The Commando Interviews Part 4 - Interview with Commando connoisseur Laurence Curtin
How long have your Commando site been online? It seems to be a part of a bigger site that represents your interests.
- Since april 2004. The site (see link below) is part of my web portfolio which contains sites on my other interests. As I had been subscribing to Commando for a while I wanted to see if there was any sites dedicated to the comic on the net, but there was little if any about it, not even an official site. After 40 years I think it deserves one. So then I decided to build a site myself. I wanted to keep it fairly simple and straightforward. At first it was just going to be a number of pages previewing the current months issues but then I decided on adding an issue index (which still has to be finished) as well as thumbnails of the past few months issues. The site is all handcoded HTML using Notepad and Macromedia Fireworks is used for the images.
What type of general feedback have you had?
- It´s been positive so far. I advertised it on the 2000AD website through the fan forum there and had a few people get in contact about it. A lot of them didn't know the comic was still being printed.
Have you detected any particular age group among the connoisseurs?
- I am 33 and from what I can gather it´s the people who grew up with the likes of Battle Action, Warlord and Victor in the seventies and eighties who are reading it or getting back into reading it.
There are thousands of issues of Commando out now, how many do you have in your collection?
- Right now between 500-600 issues.
When did you start to collect Commando?
- Seriously, a year ago. I had quite a lot when I was younger. I came across them last year after many years of not seeing them on the shops and took out a subscription. I have collected many from second hand bookshops and ebay.
Can you still recall the first time that you saw the magazine?
- It was probably summer 1981 when I was on holidays. This was the first time I read comics like Battle and Warlord. My mother bought me a few of these comics and I was hooked straight away.
Did you buy the other war comics that used to be around as well? Name another title that was decent in your book.
- Yes I bought Battle Action, Warlord, Victor, Battle Picture Library and War Picture Library. My favourite at the time was Battle Action. It had some superb stories like Charlies War, Johnny Red, Major Easy, Fighting Man and Rat Pack to name but a few. It was only when it joined with the Action Force Toys (one of the silliest ideas ever) that it started to go downhill.
How big is your collection if you count every issue that you have of all the titles?
- Well I haven't counted but somewhere close to three thousand comics mainly British.
What was it that made Commando stand up above the rest?
- For me it was the cover art. Commando has had some of the best covers out of all the comics I have read and that for me was down to one man, Ian Kennedy.
Have you met any of the creators in person?
- No.
Who is your favourite cover artist of all time and why?
- Ian Kennedy without a doubt. It was and still is his accurate depiction of the military equipment and personnel that did it for me and his cover art was stunning.. The only other artist that comes close to him in my opinion is Cam Kennedy. I also liked John Coopers art for Johnny Red in the Battle action Comics.
Do you have a favourite period of the title?
- Maybe the eighties as this was when I first started reading them but i enjoy them all.
Is Commando easy to find for the tourist that comes along and have a few days in your country?
- At the moment it´s getting a bit easier to get it. For the past few few years I never saw it in the shops. Its only in the past year or so that I have seen it with any regularity in the newsagents. I am speaking for London now. A lot of the shops may only have one copy of each issue on the shelves whereas their are plentiful amounts of the likes of 2000AD, the Beano and the Dandy.
How common are older issues today at second hand stores?
- Not so much at second hand stores. You may find a few copies but the condition can be pretty bad. I have come across a few in charity shops which are all over the place here. They are also a good place for finding old comic annuals. Comic Fairs are probably the best place and there is one every month here in London. Prices start from 50p, they will be cheaper in the charity shops etc.
There has been a few Commando annuals, do you wish that it could be a recurring event and what could be done to make them a little more attractive from the fans point of view?
- Yes I would like it if they happened every year. One of the things that I would like to see is a poster or print given away with the annual depicting a classic cover of commando. Also info on the artists maybe an interview or such like. Also a covers gallery would be nice. There has only been two annuals in the 40+ years 1989 and 1990. Why it stopped after two I do not know. What DC Thomson need to do is to publicise these comics more and get more of the younger readers in.
Read our interview with Korkeajännitys editor in chief right here
In Finland they have a title called Korkeajännitys which is partly (or mostly) imported Commando stories, but they jam four issues together in 260 page issues and ship them out as little books. Would you like to see something similar in your country?
