Affording to buy Commando

Pocket-sized war 'comic' that has been around since 1961 and is still going strong.

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BeanoKev70
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Affording to buy Commando

Post by BeanoKev70 »

I love Commando but can only afford to buy the occassional one that catches my eye. Do you think the cost of Commando effects the amount sold on a monthly basis?, does anyone else have the same problem as me?. I would love to see a revamped commando in the same format as say Classic from the Comics, larger size same price say two a month, I would then happily subscribe to it...anyone else have any thoughts on this?

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nottinghamian
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by nottinghamian »

I agree. I love Commando, but eight a month is a lot both to pay for - and to read.

I wish they'd bring in a 'half subscription' where you could opt for four a month. You'd have to take your chance with the ones you got, but two new and two reprint would seem fair.

STARBOY
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by STARBOY »

I think the size of the Commando comics is one of its main selling points - it doesn't look like a traditional comic and can be stuck in your pocket etc and I think at encourages a lot of folk who are not regular comic readers to pick them up for quick read. Making it more of a "comic" in format, IMHO would effect the sales - 8 a month is a lot if your a collector all the same but they must sell , so good luck to DCT and that is really only the equivilant of 2 comics a week (the only 2 adventure type titles DCT publishes now).

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philcom55
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by philcom55 »

I've always wondered how well Commando sells to members of the British armed forces ( American war comics like Sgt. Rock were always known to sell well at PX stores ). If they do still represent a significant market I'd guess that the digest size is quite useful for taking copies into combat zones, etc. Anybody know what sales are like in Afghanistan?

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felneymike
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by felneymike »

Apparently the average age of readers is 15. I certianly remember getting them quite a lot around the age, and recently restarted.

The price of 8 a month is just over £10, which i don't think is all that bad really, for the amount of reading in them! I have a big "to read" pile built up, but then i read a lot. They're nice and short enough to go through in a spare half an hour or so, without the "commitment" of a novel, serial text story in a story-paper or a UJ. And without the unwieldy size of the Boys' Friend or Chums bound volumes with the complete stories in those XD.

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Commando CO
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by Commando CO »

We know that buying every Commando as it comes out can stretch the wallet a bit and we do what we can to ease the burden. Our quarterly direct debit sub is already below the counter price and our subscriptions people are finalising another deal to drive it even lower. There should be an announcement in the July issues.

There again, the average Commando contains 6,500 words over 63 pages which I hope you'll agree is good value for £1.30. There is certainly a lot of work put into them by the whole team.

Afghan sales? Well, we don't know as anybody in the British forces with a sub will have it sent to their BFPO address which means they could be anywhere. What I can say for sure is that there are Commando calendars hanging in the billets and offices of 2 Rifles and 6 Force Protection. I know because I sent them!

And a very smart T-shirt they sent me in exchange.

As for the average age of the reader, we've got two peaks on the graph. One at about 13-15 as FelneyMike suggests, and another in the mid-40s.

Go figure.
Commando — home of heroes since 1961

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Digifiend
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by Digifiend »

For those who can't afford to buy them all, you could always wait for the themed hardback collections, which are also printed at a larger scale. The only one I can think of off hand is Anzac, but I know there's a few others - and some for some of Commando's defunct competitors as well. You can get them in Waterstones.

It's common practice for subscriptions to be cheaper than buying every issue in the shops, but additional discounts are always a good thing. Your readers will be happy CCO!

I do agree with nottinghamian that there should be at least one new episode amongst the reprints, but all the adventure artists these days seem to work for 2000AD or go to America. :( I suppose there is Nigel Dobbyn, who does Billy the Cat for the Beano Annuals (that is still the case apparently, despite someone else doing it in the weekly), but would his artwork suit the military style of storytelling, would he be able to commit to a monthly, and would he be cheap enough? A lot of What Ifs...

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colcool007
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by colcool007 »

Commando CO wrote:...Afghan sales? Well, we don't know as anybody in the British forces with a sub will have it sent to their BFPO address which means they could be anywhere. What I can say for sure is that there are Commando calendars hanging in the billets and offices of 2 Rifles and 6 Force Protection. I know because I sent them!....
Must admit to very rarely seeing them in the stores for those unusual places. I know as I have been to a few of them. Most readers are stealth readers as it is very difficult to tell what someone is getting through the post unless it has DCT plastered all over the front! :lol: And I know that at least one other calendar is hanging in a very sunny island at the moment!
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

felneymike
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by felneymike »

I do agree with nottinghamian that there should be at least one new episode amongst the reprints,
Er... there's 4 new episodes amongst the reprints already?

Colin M
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Re: Affording to buy Commando

Post by Colin M »

I've really enjoyed re-discovering Commando's this last few years - yep I'm in the mid 40 age range! - but noticed the steady price increases from 80p/90p to current levels but that still represent great value amongst everything else today.

I tend to only pick up the historical period ones as opposed to WWI and II, which usually means only one to buy every other month which is kind to my pocket although probably not much of a boost to sales...

Colin

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