2012-02-01
On this page we will mention news and things of interest to the old boys club. Contact us if you have something to share with us.
2012-02-01 / "Firefly And His Majesty" is the fifth volume in the Battlefields series coming out of Dynamite in the States, featuring Garth Ennis. I have to say that the project is fast becoming the stuff of folklore and I suggest that every member of the Old Boys Club (that means you!), check this out. Issue 6, "Motherland", is also out (female pilots on the russian front). Great work.
2011-12-23 / Commando has increased sales slightly, but the really good news is that subsciptions is up with 45% this year. Not many titles has got that kind of support in this day and age. Old Boys are waking up everywhere, what else could it be? Good news though. Also, Commando´s current batch of issues (4455-4458) makes the 2011 run a staggering 104 issues, that´s not bad at all. Good work lads.
2011-12-08 / Yesterday saw the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a day that will indeed live forever in infamy. Military Heritage has just released a special issue about the day and the lads over at Commando has also just released an issue (4451) that has a story that begins with the raid, "Chuck Ballard goes to war". This issue was written by Norman Adams who passed away in August, and it will be the second to last adventure to bear his name from Commando. With a great cover from Ian Kennedy and good art inside by Olivera it is certainly a classic addition to a classic title.
2011-11-27 / I really enjoy Airfix Model World and thought that perhaps a mention here could be in place. This magazine also includes a lot of history so the mix feels really good. I just read the December issue (see above) and it was very good. I will love this stuff to the end of days so I might as well indulge in it.
2011-10-28 / Carlton are set to release another batch of 200 page Commando pocket books on April 12 2012. Nice to know that the demand is there, these collections are beautiful and they are certainly a nice addition to the ever growing Commando franchise.
Commando - shortest review ever?
2011-10-28 / Just a quick word to say "Wow!". That´s all you need to know.
2011-10-13 / This 250 page special, featuring four Commando adventures, is about to see the light of day in Estonia. Where Eagles Dare heard rumours and Calum Laird at Commando headquarters helped out with the cover and the following information to The Old Boys Club; "Hello All, Latest news from Estonia is that a four-in-one Commando selection is about to go on sale. The stories inside will be: 4163 Raiders Recalled, 4171 Raiders On The Rampage, 4179 Raiders At The Ready, 4187 Raiders - The Reckoning. All four have stories by Ferg Handley, inside art by Keith Page and covers by Ian Kennedy. And, as you’ll all know, they are stories featuring our own special forces team Ramsey’s Raiders." Good news.
2011-10-10 / Former Commando top brass George Low has put together "50 Years - A Home For Heroes", a big format 176 page gem packed with action and history that is released this week from Carlton. "The chapters are; Introduction; The World of Commando; Editing Commando; Readers' Feedback; The Writers; The Story Artists; The Cover Artists; The Top 50 Commando Covers; Complete Commando Title Listing. Plus six full length specially chosen books", says George to Where Eagles Dare. "It was a lot of work but a lot of fun too" he adds.
A good day
2011-10-10 / This is what a pretty good day looks like. Four brand new issues of Commando (4435-4438) and the new Victor book arriving in the mail, plus some nice stuff worth a couple of quid from a second hand store that I decided to raid this morning. LP covers from the sixties and seventies, with gals like this one, is always a nice addition to the collection. Obviously, it was decided at the time that Peter Covent´s "Stereo Special!" (Philips, 1970) had a better chance to sell a few copies if it had a high heeled dancing girl on the cover. They may have been right, since the impulse still works (and never mind the music, eh). A nice war novel by Brian Callison called "A Flock of Ships" (1970) was also spotted, with a blurb from Alistair Maclean saying "The best war story I have ever read" makes it easy for a member of The Old Boys Club to say, "OK then". To top it off, I also found one of these cheesy looking and supposedly spooky novels with pretty woman running from castle in woods on the cover. The original UK title for this 1979 Kate Britton book was "Nightmare at Lillybrook". It doesn´t take much to make an ordinary day just a little bit more special and there´s no ending in sight for this kind of harmless fun anytime soon.
2011-10-09 / Korkeajännitys is the title of the Commando comics that keep coming out in pocket book format in good old Finland, but they also publish 780 page specials, such as this one. The air war is the theme of this title and the cover is just stunning. The finns knows how to party like it´s 1999.
2011-09-30 / Carlton Books have just published this 144 page beauty, "The Best of The Victor", for Old Boys everywhere. The cover is certainly quite nice. Something for christmas perhaps.
2011-09-21 / Sounds big but it´s very underground. This Commando feature is published in RETROFUTURE (issue 4), a small magazine for eccentrics in Sweden (1000 copies). It deals with the fact that Commando is 50 years of age and still running.
2011-09-16 / I understand that Commando has had quite a bit of media attention in the UK in last few weeks, and word has it that The Daily Telegraph is writing about the title in the Reviews section today.
2011-09-09 / The lads over at Commando headquarters are talking with artist Ian Kennedy about his craft on camera, and you can view this right here at the Commando site now. Great idea.
2011-08-27 / Prion has released a nice book with four classic Gimlet adventures written by Biggles author W.E Johns between 1943 and 1947. The format is inspired by the batch of war comics books that we have seen in the last few years and with a splendid cover to boot it practically begs to be part of your collection. As I am sure it will be.
Good war movie from Sweden
2011-08-27 / As you know Sweden was not part of WW II so there is no history of WW II movies from this country to speak of as a result. But last year some brave lads (all Old Boys no doubt) went along and created an action packed WW II movie anyhow, which became highly respected at home. This movie is now out on DVD in the UK with the title "Beyond The Border" - and the story is simple enough; Jerry captures some swedish conscipts on the wrong side of the border between Nazi occupied Norway and Sweden. A few men go over the border in a rescue mission that is not going to be friendly in nature. Great stuff.
2011-08-18 / UK newspaper The Independent published a story on Commando on August 10, written by Rob Hastings. Read it here.
The Mystery And The Museum
2011-08-18 / A few words from Commando headquarters regarding the National Army Museum issue of Commando (issue 4419, out now) and the historic cooperation between two great institutions.
"It was a relic of a past British Army campaign in a far-flung corner of the world. Just another piece of military gear dropped and forgotten in the heat of battle. Even so, the man who had found it, Sergeant John Rogers, wanted to know more and took it to the National Army Museum. There it was quickly identified as a Foreign Service Cork Helmet and the owner's name in faded ink was made out on the lining. So what was the real story of soldier Ben Trimshaw and how did his headgear come to be abandoned in a remote watchtower in Afghanistan? Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor. It’s well known that the home of the best action and adventure stories is Commando. Likewise, the best place to go for the history of the British Army is Chelsea, and specifically the National Army Museum. Like Commando, it does exactly what it says on the tin. And what does that have to do with this story? Well, when the Museum and Commando got together to mount an exhibition of our artwork, imaginations were fired to produce a story that would feature the talents of both, dare I say it, institutions. So, with the advice of the NAM experts, the fevered imagination of writer Mac MacDonald and the artistic skills of Keith Page a unique story was created. The story you have in your hands. We have enjoyed putting it together, we hope you enjoy reading it just as much. PS With free entry, can you afford to miss this exhibition?"
