Battle of Britain bought to book
18 November 2009
THEY’RE devoured by action-adventure story-lovers from eight to 80, they’ve been in print for almost 50 years and they’ve got some famous fans, including Top Gear’s James May.
Commando Comic Books revel in nostalgia – they specialise in stories from World War II, accompanied by exquisite, detailed black and white illustrations.
From the stable of Scottish publishers DC Thomson (best known for The Dandy and The Beano), eight pocked-sized Commando books are published each month – four brand new stories and four from the archives.
The first Commando title came out in 1961 and the comic books have a worldwide circulation, publishing around 70,000 a month.
What’s the secret of their enduring appeal?
Editor Calum Laird said: “It’s the stories – their quality and complexity and the authenticity we try to give them, backed up with first-class artwork. The stories are quite complex and multi-layered.”
He acknowledged that Commando stories are not necessarily based on real events – “they are authentic but not totally accurate” and some people buy them mainly for the artwork.
Tales of derring-do from World War II remain the most popular with readers – Commando also features adventures from the Ancient Britons and the Romans to “the edges of space” explained Calum, but don’t cover conflicts more recent than the first Gulf War.
“That’s our notional cut-off because after then the stories are slightly too political for us – the canvas for a story becomes that much smaller.”
Designed to fit into the pocket of a pair of combat trousers, the books are read by fans from Australia to Aberdeen.
Calum said: “We have subscribers who are serving in Afghanistan – you might come across a Commando book in a dug-out in theatre somewhere – and we even have a regular reader in South Korea.”
You’re not likely to find any of that soppy, girly stuff spoiling a Commando title – the series has never featured a heroine.
“It’s just one of those things – in the time we cover, there were no women on the front line officially, apart from secret agents.
“We tend not to have female characters in the books because it introduces another dimension to the story which is not our stock in trade – romance.”
A military history enthusiast, Calum said it was a boyhood dream to become editor of Commando Books.
He worked on DC Thomson titles including Jackie, and Blue Jeans and was Assistant Editor of The Dandy before he took over as editor at Commando in 2007, succeeding George Low who had worked on the titles for 44 years.
He said: “I’ve read the books since forever and, as a lad, I used to copy the drawings in my bedroom.
“The original books are quite collectible, there’s a strong market for them and they’re not particularly expensive. Of course, Issue One is the most sought-after.”
If you think you have a good idea for a Commando story, don’t waste time writing it all out – Calum advises sending in a synopsis, see the website: www.commandomag.com for more details.
.jpg)
.jpg)