Review: Convict Commandos: Frenzy of Fear (Commando #4571) - Alan Hebden

With the exception of Private "Jelly" Jakes -- the unit's resident coward -- the Convict Commandos were among the most fearless fighters in the British Forces. So why were they running in terror from a unit of Germans leaving their quaking comrade behind in their haste? Something was badly awry, something had happened to throw the Convict Commandos into a Frenzy Of Fear.

A few years ago I read a bunch of digital issues of COMMANDO, the long-running British war comic, and some of my favorites were in a series called Convict Commandos, created and written by legendary comics author Alan Hebden with art by Manuel Benet. As you might guess from the series title, these stories chronicle the exploits of three criminals recruited to be commandos -- strongman Titch Mooney, knife expert Smiler Dawson, and burglar and explosives expert Jelly Jakes -- and the officer who leads them on their mission, Lt. Guy Tenby. I've decided to pick up where I left off and read the rest of the series, starting with this one from 2013, which is still available on Amazon. It's a fine yarn with a particularly good plot, as the Convict Commandos set out to destroy a Nazi radar jamming operation in occupied Greece, only to encounter a menace that forces them to act nothing like their usual selves. It's a clever, very entertaining tale, and if you're a fan of war comics, I give it a strong recommendation.

Commando #4433: Boss of the Barbary Apes - Eric Hebden

Since 1713 the mighty Rock of Gibraltar has been British, a massive stone fortress guarding the Mediterranean. But in World War Two, the Nazis had plans for capturing the Rock and knocking out the garrison by using deadly nerve gas. And all that stood in the way of the Germans was one lance-corporal and one small Barbary ape.

A couple of years ago I read a bunch of issues of COMMANDO, the long-running British war comic, especially while I was writing a column about them for BATTLING BRITONS, the excellent fanzine published by Justin Marriott. I guess I burned myself out on them, because I hadn't read one for a while. But I was in the mood for one this morning, and man, "Boss of the Barbary Apes" really hit the spot. A great script by the always dependable Eric Hebden, a fine cover by Ian Kennedy, and superb interior art by Cam Kennedy. The 64 pages flew by. This story was published originally in COMMANDO #568 back in July 1971 and then reprinted in COMMANDO #4433 in September 2019. The e-book edition (which is what I read) is still available on Amazon. If you want a tense, well-written World War II adventure yarn that can be read quickly, I give this one a high recommendation. I still have a ton of unread issues of COMMANDO on my Kindle. Might be time to get back to them and maybe pick up some new ones.

War Picture Library: Battle of Britain - Ian Kennedy

Famed British comics artist Ian Kennedy passed away a few weeks ago. I’ve seen many excellent covers  by Kennedy on issues of COMMANDO, but I haven’t read many stories that used his interior art. The volume WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: BATTLE OF BRITAIN reprints two such stories, “Steel Bats” and “’Never Say Die’ Wapiti” (both of which actually first appeared in the comic AIR ACE PICTURE LIBRARY in 1961 and 1964). As you’d expect from the collection’s title, both stories deal with the RAF’s efforts to combat the Germans’ intensive bombing raids on England during the early days of World War II.

“Steel Bats” follows the often used storyline of a younger, more impulsive pilot clashing with an older, more by-the-book superior officer. It plays out against a fascinating background, though, that of the British pilots struggling to shoot down German bombers they can’t see simply because the nights are too dark. In order to do that, the pilots have to come up with new ways of attacking the enemy, and who better to do that than our brash young protagonist? There’s plenty of action and drama before the odds begin to turn in the RAF’s favor in a climax that seems a tad bit rushed in its resolution of the story’s emotional conflict. That doesn’t detract from the story’s overall enjoyment, however.

