting fury, a
battling, raging first class soldier. But John Kelly was not a
quitter and exciting was the path he trod to defy authority and get his hands
on the enemy! Author: Castle Cover Art: Ken Barr. Story Art: Gordon
Livingstone. |
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© D. C. Thomson & Co
Ltd |
Vic Whittle 2006 |
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