yes i would love this book! my commando comics were my prized possessions as kid... i remember seeing my first one on the shelf of a corner shop in a holiday camp in wales, and my dad buying me it as an incentive for swimming a certain number of lengths in the pool :) i wrote to the publishers once asking where i could buy a title that sounded interesting (it was about a commando team and a german missile project) but which i could not find in the shops. not only did they send me a free copy, but also two art prints of commando covers. my favourite was one about german paras (from crete to being captured in russia). commando also helped me to brush up on my drawing as i copied figures from the comics. all in all i still love the comics and would love to win this. cheers commando/osprey!!
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When I was a lad…and just for a shilling – I fought the Hun in a Spitfire over the cliffs of Dover – I battled through Desert wastes as the rattiest of Rats! I stormed the beached of occupied Europe, with a treasured green Beret perched cockily over one eye – I scanned the artic seas for U-Boats and trekked the steamiest of Jungles to defeat my counties enemies – Yes that’s what happened when I was a lad!
When I was a lad …and just for a shilling – I had the greatest of educations! I learned the worlds languages – Achtung – Hande Hoch – Dummkopf – Nein – Ja – Schweinhund - Banzai – Avanti – Sacre Bleu – Yes the world was my a oyster - Geography too was unravelled for me – the world and its flora and fauna lay there portrayed in black and white from the Steppes of Russia to the wide blue expanses of the Pacific. And, of course the skeins of history unravelled in front of my eager eyes! Great Britain and her plucky Aussie Kiwi and other commonwealth allies won the war! (With a bit of help from the Yanks of course!) – Yes that’s what happened when I was a lad!
When I was lad…and just for a shilling – I knew the difference between a Tiger and a Panther, a Churchill and a Sherman – a Lancaster and a Heinkel – a Zero and a Hurricane – Which was and is more than a lot of filmmakers can claim – (Curse you Battle of the Bulge, Pearl Harbour and all!) Yes I learned and experianced a lot – for just a shilling – and it wasn’t even the kings’ – But that's just when I was a lad!
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Gott in Himmel!!!
I think I can safely say that Commando comics (and my Granddad’s war stories) are probably the reason why I’ve had a life long interest in military history!!! I read loads of them from the age of about 10-11 and I’m pretty sure my parents still have a large box full of them in their loft! Once I read them I’d then spend hours re-enacting them with a margarine tub of 1:72 scale soldiers, oh the fun!!! Long may Commando continue I say and well done to the National Army Museum for recognising their contribution to getting small boys into military history!
Favourite title? Hmmmm, it would have to be Beware The Werewolf!
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You'd expect me to say this, but it is a cracking book and will bring back all those memories and give you a glimpse behind the scenes. I can say that without embarrassment because it wasn't written by me!
Like you, I grew up with Commando and I'm now lucky enough to have the job of looking after it. imagine getting paid to read Commando.
I hope whoever wins the book enjoys it and will let me know what they think of it.
You can get me at: editor@commandomag.com
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Loved them - usually bought them (or got them bought for me)as a holiday treat. A favourite of mine that i still remember involved a group of British soldiers in France in 1940 - one of the tommies was an ex milkman and used to carry an old crate of milk bottles around in the bren carrier for good luck. Of course the position gets overrun by tanks and they have no anti tank weapons....but hang on..... we've got petrol and lots of empty milk bottles...eat that Jerry!! Classic stuff !!!
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Commando Comics along with the Victor and Warlord were my regular treat and what really started off my life long interest in Military History!
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When I was young Vancouver was a more "British' city than it has become now and you could buy British comics on many newstands throughout the downtown. I read mostly Beano, Archer, Hotspur and the occasional Commando (which seemed to be harder to find). Once I walked into a telephone pole while absorbed in reading a copy of Archer. The British comics were different than the American comics I was used too and I was impressed by the fact that the British war comics, although occasionally outlandish, seemed more realistic and rooted in actual history than the Sgt. Rock comics I was reading (where every issue it seemed Easy Company somehow to forget their guns and grenades, getting into a wild punch up with the Germans). These comics also helped me to realise that comics could be more than the superheros and cowboys of most American comics and I eagerly sought out comics from Britian, Europe (especially Tintin & Asterix) and later Japan, This has led me to a life devoted to drawing comics as well as a lifelong passion for wargaming and military history.
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I have never read these comics, and I'd love to remedy that deficiency with a free book! ;)
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Having rolled my trusty 8-sided die, I can announce the winner is baldyman! Baldyman could you please drop me an email at marketing@ospreypublishing.com and let me know where to send your book.
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