The protagonist of “’Never Say Die’ Wapiti” is a young pilot dogged by bad luck. After several brushes with catastrophe, he’s assigned as the commanding officer of an air field where obsolete planes are stored as part of an effort to make it look like a functioning base to German reconnaissance planes. However, our hero and another young officer at the base decide to fix up one of the planes and get it in flying shape again. They decide to use this plane, a decrepit Westland Wapiti, to launch an unauthorized bombing raid on a German installation on the French coast. Well, we all know that’s not going to go smoothly, and sure enough, even though they get the Wapiti in the air, that sets off a complicated and action-packed chain of events. This is a superb story with a lot of twists and a satisfying ending.

The authors of these stories are unknown, but Ian Kennedy provides outstanding artwork on both of them. Kennedy was a great storyteller with his art and makes even aerial dogfights easy to follow, as well as giving the characters a lot of personality. I really enjoyed both of these stories, and if you’re a fan of British war comics, WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: BATTLE OF BRITAIN is worth seeking out. It's available in a Kindle edition or as a paperback.

Battling Britons 2 - Justin Marriott, ed.

Justin Marriott is back with BATTLING BRITONS 2, the fine journal he edits and publishes devoted to British war comics, which is good news indeed for comics fans.

The cover features by Justin Marriott and Paul Trimble focus on war comics set in Burma, but as always, there’s a wide variety of subject matter in this issue. Jim O’Brien takes a look at stories set during the conflict between the U.K. and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, and Justin Marriott contributes an article about Hellman of Hammer Force, one of the best-known German protagonists in war comics, along with an overview of other “good Germans” who starred in their own stories. Two real highlights are an article/interview with Gary Dobbs, one of the current COMMANDO scripters, and an interview with Keith Richardson and Oliver Pickles, the editors of a series of reprints called the Treasury of British Comics (published by Rebellion, the company that currently holds the rights to a lot of great material).

Dobbs is also the author of an excellent article about “Charley’s War”, regarded by many as the best British war comic ever published. I haven’t read that one, and since the whole run by the original writer and artist (Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun) has been reprinted, I really ought to. But there are also plenty of other reviews and features that make me want to search for reprints or see if digital editions are available. As always, this issue of BATTLING BRITONS is going to make me add to my collection!

I wrote another column in this one in which I have short reviews of a dozen issues of COMMANDO, the long-running (since 1961!) digest comic for which several of my friends have written scripts over the years. Unfortunately, this is my final column in BATTLING BRITONS, as the press of both writing and editorial work has become too time-consuming to keep it up. I’ve really enjoyed working on these and plan to continue reading COMMANDO on a regular basis (all the new editions are available as ebooks on Amazon, which sure makes it easier for those of us stateside), as well as the reprints I’ve already picked up. And I look forward to forthcoming editions of BATTLING BRITONS. This issue and the previous ones all get very high recommendations from me.

Battling Britons, Volume Two, Issue One - Justin Marriott, ed.

The fanzine for collectors and readers of vintage British war comics such as Battle Picture Weekly, Commando, Air Ace Picture Library and more. 90 pages of interviews, reviews, features and articles. The first issue includes -

60+ reviews of vintage pocketbook titles

Garth Ennis and Keith Burns discuss their 2015 reboot of the Johnny Red character

Brent Towns talks about his work as a Commando scriptwriter

Columns on aerial combat in comics, Marvel goes to Vietnam, master artist Cam Kennedy, eccentric British war strips and historical adventure titles

And much more!

(I'm proud to have a regular column of COMMANDO reviews in this fanzine. This is a great issue with a wide variety of material from some excellent contributors. As usual, in going through it I've already found a number of books I want to buy and read! If you're interested in war comics or war fiction in general, I give it a high recommendation.)

Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol - Stuart Jennett

A friend of mine mentioned this the other day and compared it to the old DC Comics series The War That Time Forgot, so I had to check it out. I'm definitely the target audience when it comes to anything about World War II G.I.s fighting dinosaurs.

