BRITISH PICTURE LIBRARIES

British Comics Homepage

 

Updated: 3rd May 2008

Pocket Libraries have been published since the 19th Century.

They were generally condensed editions of weekly story papers.

This site deals with British Picture Libraries since the late 1950's.

British Picture Libraries: (and there were many publications), were around 7 inches in height and around 5 inches in width and contained around 60 plus pages.

They were created for the older reader with such titles as:

Air Ace Picture Library, Battle Picture Library, Combat Picture Library, Cowboy Picture Library, Eagle Picture Library, Lion Picture Library, Secret Agent Picture Library, Space Picture Library, Starblazer, Super Detective Picture Library, Thriller Picture Library, Valiant Picture Library, War Picture Library, War at Sea Picture Library, Wild West Picture Library etc…

To see some of the various titles Click here.

COMMANDO COMIC has now been in publication for over 40 years and since 1971 there have been 8 issues per month.

If you would like to start a subscription with Commando the address is:

D.C. Thomson & Co Ltd,

The Subscribers Department,

Commando Library,

80 Kingsway East,

Dundee

DD4 8SL.

 

OR FREEPHONE (U.K. ONLY) 0800 318846

This way by the end of your first year’s subscription you will have 96 issues.

LATEST COMMANDO TITLES

4099

H-BOAT VENGEANCE

May 2008

4100

THE NAZI HUNTER

May 2008

4101 (2458)

U-BOAT CURSE

May 2008

4102 (2456)

AT GROUND LEVEL!

May 2008

So, there you are, trapped in an oversized fishing net by the man who has murdered your crew and trapped you by planting a ruthless killer in your command. Now what are you going to do?

 

What you’re going to do, if you’re Dutch Navy Captain Piet De Groot is swear to get even, to bring vengeance down upon that Nazi. The only problem is how3 you’re going to do it.

In the shattered remains of Germany’s “Thousand Year Reich” in 1945, intelligence officer Captain Alan Bishop’s job was to track down those Nazis trying to escape justice. It was often a dirty job but Alan was a professional.

 

Then he was assigned to track down a vicious Gestapo killer called Fritz Seibold and things got personal, very personal.

Ghosts don’t exist, everybody knows that. And definitely not the ghost of a solid steel Nazi U-Boat or her phantom skipper. No, you can’t expect anybody to believe that sort of nonsense.

 

But a word of warning. Be careful what you say to a certain British Merchant Navy captain and his hard-fisted crew. They know more than most about the…

U-BOAT CURSE

It was an entirely new war for Bob Crane and Tubby Evans. One minute they were crewing a Beaufighter over Burma and the next they were down in the jungle, unwilling footsloggers in a Chindit raiding column behind Jap lines.

 

They had to learn the rules of survival fast or die – for neither the jungle nor the Japs were taking prisoners.

Author: Alan Hebden

Author: Mike Knowles

Author: Bernard Gregg

Author: R. A. Montague

Cover Art: John Ridgway

Cover Art: Nicholas Forder

Cover Art: Jeff Bevan

Cover Art: Gordon Livingstone

Interior Art: John Ridgway

Interior Art: Morahin

Interior Art: Denis McLoughlin

Interior Art: Gordon Livingstone

NEXT FOUR ISSUES

BIG GUN… …BIG TARGET

IRON CROSS YANK

WARRIOR KING

STRIKE SQUAD

 

Commando 2008

Commando 2007

Commando 2006

Commando 2005

Commando 2004

Commando 2003

Commando 2002

Commando 2001

Commando 2000

Commando 1999

Commando 1998

Commando 1997

Commando 1996

Commando 1995

Commando 1994

Commando 1993

Commando 1992

Commando 1991

Commando 1990

Commando 1989

Commando 1988

Commando 1987

Commando 1986

Commando 1985

Commando 1984

Commando 1983

Commando 1982

Commando 1981

Commando 1980

Commando 1979

Commando 1978

Commando 1977

Commando 1976

Commando 1975

Commando 1974

Commando 1973

Commando 1972

Commando 1971

Commando 1970

Commando 1969

Commando 1968

Commando 1967

Commando 1966 - 1964

Commando 1963 - 1961

Commando Titles

TITLE LIST 1 - 1000

TITLE LIST 1001 - 2000

TITLE LIST 2001 - 3000

TITLE LIST 3001 - 4000

The run to date is as follows:

2 issues per month (1 - 24) June 1961 - May 1962

3 issues per month (25 - 30) June 1962 - July 1962

4 issues per month (31 - 262) August 1962 - May 1967

6 issues per month (263 - 538) June 1967 - March 1971

8 issues per month (539 - present day) April 1971 - present day

Commando Comics are still issued, if the current run continues, then issue 4500 should be released around July 2012.

Commando First 10 issues with reprints.

Latest Issues (Updated Fortnightly)

I started collecting Commando Comics in 1997, buying most of them at car boot sales & charity shops.

All the titles were original up to issue 538, as issue 539 'Sniper's Island' was a reprint of issue 72.

This started a new trend with previously published titles being reprinted. To date there have been over 800 reprinted titles.

Personally I thought that the overall impact of the covers were spoiled when they started to display the price bar code on the front covers, this practice was started with issue 2339 (January 1990) and ended with issue 3186 (October 1998), when the bar codes were placed on the back cover.

