tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post553304083627918046..comments2024-03-28T18:21:09.285-05:00Comments on Rough Edges: Commando: Hero From Hollywood - Eric HebdenJames Reasonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-71111531925629898332013-04-04T14:51:56.042-05:002013-04-04T14:51:56.042-05:00I, too, have been a long time fan of Commando (and...I, too, have been a long time fan of Commando (and other similar comics - Air Ace being my favourite) and I still have boxes of them. I'm amazed at the prices they go for on ebay.<br /><br />The compilations are great value. Steve Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631734673248632467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-8932661953615442852013-04-04T03:42:58.423-05:002013-04-04T03:42:58.423-05:00A couple of years ago, I bought a bunch of early C...A couple of years ago, I bought a bunch of early COMMANDO comics for Rs.5 each (Rs.50 = $1) and I'm still holding on to them. I enjoy reading the WWII stories revolving around North Africa and the Middle East, rare as they come in these comics.Prashant C. Trikannadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16079354501998741758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-52283383769433262622013-04-03T15:12:47.573-05:002013-04-03T15:12:47.573-05:00I can't help but feel some small need to do a ...I can't help but feel some small need to do a little dance over the fact that one of the folks who read my first Commando novel called it "a Commando Comic in prose form". As much as I enjoyed those I've read, I consider that high praise indeed.Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-70051719285711751822013-04-03T15:02:38.788-05:002013-04-03T15:02:38.788-05:00I've always thought of the British "pocke...I've always thought of the British "pocket libraries" as being the original graphic novels. They began in the early 1950s as soon as the wartime paper shortage was over. Western, detective, historical, and romance were among the genres published. The UK's first war-themed comic series was War Picture Library launched in September 1958 by the Amalgamated Press, of Fleetway House, Farringdon Street. In March 1959, an under-capitalized company founded by two former AP staff began its Combat Picture Library, giving the London giant some commendable early competition. The AP's main rival, D. C. Thomson, of Dundee, didn't dip its cautious toe into the 64-page war-library water until July 1961 but, as you note, its Commando series is the only one that still survives today.<br /><br />I was never the greatest reading fan of war comics, but I have a soft spot for them probably because my first three published books each appeared in Combat Picture Library and for a while I became Combat's editor (along with editing several other Micron Publications as was the busy nature of backstreet publishing). More of the background story is told in the article "Told In Pictures" which will appear shortly in the Spring edition of the quarterly magazine Illustrators (Book Palace Books, London).Chap O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04404176810063857291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-32616530917921718272013-04-03T12:40:00.813-05:002013-04-03T12:40:00.813-05:00Jack,
Thanks for the tip on those Commando compila...Jack,<br />Thanks for the tip on those Commando compilations. I'm definitely getting some of those!<br /><br />Rick,<br />The issues are 64 pages, I believe. And they move really fast, too.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-6773944361961779822013-04-03T12:26:53.420-05:002013-04-03T12:26:53.420-05:00UK author Max Adams actually wrote a very similar ...UK author Max Adams actually wrote a very similar plot in his novel "Do or Die". The character isn't a movie star, but rather a pair of Tommies who get caught behind enemy lines and have to make their way back.Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-44387919225244143612013-04-03T12:17:23.304-05:002013-04-03T12:17:23.304-05:00That sounds like a lot of plot to shoehorn into a ...That sounds like a lot of plot to shoehorn into a comic book! How many pages are these? Sounds like it would make a good novel.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-66102438336902997022013-04-03T11:56:43.885-05:002013-04-03T11:56:43.885-05:00Amazon also sells compilations of some of the issu...Amazon also sells compilations of some of the issues - I've got a compilation called "True Brit" that's pretty great. <br /><br />A digital subscription...hmmm. I might have to look into this!Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-9211269928364861712013-04-03T11:42:26.947-05:002013-04-03T11:42:26.947-05:00Commando was fantastic, I read it throughout the s...Commando was fantastic, I read it throughout the seventies. Other english war comics worth reading were Battle by Fleetway comics and Warlord by DC Thompson. When the seventies Scfi craze hit, war comics saw a dramatic decline and new comics such as 2000AD (also by Fleetway ) came out.<br />Commando bound editions are available in the UK, whether you can get them in the US I don’t know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com