I was pleased to find that this five-issue comic book series is pretty good. It's been reprinted in trade paperback and as an e-book and is worth reading. The concept is that a combined scientific and military force called The Watchmakers, led by Albert Einstein, is tasked with traveling through time to foil the plots of Nazi time travelers. The leader of one of the field teams is a tough non-com called only The Sarge, who, along with his men, is in prehistoric times with his men as this yarn opens.

Through some bad luck, The Sarge and one other soldier are the only ones who make it back to the present (well, the middle of World War II, which is the present as far as this series is concerned) only to find that things are in even worse shape there. Nazi agents have infiltrated the Watchmakers, wrecked their headquarters, and stolen a vital component of their time traveling equipment, escaping into prehistoric times with it. The Sarge and a new squad are sent to recover it and prevent the Nazis from changing the course of history.

All of that is set up in the first issue, and the rest of the series is nearly non-stop action. If you enjoy G.I. vs. dinosaur battles, Albert Einstein with a tommy gun fighting Nazi agents, and mind-bending time travel paradoxes, CHRONOS COMMANDOS is for you. Stuart Jennett's script is excellent. I'm not as big a fan of his art, but he's a decent storyteller and the art, by today's standards, is not bad at all. Taken together, Jennett delivers a very enjoyable yarn that I enjoyed quite a bit. Recommended.

Now Available: Battling Britons - Justin Marriott, ed.

Brits at War! War at sea, in the air and on land, as seen through the pages of classic British comics. The war comic has been an enduring part of British pop culture, from the invasion of the pocket books in the 1960s, through to the explosion of weekly strips in the 1970s. Often dismissed and derided, the time has come to reassess their importance as entertainment and education. In these pages are 215 capsule reviews of war comics from the 1960s through to the 2000s, with insights to the creators, themes and sheer readability. Strips from well-loved comics such as Action, Air Ace Picture Library, Battle Picture Library, Battle Picture Weekly, Commando, Valiant, Victor, War Picture Library and Warlord. Fully illustrated with covers and panels from the stories reviewed, many of them by top European creators. Edited and co-written by Justin Marriott, with contributions from Jim O’Brien, Steve Myall and James Reasoner. Foreword from award-winning journalist and war comics expert Paul Trimble. Afterword from Commando scripter Gary Martin Dobbs.

(I wrote some of the reviews in this excellent volume, and in reading through it, I've found a number of other stories I want to look for. If you're a fan of war comics, war fiction, or comics in general, I think you're going to want BATTLING BRITONS. Highly recommended.)

Commando: Lords of the Vortex - Stephen Walsh

US Army Nurse Emma Wade was no stranger to wacky adventures but this was a new one... Granted, she hadn't slept in the thirty hours she'd been at the Anzio beachhead, but it was strange indeed that she found herself tagging along with Rek Starlo, a self-confessed galactic avenger. Stranger still, he was determined to vanquish a group of Nazis he claimed were trying to drag Earth into their cosmic war. But was Rek really who he said he was? And -- more importantly -- was Emma?

I admit, I picked up this issue of COMMANDO because of the great Ian Kennedy cover. Also, "wacky" isn't a word I'm accustomed to seeing in COMMANDO sales copy. I mean, some of the stories are a little offbeat, sure, but I'm used to a certain level of grit and realism. "Lords of the Vortex", however, with its tale of an American nurse roped into a galactic war, is just pure goofy fun that never takes itself seriously. Stephen Walsh's script is fast-paced and very entertaining. He's written a couple of earlier COMMANDO stories and, based on this one, I've already bought them. One word of warning: "Lords of the Vortex" ends on a cliffhanger, so if you're expecting the usual stand-alone story, it's not. I don't know when the next part will be published, but I'll be keeping an eye out for it.

Commando: The Bayonet Fighters - Eric Hebden

When a man has served for five years in the Foreign Legion you can reckon he knows a thing of two about fighting. Dirk Lassiter had come through many a savage battle, but the grimmest fight of his whole life was against a man who knew just as much as he did -- another Legionnaire!

