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Post by dem bones on Nov 9, 2022 11:25:57 GMT
Picking up from the Spellbound thread: I'm happy to say that Spellbound has risen from the grave in time for Hallowe'en, materialising as a digital collection featuring selected comic strips, features and a cover gallery from the original '70s comic, book-ended by two new comic strips. I'm proud to have been involved, having written a brief history of Spellbound to introduce the collection and collaborated with artist Lauren Knight on the first of the new stories - the first tale from Damian Darke's library of strange stories in decades. It's one of several archive digital collections released via Kindle and comiXology by the Heritage Comics team at D.C. Thomson, the first of which feature material from Commando - including a collection of horror-themed stories - and Warlord. More from the archives to follow. More info on the new releases here: downthetubes.net/dc-thomson-launches-digital-commando-spellbound-and-warlord-heritage-comics/ Well done, Mr Lurker, sounds a very interesting collection. I also like that set of Commando horror tales. I had no idea they strayed into horror on occasion. There have been occasional forays into horror, science fiction and fantasy over the years, and the horror element has become a more regular theme under the current team, who are happy to try more unusual storylines among the warfare. All 8 of October's regular Commando issues have a touch of horror, including the third instalment in the Commandos Vs Zombies series, and ancient superstitions come to life in Night of the Gorgons (featuring a character bearing more than a passing resemblance to Vincent Price)... My association with the Commando series was mainly in the 1970s. I didn't buy them with any regularity, for with only 20p a week pocket money there were always the distractions of glossy US comics, the latest Cor!! or Whizzer & Chips, Warlord, Action, chocolate...or girls, though even in the 70s you couldn't exactly sweep a girl off her feet with 20t. I sometimes forsook Commando for its War Picture Library and Battle Picture Library rivals. I still have a few Commando/War/Battle around somewhere. Left in the Wapping Little Free Library box yesterday. Thanks to the donor! Georgia Standen Battle & Vicente Alcazar - Commandos Vs Zombies 3: Commando #5587 (29 Oct. 2022) Neil Roberts Blurb: Something evil is stirring in Scotland. Deep in the bleak woods, hidden among the undergrowth, lies a secret -- a bunker door behind which terror breeds. But the bunker is silent. No contact has been made with the people inside for months, and the teams sent to investigate have all disappeared without a trace... the bunker's door shut tight behind them. That was until Sergeant Leo Manktelow came knocking.Bernard Gregg & Marzal - The Death Card: Commando #5588 (29 Oct. 2022: first published 1975 #926) Blurb: Superstitious, are you? Do you believe in fortune tellers and the like? If you do, you wouldn't fancy being handed the Ace of Spades -- the death card -- as the key to your future, especially when this particular card had spelt death for two previous owners. But Jim Frobisher of the Commandos wasn't worried. In fact, he looked upon it as an honour!Dominic Teague & Graham Manley - Night of the Gorgons: Commando #5589 (29 Oct, 2022) Blurb: Historians mark the Dodecanese campaign as one of the last major German victories of World War Two. What the history books fail to mention is that Allied and German forces were not the only aggressors active in that region in September 1943. For something far older and deadlier than the Luftwaffe stalked the skies above the Aegean, as Flight Lieutenant Pierce Sullivan was about to discover! Bryan Perrett & Llops- The Ghosts: Commando #5590 (29 Oct. 2022) Blurb: Strange dark figures lurking in the shadows, eerie sounds, mysterious moving lights seen at the dead of night. It was enough to make even the bravest man tremble. But the spirits that haunted Crandon Abbey were not your ordinary old-fashioned English spooks — they were the kind that shot to kill! |
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Post by dem bones on Nov 10, 2022 17:36:54 GMT
 Graham Manley (29 Oct, 2022); "Pardon me for asking, Mr. Mandrapilias, but those glasses ..."
