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Commando

AgentAxeman

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AgentAxeman

AgentAxeman 189

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:icon_lol:

 

"Banzai! Eat lead, Fritz! Or why, for Commando comic, the war is NEVER over

 

 

Anniversary: The Commando comic has just turned 50

 

Mein Gott! Donner und Blitzen! Can it really be true? The Commando comic has just turned 50.

 

For half a century, schoolboys — and those who should know better — have thrilled at these action-packed wartime stories.

 

While comics such as the Beano have become all politically correct, the unchanging Commando has resolutely stuck to a formula that means it’s unlikely to be stocked in many metropolitan libraries.

 

Featuring evil Germans, heroic Brits, lippy Aussies, lantern-jawed Yanks, dastardly Japs, and treacherous French, the Commando comic is a blast from a most un-PC past.

 

Since it first appeared in 1961, its stories have barely changed.

 

They are set in a world in which goodness and decency win the day, bravery triumphs above treachery and differences are overcome by fighting for a common and noble cause: usually giving the beastly Boche or filthy Nip a damn good hiding.

 

The world of Commando is a black and white one.

 

The war is depicted as a straight fight between Good and Evil.

 

Yes, there is the odd Good German (and a suspiciously high number of Bad Frenchmen), but in the main there are no grey areas.

 

But what has always made it superior to rival publications is that its heroes are flawed.

 

Occasionally, their worst enemy is some demon within, such as a sibling rivalry born from a brother with a higher tally of kills during the Battle of Britain; or a lack of self-esteem caused by a pushy father who was a hero of World War I; or perhaps plain old fear.

 

Nevertheless, by the end of their personal odysseys, these men have performed the function of every hero and find personal salvation through the horrors of war.

 

The last frame of every comic inevitably features our hero making up with his former rival and finding inner peace.

 

Along the way, a lot of Germans and Japanese are killed.

 

The former often die with the ludicrously demonstrative ‘I am hit!’ or, better still: ‘Flee Carl! He has got me!’

 

The Japanese, seemingly less eloquent in death, usually manage only a choked ‘Aiiiieeee!’, often uttered shortly after the classic exhortation ‘Banzai!’ (a battle cry which means ‘ten thousand years’ and often signified a suicide mission).

 

Those who kill them tell them either to ‘Take that, squarehead!’ or: ‘Have a taste of that, Tojo!’

 

Commando has won a place in the hearts of so many boys and men because of the quality of the illustrations.

 

Many covers and stories were drawn by legendary illustrators such as Gordon Livingstone, Ian Kennedy and Ken Barr, whose attention to detail ensured no war buffs could write snooty letters to the publisher, D C Thomson.

 

With the stories featuring 120 frames, each comic takes an artist anything from four weeks to six months to produce.

 

Artists also have to meticulously follow the writer’s script, which is constantly honed and edited to fit the Commando formula.

 

And there are strict guidelines. Stories based on the hunt for a secret Nazi weapon are ruled out for being too clichéd.

 

The unchanging Commando has resolutely stuck to a formula over the years

 

Women never feature, partly because those who fought in the war did not see the intense level of combat required to make a gripping comic.

 

Calum Laird, the comic’s editor, is adamant that stories should be first and foremost about the interplay between characters, with the war as a background.

 

The biggest readers are not today’s teenagers, but men in the 35 to 44-year-old bracket who, as children, bought the comic at its peak, when it sold a staggering 750,000 copies a month in the early Eighties.

 

And Laird finds he is almost treated as a celebrity.

 

‘I’m always taken aback by the effect my job has on gentlemen of a certain age,’ he laughs.

 

The comic now sells around 40,000 to 50,000 copies a month, — still a respectable figure.

 

And there’s a version for iPads or other tablet computers. Its 7in x 5½in, 68-page format makes it a perfect digital fit.

 

‘Someone knew something 50 years ago,’ says Laird, who has worked on Commando on and off since 1981.

 

The comic is also particularly popular among serving soldiers — Cpl Nick Shuttleworth even emailed photos of Commando being enjoyed by him and his ‘I’ company comrades in Helmand.

 

Unfortunately, the men in Afghanistan won’t be able to see their own conflict in a Commando yet.