This issue of COMMANDO, published last year, is actually a reprint of a yarn from 1972. I don't know if that's the original cover, but I really like it and that's what caused to pick up the e-book edition, along with the fact that it's written by Eric Hebden, father of long-time British war comic author Alan Hebden and a really fine writer himself. I'm a sucker for a French Foreign Legion story, but that's only the way this one starts out. The story has some nice scope to it, covering several years and ranging in setting from Libya to Madagascar. As always, a top-notch war tale, and I enjoyed it very much.

War Dog - Alan Hebden, Cam Kennedy, Mike Western

 

WAR DOG is a 16-part serial that debuted in the December 29, 1979 issue of the British weekly war comic BATTLE ACTION and ran for several months on into 1980. The art on the first five of the three-page episodes is by Mike Western. Cam Kennedy is responsible for the art on the rest of the serial, which was written by Alan Hebden. This is an absolutely outstanding World War II yarn featuring a protagonist who never says a word, and we’re never really privy to his thoughts. I’m talking, of course, about Kazan, the massive German Shepherd, who, as this story opens, is a guard dog at a Luftwaffe base in Russia.

Kazan winds up in the hands of some Russian partisans, and that’s just the start of a journey that finds him taking part in an Arctic convoy, getting in trouble in England, barely escaping a bureacracy that wants him dead, serving masters in several different armies, surviving a plane crash in the Libyan desert, being pursued by a madman who wants to kill him, and finally encountering an unexpected destiny. I’m used to plot twists in Hebden’s scripts, but they come so fast in this story that it’s almost dizzying. And just when you think Hebden’s going to push things so far over the top that you have to say, “Oh, come on!”, darned if he doesn’t make it all come together and make perfect sense.

I really enjoyed this one. It’s a great story with epic scope and a very likable protagonist, and the artwork by Western and Kennedy is richly detailed and top-notch all the way through. Garth Ennis has reprinted this in the second volume of his BATTLE CLASSICS series, and I give it a high recommendation. Also in that second volume is FIGHTING MANN, a Vietnam-set serial also by Hebden and Kennedy, and I’ll probably be reading that one soon. A year ago I knew about COMMANDO but was unaware of the wealth of great material in the other British war comics. I’m having a fine time reading them.

Commando: Cardiff Blitz - Gary Dobbs

Cardiff, 2nd January, 1941. For over ten hours, the Welsh capital was blitzed by over one hundred German bombers who were determined to turn the city to ruins. On the ground and among the rubble was the Martin family. The father, Charlie, was a firefighter in the AFS and his daughter, Freda, was an Air Raid Warden. While Charlie put out the flames from the incendiary bombs, Freda helped civilians get to the safety of the shelters. But the Blitz wouldn't be the only challenge the pair would encounter that cold Cardiff night...

CARDIFF BLITZ is the first COMMANDO story written by Gary Dobbs, also known as blogger and Western writer Gary Martin Dobbs. I believe he has several more scripts in the pipeline, and I hope so because this is an excellent homefront tale of World War II. The characters are very good and we can't help rooting for them, including a cat known as The General who prompts some of the action. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more issues of COMMANDO written by Dobbs.

Commando: HMAS Expendable - Brent Towns

The crews of The Wombat and The Tiger are reunited once again, on a mission to uncover the truth about a new terror lurking in the Coral Sea! Are they really being betrayed by their American allies -- or is there more to this than meets the eye? They've been fooled once by radio transmissions, but now Captain Griffin has a cunning plan...

Brent Towns spins another fine yarn of naval warfare in this sequel to THE WOMBAT AND THE TIGER. The feuding battleship captains--who are also reluctant allies--are excellent characters, and there are plenty of battle scenes and plot twists. As an added bonus, an Admiral Towns makes an appearance in this one as well. As always, this is a very entertaining story.