Commando Interior Story Artists

There have been many Commando artists, whom many of you will recognise, such as: C.T. Rigby, Keith Shone, Tacconi, Patrick Wright, Carlos Pino, Fleming, Aguilar, Carrion, Ibanez, Mira, Saichan, Vila etc…

But my favourite story artist for Commando was Gordon Livingstone  who retired in 1999.

I also admire the work of Jose Maria Jorge  John Ridgway  the late Denis McLoughlin and one of the more recent artists Keith Page.

 

Commando Cover Artists

Since dedicating pages to the above artists, I have had many emails requesting information about the cover artists; again there have been many artists, such as: Chaco, Artur Aldoma Puig, Penalva, Benet, Lopez Espi, Ibanez, Jose Maria Jorge, Gordon Livingstone, and John Ridgway etc…

But I think that it is fair to say that the two main cover artists are: Ken Barr who created the earlier covers and Ian Kennedy taking over the mantle from Ken, Ian has now clocked up more than 1000 covers.

J. Bevan was another artist who has created many covers.

 

The pages above have been created to assist with your recognition of the various artists.

 

AT LEAST TEN COMMANDO TITLES HAVE BEEN USED TWICE WITH DIFFERENT STORIES.

68

SPEARHEAD!

May 1963

1377

SPEARHEAD

December 1979

221

WALL OF DEATH

July 1966

684

WALL OF DEATH

October 1972

391

WINGS OF WAR

March 1969

2855

WINGS OF WAR

May 1995

434

JUNGLE HUNT

October 1969

3919

JUNGLE HUNT

June 2006

829

ENEMIES NO MORE

April 1974

1309

ENEMIES NO MORE

April 1979

1241

A SOLDIER’S DEBT

July 1978

2733

A SOLDIER’S DEBT

February 1994

2095

HIT-MAN

June 1987

3143

HIT-MAN

May 1998

2336

TRUST NOBODY!

December 1989

 3208

TRUST NOBODY!

January 1999

2342

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

January 1990

3873

KNOW YOUR ENEMY?

December 2005

3843

ACE VERSUS ACE

September 2005

4091

ACE VERSUS ACE

April 2008

COMMANDO TITLE CHANGE 1993

2690

PASSWORD TO FREEDOM

The last with the heading

COMMANDO WAR STORIES IN PICTURES

August 1993

2691

A RACE AGAINST TIME

The first with the heading

COMMANDO FOR ACTION AND ADVENTURE

September 1993

THE COMMANDO ANNUALS 1989 & 1990

THE SEVEN STORIES

THE YOUNG ‘UN!

NO SURRENDER

DUEL IN THE SUN

KILLED IN ACTION

BIG BIRD, LITTLE FRIEND

THE GOOD SOLDIER

THE THREE MUSKETEERS

THE SEVEN STORIES

A FISTFUL OF LIGHTNING

DEBT OF HONOUR

THE COWARD

FIGHTERS NORTH

RELUCTANT HERO

DEATH MARCH TO KOHIMA

SHIP OF SHAME

I have had many e: mails regarding the Commando annuals. There were two produced: 1989 & 1990 (as illustrated).  Each annual contained 7 brand new stories, but the production was poor. I feel that they were mainly produced to capitalise on the Commando brand, the artwork was colour and in the style of the picture story papers of the time and not the usual Commando standard.

COMMANDO BOOKS FROM D.C. THOMSON

The twelve stories are:

INLAND NAVY

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Arthur Fleming

RILEY’S RIFLE

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Galindo

ACES WILD

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Jose Maria Jorge TROUBLE SPOT

Cover: Eustaguio Segrelles

Story Art: Eustaguio Segrelles

MUSTANG PATROL

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: John Ridgway

DEATH PATROL

Cover: Lopez Espi

Story Art: Sanches Cortes

 

THE SHIP BUSTERS

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Jose Maria Jorge

BATTLE WAGON

Cover: Lopez Espi

Story Art: Matias Alonso

THREE…TWO…ONE…ZERO!

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

MARCH OF THE MONSTERS

Cover: K.C.G. Walker

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

MAN OF IRON

Cover: Ken Barr

Story Art: Eustaguio Segrelles

GLIDER ACE

Cover: Ken Barr

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

There are two cover versions.

Carlton Publishing Group.

Seven Oaks.

The twelve stories are:

GUNS ON THE PEAK

Cover: Manuel Benet

Story Art: Manuel Benet

THE FIGHTING FEW

Cover: Gordon Livingstone

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

BRIGHT BLADE OF COURAGE

Cover: Gordon Livingstone

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

THE HAUNTED JUNGLE

Cover: Jordi Penalva

Story Art: Collado

TIGER IN THE TAIL

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Amador

THE SPECIALISTS

Cover: Ron Brown

Story Art: Ibanez

 

MIGHTY MIDGET

Cover: Jeff Bevan

Story Art: Carlos Pino

VLR-VERY LONG RANGE

Cover: Jeff Bevan

Story Art: Denis McLoughlin

FLAK FEVER

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

FIGHT OR DIE!

Cover: Cox

Story Art: Arthur Fleming

FEARLESS FREDDY

Cover: Gordon Livingstone

Story Art: Gordon Livingstone

ANOTHER TIGHT SPOT…

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Garijo

The twelve stories are:

FIRE OVER ENGLAND

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Jose Maria Jorge

DESERT FOX

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Story Art: Galindo

DANGER IN THE DEEP

Cover: Jordi Penalva

Story Art: Jose Maria Jorge

THE DESERT OF DEATH