"My eyes are unusually sensitive, sir. The image embossed on each lens is a gorgoneion, a protective emblem to ward off evil."Read two of the Commando's yesterday evening. The Ghosts recycles familiar plot of the Nazi's faking a malevolent haunting in the ruins of an old English chapel to discourage snoopers while they signal to German bombers. Good fun, though I much prefer Night of the Gorgons, not least because the supernatural menace is for real. Flight Lieutenant Pierce Sullivan and his men land on Sarpendon, an uncharted Aegean island, in search of a missing colleague. They soon find Oates' Spitfire sheltered in a hangar, but no sign of the pilot. Where can he have got to? The party press on through a forest strewn with life-size statues of men dressed in military uniforms, modern and ancient, until they arrive at a lone villa on a hill, home to Alex Mandrapilias, retired shipping magnate, his invalid wife, Melania, and .... one other. The couple, eyes concealed behind what appear to be His & Hers Halloween novelty goggles, feign delight at their arrival, but when Sullivan mentions that he's seen inside the hangar, the mask slips. Mandrapilias introduces his snake-haired sister-in-law ....  Graham Manley |
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Post by helrunar on Nov 10, 2022 19:18:37 GMT
Night of the Gorgons sounds quite cool--I'll read or watch almost anything involving gorgons.
I am afraid the phrase commando horrors makes my truly sick mind move in quite a different direction from what is being discussed here. And I'll leave it at that.
Hel
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Nov 11, 2022 20:52:39 GMT
Graham Manley Dominic Teague & Graham Manley - Night of the Gorgons: Commando #5589 (29 Oct, 2022); "Pardon me for asking, Mr. Mandrapilias, but those glasses ..."
"My eyes are unusually sensitive, sir. The image embossed on each lens is a gorgoneion, a protective emblem to ward off evil."Read two of the Commando's yesterday evening. The Ghosts recycles familiar plot of the Nazi's faking a malevolent haunting in the ruins of an old English chapel to discourage snoopers while they signal to German bombers. Good fun, though I much prefer Night of the Gorgons, not least because the supernatural menace is for real. Flight Lieutenant Pierce Sullivan and his men land on Sarpendon, an uncharted Aegean island, in search of a missing colleague. They soon find Oates' Spitfire sheltered in a hangar, but no sign of the pilot. Where can he have got to? The party press on through a forest strewn with life-size statues of men dressed in military uniforms, modern and ancient, until they arrive at a lone villa on a hill, home to Alex Mandrapilias, retired shipping magnate, his invalid wife, Melania, and .... one other. The couple, eyes concealed behind what appear to be His & Hers Halloween novelty goggles, feign delight at their arrival, but when Sullivan mentions that he's seen inside the hangar, the mask slips. Mandrapilias introduces his snake-haired sister-in-law .... Graham Manley is Graham Manley's first Commando strip, though his E.C. Comics-inspired artwork did grace the cover of Amicus anthology-style issue 5585, Frightful Tales. amazon.co.uk/Commando-5585-Frightful-Colin-Maxwell-ebook/dp/B0BFW959R5 Graham's depiction of Alex Mandrapilias in Gorgons is based on a certain classic actor renowned for his - sometimes abominable - horror roles. This year's Beano & Dandy Gift Book - a collection of vintage strips with a theme of Things That Go Bump In The Night - features The Return of Baron Blood, a 12 page strip I wrote for Graham for the 1996 Dandy Annual starring a trio of other familiar horror film faces in a tale of crypts and castles... www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/books/the-beano-dandy-gift-book |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 12, 2023 12:25:58 GMT
The first batch of this year's Hallowe'en Commando issues has just gone on sale. Two reprints of classic spooky adventures and two new stories, one of them a sequel to last year's Gorgon story, the other a subterranean tale of terror. downthetubes.net/halloween-horror-ahead-in-latest-commando-comics/There will be four more Hallowe'en specials in a fortnight... including one I'm particularly excited about... |
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Post by dem bones on Oct 12, 2023 18:18:54 GMT
Good to hear from you, Lurkio. Of last years Halloween Commando's, the one I most enjoyed was Night of the Gorgons.
Anything you'd care to share with us about the title you're "particularly excited about"?
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Post by 𝘗rincess 𝘵uvstarr on Oct 12, 2023 18:32:27 GMT
Good to hear from you, Lurkio. Of last years Halloween Commando's, the one I most enjoyed was Night of the Gorgons. Anything you'd care to share with us about the title you're "particularly excited about"? Lurkio is it you! |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 12, 2023 23:35:25 GMT
By an odd coincidence, this was posted on the fourth anniversary of the live recordings of an Up Pompeii production which I helped adapt for audio. Madeline Smith, who appeared in the Up Pompeii film, starred alongside a cast including Frazer Hines, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Camille Coduri, and Cleo Rocos, while David Benson played the lead role in the style of Frankie Howerd... well, I mean, who else? So, not only am I Lurkio, but I have written gags for Lurcio. |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 12, 2023 23:40:15 GMT
Good to hear from you, Lurkio. Of last years Halloween Commando's, the one I most enjoyed was Night of the Gorgons. Anything you'd care to share with us about the title you're "particularly excited about"? Good to be back. But I'm afraid there can be no cryptic tales out of school until the official announcement from the publishers. |
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Post by andydecker on Oct 13, 2023 8:19:26 GMT
Good to hear from you, Lurkio. Of last years Halloween Commando's, the one I most enjoyed was Night of the Gorgons. Anything you'd care to share with us about the title you're "particularly excited about"? Good to be back. But I'm afraid there can be no cryptic tales out of school until the official announcement from the publishers. Good to see you, Lurks.