The General Dies at Dawn - Alan Hebden

 

Like DEATH SQUAD, which I read recently and really enjoyed, THE GENERAL DIES AT DAWN is a serial from the British comic BATTLE, written by Alan Hebden with art by John Cooper. And also like DEATH SQUAD, it’s written from the German point of view, although there’s only one protagonist in this story, not the five of DEATH SQUAD.

That protagonist is the general of the title, Otto von Margen, a Panzer commander fighting on the Eastern Front in Russia. As the story opens, von Margen is imprisoned, convicted of treason and cowardice and awaiting execution by the SS at dawn the next day. But it’s the spring of 1945, and American troops are closing in on the prison where von Margen is being held. If they get there first and take control, von Margen probably will be spared. If not . . . he’ll keep his date with the SS firing squad.

So to pass the time on what may be his last night, von Margen tells the story of his military career to the soldier guarding him, with each part of the tale being another episode in the serial. Von Margen, a proud officer from the Junker class, has clashed repeatedly with the SS during the war, such friction eventually leading to his imprisonment and conviction. But along the way, he takes part in many battles, including the desperate Siege of Stalingrad.

This story is shorter but more epic in scale than DEATH SQUAD, which covered a relatively short period of time rather than most of the war. But there’s plenty of action, mostly tank battles on the frozen Russian plains. Von Margen is an interesting character, a professional soldier who fights because that’s his job, another example of a German protagonist the reader can sort of root for, even though he’s on the wrong side in the war.

Hebden’s script has the usual twists. He can pack an awful lot of plot into these three-page episodes. Cooper’s art is excellent as well. All of it comes together to create a considerable amount of genuine suspense as the story winds down and we flip the pages to find out whether the Americans will arrive in time to save von Margen’s life. Do we even want them to? That’s a question every reader will have to answer for themselves, I suppose. This story was reprinted in the collection BATTLE CLASSICS, edited by Garth Ennis, which is still available, and if the others in that volume are as good, it’s well worth reading.

Death Squad - Alan Hebden

Having grown up reading OUR ARMY AT WAR (with Sgt. Rock), OUR FIGHTING FORCES (with Gunner and Sarge—and Pooch!), and all the other DC war comics, plus SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS over at Marvel, plus being a huge fan of the TV series COMBAT!, I had a hard time warming up to the sub-genre of war fiction that features German protagonists. Oh, I read ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT by Erich Maria Remarque and was impressed by it, but it took the ENEMY ACE series by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert to convince me that good, compelling war stories could be told from the enemy point of view. Still, I haven’t read much in that field. I have novels by Sven Hassel, Charles Whiting (writing as Leo Kessler) and Kenneth Bulmer (writing as Bruno Krauss) that feature German protagonists, but I haven’t gotten around to them yet.

But then along comes DEATH SQUAD, a magnificent collection of a serial written by Alan Hebden, with art by Eric Bradbury, that originally appeared in the British comic book BATTLE ACTION in 1980 and ’81, and just like that, I’m a big fan. This is one of the best war comics I’ve ever read.

The Death Squad is part of a punishment battalion in the German Wehrmacht and consists of five men: Granddad, the crusty old non-com who’s also a veteran of the first World War; con man Gus; knife expert Frankie; Swede, a Scandinavian lumberjack who’s deadly with a throwing axe; and Licker, the only real Nazi in the bunch, stiff-necked and pompous, as you’d expect. They’re grunts, with the exception of Licker, and as such they’re fighting more for each other and to stay alive, rather than for the Fuhrer or the Fatherland. This seems to be a common concept in the sub-genre. The protagonists are either enlisted men or occasionally an aristocratic officer, but none of them are actually Nazis, and none of them get along with the Gestapo or the S.S. This allows the reader to sympathize with them, at least to a certain extent.

