NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Commando Comics

Commando For Action and Adventure, formerly known as Commando War Stories in Pictures, and colloquially known as Commando Comics, are a series of British comic books that primarily draw their themes and backdrops from the various incidents of the World Wars I and II. The comic, still in print today, is noted for its distinctive 7 x 5 1/2 inch, 68 page format that became a standard for these kinds of stories. It has remained more popular than many other British war comics, and some would say British comics in general, despite its simplistic stories and simply sketched black and white artwork, with only the covers in color. Storm Commando in armor File links The following pages link to this file: Storm Commandos ... Storm Commando in armor File links The following pages link to this file: Storm Commandos ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

The stories contain certain characteristic motifs; to mention a few - courage, cowardice, patriotism, dying for the sake of one's country, noble actions in the face of danger, enmity turning into friendship when the going gets tough, and so on. Apart from portraying these universal qualities, Commando Comics also show soldiers in somewhat dated national stereotypes, glorifying Allied soldiers, and showing others mostly as cruel, stupid or ignorant barbarians. There is no continuity between books and each book is a complete story with start and finish.

History

The comic series, then going by the title Commando War Stories in Pictures, was launched by D.C. Thomson of Dundee, Scotland, in July, 1961. It was an addition to the company's already high profile comics, such as The Beano and The Dandy. During its launch year two issues were published per month, but due to the comic's increasing popularity this rose to four a month. Since 1981 there have been eight issues published per month. As of issue 539, certain stories have been reprinted. In September 1993 the comic title changed to Commando For Action and Adventure. The last issue to feature the former title was issue 2690, Password to Freedom, published in August. The first comic to feature the new title was issue 2691, A Race Against Time, published the following month. [1] D. C. Thomson & Co. ... For other uses, see Dundee (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... This March 2007 does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... // The Dandy is a British childrens comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. ...

As well as the comics, annuals were also produced in the years 1989 and 1990, each containing seven new stories. However, many feel that the production of these annuals was poor and that they were produced to capitalise on the popularity of the comic. The annuals were in full colour and illustrated in the style of the time, not in the original style of the comics.

Appearance and format

The Commando comic differs from more widely known US comics in that it is published in a 7 x 5 1/2 inch, 68 page format, with some 135 panels per story, which is roughly similar to a standard 22 page US comic. Most panels have both captions and dialogue to further the plot. Sound effects are rarely if ever used. The intention is to make a Commando story easy to read and follow.

The artwork is in black and white except for the covers, with the lettering done in typewriter font. The writers and artists are uncredited as is usual for D.C Thomson comics.

Collections

In 2005, Carlton Books Ltd released an anthology of twelve Commando stories selected by George Low, who has edited the series since 1963. So far these collections are: Carlton Books is the main imprint of London-based publishing house Carlton Publishing Group. ...

Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

In other languages

Interestingly, the comics have somewhat of a cult following in Finland, where they are known by the name "Korkeajännitys" (slang term "korkkari"), a pun on the Finnish word for "High Voltage", with a tagline "Iskee kuin miljoona volttia", "hits like a million volts". In electrical engineering High voltage refers to a voltage which is high. ...

See also

Other similar series: List of magazines published in Scotland is an incomplete list of magazines and comics published in Scotland. ... These comics and magazines are or were published by D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Starblazer - Space Fiction Adventure in Pictures A british comic in black and white with pictures published by DC Thompson. ... Ricardo Garijo is an award winning author and artist from Argentina, best known for his long career in comics. ...

The cover of Action#1. ... Battle Picture Weekly, later known as Battle Action, was a British war comic published by IPC Magazines from (issues dates) 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with Eagle. ... Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the DC/Vertigo series Preacher, co-created with artist Steve Dillon. ... Joe Colquhouns cover to the original Titan Books collected edition. ... Pat Mills, nicknamed the godfather of British comics, is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. ... Adventures in the Rifle Brigade is the name of two Vertigo comic book mini-series created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Carlos Ezquerra. ... Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the DC/Vertigo series Preacher, co-created with artist Steve Dillon. ...