 

More recent wars, such as the Falklands and the first Gulf War, have featured, but Laird says the relatively small scale of these conflicts makes it harder to produce varied plots and settings.

 

‘With World War II, you could take a bloke from Burnley and drop him straight into the jungle in Burma, with no questions asked,’ says Laird.

 

‘But with the modern conflicts, there is far less room to do that.’

 

However, true Commando aficionados prefer the comics set during World War II and there are many fans trying to collect all 4,400 comics.

 

But this is an expensive business, because some of the earliest editions are highly prized.

 

A copy of Walk — Or Die!, the first Commando comic, has so far reached £585 in an eBay auction and Laird estimates the final price to be around £1,000.

 

With most comics in the first 100 costing around £50 to £100, a collection of all the comics might make at least £25,000.

 

As D C Thomson still produces four new comics per month, the collection will grow.

 

But while enthusiasts would doubtless hope it will still be around in 2061, I suspect that its core readership will have then died out.

 

For in a time when many teenagers prefer the violence of computer game Grand Theft Auto, Commando seems tame in comparison. The violence is not explicit — it is, at times, almost comic.

 

It would be a tragedy if the editors decided to make the magazine lurid in order to attract an audience wanting gore and bad taste, and far better for it to close than sacrifice its principles.

 

If that ever happened one day, then perhaps, finally, the war really might be over."

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-20...NEVER-over.html

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Dr Gloom

Dr Gloom 22190

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Posted (edited)

thread hijack alert....going commando in shorts is fine but suit trousers are not advised. i forgot to pack a spair pair of boxers after a session spinning at the gym once and was soaked through with sweat so had to go commando on the train home. the wool trousers on your bare arse does not make for comfortable sitting, nto to mention the chafing from the zip!

Edited by Dr Gloom
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Toonraider

Toonraider 0

Posted
Posted
thread hijack alert....going commando in shorts is fine but suit trousers are not advised. i forgot to pack a spair pair of boxers after a session spinning at the gym once and was soaked through with sweat so had to go commando on the train home. the wool trousers on your bare arse does not make for comfortable sitting, nto to mention the chafing from the zip!

 

Surely not? :icon_lol: What about if you cross your legs or something? :(:o

 

Reminds me of an episode of Friends :icon_lol:

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Dr Gloom

Dr Gloom 22190

Posted
Posted
thread hijack alert....going commando in shorts is fine but suit trousers are not advised. i forgot to pack a spair pair of boxers after a session spinning at the gym once and was soaked through with sweat so had to go commando on the train home. the wool trousers on your bare arse does not make for comfortable sitting, nto to mention the chafing from the zip!

 

Surely not? :icon_lol: What about if you cross your legs or something? :(:o

 

Reminds me of an episode of Friends :icon_lol:

 

i'm talking knee length shorts, not those skin tight 80s footballer efforts. no chance of anything popping out in those puppies. well, not with a todger as small as mine anyway

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wykikitoon

wykikitoon 20900

Posted
Posted
thread hijack alert....going commando in shorts is fine but suit trousers are not advised. i forgot to pack a spair pair of boxers after a session spinning at the gym once and was soaked through with sweat so had to go commando on the train home. the wool trousers on your bare arse does not make for comfortable sitting, nto to mention the chafing from the zip!

 

Surely not? :( What about if you cross your legs or something? :(:(

 

Reminds me of an episode of Friends :icon_lol:

 

:o

 

"Just let it hang out there" :icon_lol: class episode ;)

 

When I get back from training I usually just put my joggers on and with not wearing grundies whilst wearing lycra I am commando, its not that bad. Lets me cool down, then Ill get a shower etc :D

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Toonraider

Toonraider 0

Posted
Posted
thread hijack alert....going commando in shorts is fine but suit trousers are not advised. i forgot to pack a spair pair of boxers after a session spinning at the gym once and was soaked through with sweat so had to go commando on the train home. the wool trousers on your bare arse does not make for comfortable sitting, nto to mention the chafing from the zip!

 

Surely not? :icon_lol: What about if you cross your legs or something? :(:o

 

Reminds me of an episode of Friends :icon_lol:

 

i'm talking knee length shorts, not those skin tight 80s footballer efforts. no chance of anything popping out in those puppies. well, not with a todger as small as mine anyway

 

Don't be so hard on yourself :(

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