It’s impossible not to sympathize with the Death Squad, as they get thrown into mission after mission where the odds of their survival are almost nil. They’re fighting on the Eastern Front against Russia (which admittedly helps in making the reader root for them) and have to deal with the terrible extremes of a Russian winter, to boot. They infiltrate Moscow to destroy a tank factory, get stranded on a snowed-in troop train under attack by Russian partisans, are tortured by sadistic prison commandants, encounter a beautiful female Russian freedom fighter, and engage in a deadly game of masquerade and deception. Even when they’re transferred back to France, to what seems like an easy job guarding a U-Boat post, they immediately run into trouble from British commandos raiding the place.

Hebden’s script is great, especially in the extended Russian front sequence where he throws in plot twist after plot twist and makes them all work. Characterization is, of necessity, rather limited except for the Death Squad, but each of them comes alive vividly. The tough but likable old-timer Granddad is my favorite, but they’re all portrayed very well. The art by Eric Bradbury is also top-notch, filled with action and details, capturing both the carnage and the poignant moments of war. If you’re a fan of war comics, or war fiction in general, I give DEATH SQUAD a very high recommendation. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Commando: The Flying Emu - Brent Towns

Estranged twins Teddy and Ernie Sharp followed their own paths in the Great War. Teddy took to the skies while Ernie trained hard with the Australian Imperial Force, determined to make his mark. Then, a chance meeting on the Western Front and Teddy's untimely death changed Ernie's life forever, as he abandoned the AIF and took on his brother's wings in the Australian Flying Corps. But his natural talent in the air would only take him so far under the sinister gaze of the German Imperial Black Hawks!

It's always a good day when there's a new COMMANDO yarn by Brent Towns to read. This is a World War I aviation story, for the most part, and that's one of my favorite subgenres of war fiction. As always, Towns spins his tale with plenty of heart and action, and I had a fine time reading it.

Forgotten Books: Hit the Dirt: Six of the Best Comic Book Adventures from Battle Picture Library - Steve Holland, ed.

BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY was a British comic book series featuring World War II stories of approximately 60 pages in each issue, much like COMMANDO, which is still being published today. BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY debuted in 1961 and ran until 1985, but it was most popular in the Sixties and Seventies. There are a number of anthologies of stories collected from its pages, and I’ve rounded up several of them. These volumes were edited by my friend Steve Holland, and he’s done a fine job of putting them together. The first one I’ve read is HIT THE DIRT, which concentrates on the war on the ground. These reprints don’t include writer and artist information, so I can’t tell you who wrote and drew these stories, but I can tell that they’re good.

The first one, “Top Secret”, is from BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #160. It’s about a team of British and Canadian commandos infiltrating a castle in Germany where some sinister scientific research is going on that could change the course of the war. The team has the usual sorts of conflicts and back-stories among its members, but that traditional plot is executed very well and the script holds a surprise or two along the way. This is an excellent tale to begin the book.

“Diggers Defiant”, from BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #128, starts out as a P.O.W. story as a group of Australians escapes from a Japanese prison camp where they’re being used as slave labor to build an airstrip. That seems like enough for a complete story right there, but this yarn follows several of the men as they return to the war. It’s an interesting tale as it considers the effects that their brutal experience has had on them and how it influences them as they continue to battle the Japanese.

Originally published in BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #119, “Fire—and Destroy!” intertwines the stories of a soldier disgraced in battle because of a mistake that resulted in the deaths of sixty British soldiers, and the war correspondent who’s trying to get to the truth of the matter. This is an excellent story with lots of emotional depth to go with the plentiful action and some top-notch art, to boot.

“Honours Even”, from BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #133, follows a British soldier from Dunkirk to the fighting in the aftermath of D-Day and the odd circumstances that keep allowing him to win medals and honors that maybe he doesn’t deserve. The unknown author of this one does an excellent job of characterization, ultimately leaving it up to the reader to decide what their opinion is of the protagonist.