I am always astounded that Commando is still alive and fighting, considering how far removed this is from mainstream comics. |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 13, 2023 12:11:01 GMT
I am always astounded that Commando is still alive and fighting, considering how far removed this is from mainstream comics. With Rebellion relaunching titles like Battle Action and Smash, it feels like the mainstream is moving back towards Commando territory. The current Commando editorial team are also keener to experiment and push the boundaries a bit more than in previous years, so there has been more of a mix of genres, with horror and science fiction stories featuring with more regularity. The recent Commandos Vs Zombies series has been collected into a single volume, and there's a new Starblazer collection due soon, too. |
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Post by dem bones on Oct 13, 2023 17:48:33 GMT
Good to hear from you, Lurkio. Of last years Halloween Commando's, the one I most enjoyed was Night of the Gorgons. Anything you'd care to share with us about the title you're "particularly excited about"? Good to be back. But I'm afraid there can be no cryptic tales out of school until the official announcement from the publishers. Of course. Just let us know when it's OK to do so. The Little Free Library Commando Fairy is still donating to our local box, bless them. He or she left these a while back. L-R Ian Kennedy: Neil Roberts Feldwick & CT. Rigby- Man of Honour: Commando #5626 (4 March 2023: originally 1980) Blurb: According to legend, a brave knight in armour would come to help the people of the French village of Toulours whenever they were in trouble, as he had done centuries before.
Now the peaceful little village echoed with the sound of invading troops with all their modern equipment — trucks, motorcycles, machine guns, mortars. Surely there was nothing the ghost of an ancient knight could do against this sort of enemy? Or was there...Georgia Standen Battle & Vincente Alcazar - The Shape-shifter: Commando #5623 (4 March 2023: originally 1980) Blurb: In 3023, the world is at peace and there is no such thing as war. But there are those who seek to bring its violence back to the future by travelling to the past!
The only thing standing in their way is a hapless private named Ron Cope fighting for his own life during the German Blitzkrieg of 1940! But how can he stop them when they can shape-shift into anyone — including Ron himself?! Brent Towns & Paulo Ongaro - Finnegan's Ghost: Commando #5609 (7 Jan. 2023) Blurb: Sergeant Michael Finnegan was a veteran of the desert war, he and his crew forged in the flames of the scorching sun. But on D-Day +7, his life was shattered as his crew was ruthlessly gunned down by an enemy Panzer while climbing out of their disabled Sherman Firefly tank.
And yet... whispers spread about a ghost wandering the battlefield, as time and time again Finnegan was spotted, hellbent on revenge, searching for the tank that had killed him!Heath Ackley & Jaume Forns - Ghost Run: Commando #5617 (4 Feb. 2023) Blurb: It should have been a normal run for drivers John Yateley and Jim Weaver, delivering much-needed supplies to the front line. But when an eerie sight appeared on a hilltop and the pair noticed it was the ghost of a tank from the wrong war... well, things were about to get very weird indeed!______________________________ Fixed 14 Oct. 2023 - See post below |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 13, 2023 20:56:41 GMT
Nice to see Commando entering the realms of recycling.
Should point out that The Shape-shifter didn't originally appear in 1980, and was written by Georgia, not George, Standen Battle.
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Post by andydecker on Oct 14, 2023 12:39:44 GMT
With Rebellion relaunching titles like Battle Action and Smash, it feels like the mainstream is moving back towards Commando territory. Yes, creatively Rebellion is increasingly looking backwards, lots of nostalgia and "Year One" stuff. I wonder if this is the right way. Do you read these in print or in digital? |
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Post by The Lurker In The Shadows on Oct 14, 2023 17:36:12 GMT
Do you read these in print or in digital? I always prefer print where possible. |
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