References

D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Comics (or, less commonly, sequential art) is a form of visual art consisting of images which are commonly combined with text, often in the form of speech balloons or image captions. ... This March 2007 does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... // The Dandy is a British childrens comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Sparky was a British comic book that ran from (issues dates) 23 January 1965 to 9 July 1977, when it merged with The Topper after 652 issues. ... The Beezer (called The Beezer and Topper for the last 3 years of publication) was a British comic that ran from (issues dates) 21 January 1956 to 21 August 1993, when it unofficially merged with The Beano. ... Nutty was a British comic book that ran for 292 issues from 16 February 1980 to 14 September 1985, when it merged with The Dandy. ... Cracker was a comic printed by D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Buzz was an A3 (broadsheet) British comic book. ... The Magic comic was the ill fated third comic to The Beano and The Dandy, it was aimed at a younger audience with more emphasis on Picture Stories. ... For the 2002 young adult novel by Carl Hiaasen, see Hoot (Hiaasen). ... Plug was a British comic that ran for 76 issues from 24 September 1977 until 24 February 1979, when it merged with the Beezer. ... ( Dennis the Menace Presents) Classics from the Comics is a UK comic, first published in March 1996. ... An annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. ... The Beano Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1939, to tie in with the childrens comic The Beano. ... The Dandy Annual is the current name of the book that has been published every year since 1938, to tie in with the childrens comic The Dandy. ... Dennis the Menace Annual is the current name of the book that has been published since 1955 to tie in with the childrens comic The Beano, specifically the Dennis the Menace comic strip. ... The Bash Street Kids Annual is the current name of the book that has been published yearly since 1979 to tie in with the childrens comic The Beano, specifically The Bash Street Kids comic strip. ... The Broons is a comic strip within The Sunday Post newspaper, which is published by D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Oor Wullie cover Oor Wullie is a comic strip, set in Scotland, in the D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Leo Baxendale (born October 27, 1930) is a British cartoonist, who was the creator of the classic Beano strips Little Plum (1953), Minnie the Minx (1953), The Bash Street Kids (1954) and The Three Bears (1959). ... Gordon Bell is an artist who lives in the UK. From the 1960s onward he has worked extensively for D. C. Thomson & Co. ... Nick Brennan is a prolific cartoonist whose creations include: Blinky, Sneaker, Crazy for Daisy, Peter Piper, Kalamity Kitchen and most recently, Pinkys Crackpot Circus. ... Paddy Brennan is a successful Irish jump jockey. ... John Dallas was a British artist. ... Peter Davidson has been a top flight[citation needed] commercial artist for almost 40 years. ... British cartoonist with a distinctive, occasionally flamboyant style, most famous for his work for DC Thomson titles including Sparky, Topper, Nutty and the Beano. ... Ken H. Harrison is an artist at DC Thomson, currently draws Robbie Rebel for The Beano and the front cover illustration for Classics from the Comics. ... David Law (died [1970AD) was an artist for The Beano, The Topper and The Dandy comics. ... External links Guardian Obituary - Nov 7 2002 Toonhound Categories: Stub | 1939 births | 2002 deaths | Cartoonists | British cartoonists | British comics artists ... Nigel Parkinson is a British cartoonist. ... Tom Paterson a super scotish comic artist Who has drawn wacky crazy characters for Fleetway 1973-1990 and D.C Thomson from 1986-onwards He is famous for drawing Sweeny Toddler for Whoopee/Whizzer and chips (Whoopee) and Calamity James for The Beano(Beano) Numskulls from (Beano) Little Larry from... Mike Pearse is a cartoonist who works for the UK comic The Beano. ... Ken Reid (18 December 1919 - March 1987) was a British artist. ... Dolly and her first-born lamb, Bonnie Dolly (July 5, 1996 â€“ February 14, 2003), a ewe, was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. ... David Sutherland is an artist with DC Thomson, responsible for The Bash Street Kids (1964-present), Dennis the Menace (1968-1998, still does work for annuals) for The Beano and the second version of Jak for The Dandy. ... Kev F. Sutherland is a comedian and comic strip creator who works for the UK comic The Beano. ... Dudley D. Watkins was born on February 27, 1907 in Manchester, England. ...

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