“The Scorpion’s Sting”, from BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #129, is about a tough British sergeant who run any risk to protect his men, even when that courage borders on recklessness with his own life. The reason for that is a secret the sergeant carries, and it’s a very nice twist, followed by another twist very late in the story. I saw that one coming, but it’s still effective, making this an unusual but very good yarn.

This collection wraps up with “Blood Feud”, from BATTLE PICTURE LIBRARY #123. This story is set in Burma and centers around the clash between two officers, one of whom believes the other is to blame for a Japanese trap that cost the lives of almost an entire company. When they have to work together on a mission to protect a vital bridge deep in the jungle, fireworks are inevitable, and not just between British paratroopers and Japanese soldiers. This yarn has the same sort of moral grayness that runs through many of these stories, but it also has the best art I’ve seen so far in any of these British war comics. I have no idea who the artist is, but he did an excellent job.

Overall, HIT THE DIRT is a really good collection. All the stories are good, and there’s a nice variety in settings and plots. I don’t know how many such volumes there are, but I’m going to be looking for more of them.

Commando: Raging Metal - Brent Towns

August 1942.
Raging metal burned hot under the scorching desert sun. But a grudge between two Aussie tank commanders boiled even hotter. Sergeant Bob Andrews hated Sergeant Simon Meredith, but when Bob's tank was knocked for six and he saw Meredith leave him high and dry -- his rage exploded fivefold. The coward had abandoned Bob to die, or worse -- be captured by the Jerries! And Bob wasn't a forgiving man!

(This is a great example of how Brent Towns mixes action, great characters, and history in these COMMANDO yarns. He clearly did a lot of research for this one but never slows the story down for infodumps. I've written some about the tank war in North Africa, and I really enjoyed this story.)

Commando: Retribution - Brent Towns

Charlie Grubb's father is found dead -- murdered in his own factory. The main suspect has fled, joining the Australian Imperial Force to avoid justice. But if he thinks he can get away that easily, he's a fool. Charlie will do anything to avenge his father, even if it means tracking the dog to the beaches of Gallipoli and Messines Ridge!

(After a short break, I'm back to reading COMMANDO issues, and as expected, this one by Brent Towns is excellent. It's a well-constructed mystery yarn and covers a considerable amount of time and distance. I like the World War I setting, too. You can't go wrong with these if you enjoy war comics.)

Commando: Convict Commandos: Mask of Death - Alan Hebden

The Convict Commandos -- Jelly Jakes, Smiler Dawson, Titch Mooney -- and their leader Guy Tenby are back in action. This time they are planning to snatch a scientist from under the noses of the Nazis in occupied Europe. It's no easy job and, with treachery afoot, the prison sentences they're trying to avoid begin to look a very tempting alternative.

(This is another good adventure yarn with some effective--but not really that surprising--plot twists. Another good job on the art by Manuel Benet, as well. I've read enough issues of COMMANDO now that I'm starting to get a pretty good handle on how the different writers handle things. Alan Hebden has a denser style, with longer captions and more description. Iain McLaughlin's stories are more breakneck action. Brent Towns' yarns have the most heart and emotional impact. All of them work very well and provide a nice variety.)

Commando: Codename Warlord: Ship of Fools - Iain McLaughlin

Get ready for Lord Peter Flint like he's never been seen before -- with a beard! German Navy zealots are hell-bent on building a 'Fuhrer' class warship, the biggest warship of all time, and only Britain's top secret agent, Codename Warlord, can stop them!

(I find it kind of, um, odd that the sales copy for this issue of COMMANDO chooses to emphasize the fact that Lord Peter Flint disguises himself with a fake beard. It's really not a huge part of the plot. The story is very enjoyable overall, though, a good espionage yarn set in the very early days of the war. Iain McLaughlin's stories are almost non-stop action and quite entertaining. I don't talk much about the art in these, but that job is handled this time by Manuel Benet, and I like his work quite a bit. At times it reminds me of Joe Kubert, and at others of John Severin. When you're talking about war comics, you can't do much better than those two!)