1964 reprint this month.

[stevezodiac]

This month's Commandos all have a D-Day theme and I noticed one of them is a reprint from 1964. It looks exactly like a current issue inside which just shows that Commando has never really changed in over 40 years. I have.

[Digifiend]

You're not kidding. They've never even drastically changed the logo. I think in print media, only The Sun newspaper has kept their logo just as long (in both cases, it was simply redone on computer).

I wonder why Commando has never added colour like the Fun-Size Beano and Dandy did when they replaced the Comic Libraries - and even they had black and red.

By the way, 45 years!

[stevezodiac]

As a wild west fan I think i'm right in saying that the colt 45 revolver is still manufactured to the same specifications as it was in 1876. Nothing to do with comics i'll admit but still semi fascinating.

[Commando CO]

I wonder why Commando has never added colour like the Fun-Size Beano and Dandy did when they replaced the Comic Libraries - and even they had black and red.

I'll try to give you an answer to this, Digifiend. But first I'd better say that I'm not the only Commando editor who thinks colour would be a good idea.

First, we'd have to go full colour to do justice to the subject. A single colour, or even two, wouldn't do justice to the subject matter. Having done that, we'd have to upgrade the paper or the ink would go right through to the other side. (Try an experiment with a fibre tip or two on that one, the results are truly repulsive!)

Anorak fact: Commando is printed on 65gsm newsprint.

Thicker paper would make the Commando bigger but that's not the real problem. The real problem is that artists, quite rightly, ask for more for colour work. Especially so if the colours have to be authentic to the real thing.

The preparation of the books also costs more, four printing plates instead of one, four inks instead of one for a kick off.

Now, I think (and I hope lots of people agree) that Commando is a premium product but their is a limit to how much you can ask people to pay.

So what it boils down to is economics, pure and simple.

While we're on the subject of Colts, Steve, isn't the .45 automatic the same as ever, too?

[colcool007]

While colour would be nice, I prefer the quality of artwork that we get from Messr Page, Jorge, Ridgeway et al as it is. As colour always seems to make people want to go mad on colour schemes that detract from the artwork.

[stevezodiac]

I did post the query about colour in Commando last year. How come it works with the Beano and Dandy libraries without bleeding through? It would be interesdting to look at somehting like Warlord and see how well the single colour worked in its adventure stories. Could not the extra price be offset by publishing fewer copies per month? Eight is a bit excessive.

No doubt a fellow forum-ite will chip in and tell me i'm WRONG WRONG WRONG!

BTW yes but the Colt 45 automatic started production around the turn of the century (1900 i mean). Prefer revolvers as they are more aesthetically (sic) pleasing.

[Commando CO]

Hi Steve,

Yes, it works with the Dandy and Beano Fun-Size. And indeed it worked with Warlord. But that was not the full palette of colours an I for one would not like to see a Commando story in black and a single, or two, other colours. Maybe I'm just too demanding, but there you are...

When the Victor went to full colour it was with different (better) paper and a different press process.

As for the extra price being offset by fewer copies... Sorry but that doesn't work. Each copy sells around about as many as any other because most of our readers buy every copy. (Which I'm very grateful for, by the way.) So if you drop one copy, or even two, you drop that many copies. What that means is that you get a reduced in proportion to the number of issues you drop. So the economics stay the same. (I hope this makes sense. Just because I know what I mean doesn't mean you can follow my ramblings!)

On the subject of the automatic versus the revolver, put me down for the automatic. I think it looks better. I think it's because I was first aware of them in the film "The Wild Bunch" with good old Ernest Borgnine and William Holden.

Happy days!

[stevezodiac]

Yes, and despite the immense amount of blood, gore and brains in modern movies, I still find the final shootout in the Wild Bunch utterly breathtaking. As one film magazine put it - "Astonishing".

[Kashgar]

Absolutely Steve. Almost as breathtaking as the moment in 'Once Upon a Time in the West' when, to the strains of that fantastic Morricone score, Henry Fonda and his boys walk out of the desert with cold-blooded murder in mind.

[stevezodiac]

I still remember the first time i saw that scene, it was around 1969 when it came out and was being revewed on Film Night with Tony Bilbo on BBC2. Me and my brother were aghast at the imagery.

[BeanoKev70]

Can I ask the Ed, has he considered doing a couple of colour specials a year? I.E Commando Summer Special in a bigger format.. This would surely expand the Commando universe without touching the original, I for one would love this a few times a year....also why are some of Thompsons classic strips never used in commando...the likes of Braddock, Union Jack Jackson etc..?

[colcool007]

Can I ask the Ed, has he considered doing a couple of colour specials a year? I.E Commando Summer Special in a bigger format.. This would surely expand the Commando universe without touching the original, I for one would love this a few times a year....also why are some of Thompsons classic strips never used in commando...the likes of Braddock, Union Jack Jackson etc..?

New Braddock stories. Now there's a great thought. Also, in case, anyone isn't aware, subscribe to Commando and you get a free gift! I'm tempted to ask for one, but I'd get murdered at work if I did bring it in!

[Digifiend]

Good idea about Braddock, since it's a war story and that's what Commando mainly focuses on. Why hasn't it been done years ago? I mean, apart from reprints in Classics, there's nowhere else for him to appear these days.

[ogtec]

This month's Commandos all have a D-Day theme and I noticed one of them is a reprint from 1964. It looks exactly like a current issue inside which just shows that Commando has never really changed in over 40 years. I have.

I'm still in shock over the fact that there's a real advertisement in the back, albeit for another product that has people saying "Do they still make those?" (Airfix, for those without an issue). Aside from licensed products such as calendars or spin-offs such as other comics, I'm not sure I've seen a single real advert in the ten plus years I've been picking these up (3261 Eagle on the Shore, fact fans)

George

[Commando CO]

Can I ask the Ed, has he considered doing a couple of colour specials a year? I.E Commando Summer Special in a bigger format.. This would surely expand the Commando universe without touching the original, I for one would love this a few times a year....also why are some of Thompsons classic strips never used in commando...the likes of Braddock, Union Jack Jackson etc..?

Have we considered it? Well, yes, and a lot more besides. It comes down to costs and numbers (as everything seems to these days), and so far we haven't managed to get things to add up. It doesn't mean we haven't stopped trying, though.

Here's hoping something can be worked out.