- Similar yes but probably reprinting issues from 20 to 30 years before. At the moment two issues of Commando are reprints from 1988-89. Here in the UK DC Thomson have a title called Classics from the comics which reprints old stories from the Beano, Dandy and other kids comics from years before.
What can you tell us about Peter Richardsons "Achtung Commando" specials?
- I have only seen them once at comic fairs here in London. The ones I saw had a special on Ian Kennedy and another had an article on an Australian fan who has managed to collect every single issue from issue 1. They were exspensive at 15 pounds each. There will be another one on Sept 19 2004 so I will have a look again.
Read our interview with Peter Richardson right here
American comics are often presented with credits for the writers and artists, isn´t that one area were Commando could update its style and include that information in each issue? How do you feel about this as a fan?
- Yes I think this should be done. None of the DC Thomson titles credit their artists or writers as far as I know. The likes of 2000AD have been doing so since the start and therefore the readers get to know the artists and writers. I have seen the likes of Ian Kennedy putting their initials in the code numbers of planes as a kind of signature and Carlos Pino has put his name in a few of his strips but I would like to know who all the other artists and writers are.
I have seen books that presents classic covers of titles like Superman and Batman, do you think that a book with Commando covers could generate a big enough interest for someone to publish such a title?
- For me I would love a book like that as the cover art was what made Commando stand out for me. Whether it will generate enough interest for publication is another matter. DC Thomson need to publicise Commando a lot more. This could be done in their other publications like The Beano and Dandy and in newspapers. They could ask the fans to fill out a questionnaire in the comic and online to find out the interest. This is where an official site would be useful.
Do you have any current favourite artists and writers?
- Henry Flint who has done a lot of work for 2000AD, Cam Kennedy is still doing great work for 2000AD as well as Carlos Ezquerra. Jason Brashill, Kevin Walker and Greg Staples for their cover artwork in 2000AD.
The adventures are set in different times, what are your favourite adventures and do you miss any at all?
- The WW2, korean and vietnam war adventures are my favourites but I enjoy reading them all.
2004 issues - all covers by Ian Kennedy
If you look back at the issues that have been coming out so far in 2004, which ones are your favourites?
- "The Flying Shark", "Escape from Siberia", "Danger in the North", "Cargo of Fear", "Secret of the Cellar", "Savage Squad", "Deep in the Jungle", "Returned to Unit", "Packing a Punch", "Down to Earth", "Anti-tank Admiral" and "Island of Storms" to name a few.
Would you enjoy a specific personality coming along, someone that would appear a few times each year?
- It could work but probably only 3 to 4 times a year max.
Commando lives on, do you sometimes wish that some of the other classic stuff could be published again in one form or another? Like Battler Britton and such titles of years gone by.
- Very much so. As I said before the older Dandy and Beano stories are being reprinted every month. I would like to see the same done for the likes of Warlord, Victor and Battle Action. There is plenty of stories to choose from. At the moment the classic Charlies War is being reprinted in the Judge Dredd Magazine and Darkies Mob was reprinted last year which wsa greatly welcomed by the readers.
Few titles exist today. Have you seen any title from the States? Like perhaps some of Garth Ennis work which is pretty good as well?
- I have read Preacher which I really enjoyed. It was reprinted in the Judge Dredd magazine a few years ago which is how I came across it. Great artwork and writing. I also enjoy Todd MacFarlanes Spawn and his Sam and Twitch series.
The second world war was missing for a long time in cinema (and television), but has re-emerged in a big way the last few years. Do you think that the kids of today can find a title like Commando appealing once they have seen Tom Hanks storm the beach in Normandy, or Easy Company as seen on television in "Band of Brothers", and that this could all be good news for Commando?
- Some of them will find it appealing. It faces stiff competition from computer games and other electronic entertainment. I think a lot of them would rather play a computer game like Medal of Honor where they feel part of the action rather than read a comic book.
Also, games produced by PlayStation and other companies are doing good business with titles staged in WW2. To me, this indicates that the interest in this era will never go away and that some of the experts in the publishingworld may have been wrong in the past. What do you think?
- There will always be an interest in this era and I agree that that the experts have been wrong in the past. For me the 'experts' never ask the readers about changes in the magazines or comics. They give us what they they think we will like. This didn't work when Battle joined Action Force and then started to die a slow and painful death. The same happened alot of other comics at this time where they seemed to be dumbed down a bit and the 'Politically Correct' brigade didn't like the violence in the comics their kids were reading.
