My thanks to Commando HQ at D.C. Thomson for the images and info....
Commando Issues 4787-4790 – On Sale 26th February 2015
Commando No 4787 – Deadly Drop
After a “friendly fire” incident cost the lives of his comrades, Private Ron Allan clashed violently with a fellow paratrooper, Corporal Alec Brown, the man he held responsible.
Tensions were still high between them when, en route to a drop zone, history repeated itself. Alec’s Horsa glider smashed into Ron’s sending both spiralling downwards.
Alec’s life was now in as much danger from his supposed colleague as it was from the Germans — provided they both survived the drop to the hungry sea below…
Story: George Low
Art: Olivera
Cover: Janek Matysiak
Commando No 4788 – Giant Killer
It was a blood-feud in the skies — a fight that began in the First World War between a British ace in a string-bag of a plane and the commander of a huge German Zeppelin…
It had to be settled in World War II by their sons; sleek Spitfire pitted against merciless Messerschmitt 109, their guns chattering a song of death.
Introduction
Don’t be fooled by Ken Barr’s cover — this is not a First World War tale. That zeppelin that only just fits on the cover is soon replaced by a Bf109; the SE5 becoming a Spitfire. With Peter Ford in charge of the inside art, that means you’re in for a treat as his flying scenes are so well-rendered. His ground scenes are just as good and those of you with good eyesight (or magnifying glasses) may just be able to make out some little extra details in the backgrounds of the scenes. Check out the walls of the crew room and perhaps the notepad on the ground controller’s desk.
Better not forget Brunt’s “sins of the fathers” script, without which none of this showmanship would be possible. Thank you, sir.
Calum Laird, Commando Editor
Giant Killer originally Commando No 153 (February 1965), re-issued as No 771 (September 1973)
Story: Brunt
Art: Peter Ford
Cover: Ken Barr
Commando No 4789 – Frozen By Fear
Most jungle firefights are fought over short range and are over in a few minutes. Vision is limited and snap shots at targets are the order of the day.
Australian Army Corporal Jerry Warner was caught up in one such skirmish. With night falling and his life in jeopardy, he blazed away, knocking down attacker after attacker. Then he was blown unconscious by a mortar blast.
He survived but that night continued to haunt him — and he couldn’t work out why!
Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Rezzonico
Cover: Janek Matysiak
Commando No 4790 – Flak Fever
Flieger Abwehr Kanone — a German mouthful that was shortened to “flak”, a word dreaded by every Allied pilot. It meant anti-aircraft guns, those multi-barrelled cannon and deadly 88-millimetre guns that could blast attackers out of the sky. Every important target in Nazi Europe bristled with them.
Mosquito pilot Terry Franklin had met his fair share of flak and it terrified him. Yet here he was in a new squadron whose job it was to attack only the most difficult targets!
Introduction
I imagine that if a current Commando author submitted the idea for “Flak Fever”, he or she might begin by writing something along the lines of, “Our hero is a pilot with PTSD…”
Because of our modern-day familiarity with military terms such as the one mentioned above, we now know that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious condition which Armed Forces personnel acknowledge could happen to any one of them.
However, back when this story was originally scripted, in the mid-1970s, the fictional hero believes that he has simply lost his nerve, and that his own perceived “cowardice” is something that he must hide. It’s an interesting story point, but it is not laboured, and seems all the more realistic for it.
Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor
Flak Fever, originally Commando No 1102 (February 1977), re-issued as No 2428 (December 1990)
Story: R.A. Montague
Art: Gordon Livingstone
Cover: Ian Kennedy
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