When Commando Gets Creepy: Ancient Nightmares.

 Hello and welcome to another post about British war comic Commando and the times it got all Weird War Tales.

 (Probably not that often but when you've racked up nearly 6000 issues,  eventually  you end up with enough material for a clutch of blog posts)

 So far we've covered ghosts, haunted artefacts, tanks with a mind of their own, lethal curses and that time a forest started eating people. (See previous posts for more details) 

 I was originally going to finish this series off with one last post but had a bit of a think and really, I would be better off splitting things up.  Makes it easier to write if nothing else. 

Commando 5589: Night of the Gorgons (2022)

1943 A fighter sweep over one of the Dodecanese Islands ends in a nightmare when the Spitfires return to base  and one of the pilots has, somehow, turned to stone. His friend decides to join a commando team investigating the island, expecting some sort of Nazi super weapon. What he finds is an awful lot of statues and a mysterious woman...

 You will be relieved to hear that yes, there is a mid-air fight between a winged Gorgon and a Spitfire. I think we can all agree that this is awesome. 

  The rest is also a good read that takes an out-there idea and runs with it. The way the commandos are gradually picked off is pure horror-film territory. The malevolent Melania Mandrapilias is a memorable villainess and makes a nice change from the usual Nazi brutes. 

Somebody on the editorial team must have liked her as well because, for what may be the first time ever, a Commando villain made a second appearance. 

Commando 5689: Dawn of the Gorgons (published 2023)

 

 A British carrier on the way to participate in the Suez operation runs into -  you guessed it, a deserted ship filled with really good statues. Soon commandos start dying horribly as a pissed off Gorgon gets revenge on the world.  

 What I like about both these stories is that they are set during military campaigns well outside the norm. The ill-fated Dodecanese operation for the first, the Suez crisis in the second. 

 (Hmm, I wonder if the writers deliberately picked operations that were massive failures. )

Also, commandos vs gorgons is a cool idea that somebody needs to make a film about.  Preferably not the Asylum because we all know how that's gonna go. 

I think I preferred the artwork for "Night.." but that's a minor quibble. "Dawn..." is a worthy sequel and I wouldn't mind seeing a third installment. 

Moving eastward and somewhere much, much colder and we get...

  

Commando 5729: Baba Yaga (Published 2024)

 After a Russian T-34 is destroyed by a King Tiger Ivan, the lone, injured survivor meets a beautiful woman. After some reluctance, she agrees to take him to the cabin in the forest where she lives with her sisters. In exchange for performing 3 tasks, they will heal him and then help him fight the Germans. 

  Initially alarmed by the cabin having a whole load of skulls on stakes outside, Ivan takes on the tasks, even if he can't quite understand the reasoning.  There's also something a little odd about the 3 sisters...

Another interesting issue. It's deliberately set up to follow the structure of old folk tales, especially Russian folklore. The 3 sisters, the 3 tasks, the way it all pays off at the end when our hero uses what he learned.  I also think Baba Yaga is aimed at an older readership, who are aware of the old myths about a forest dwelling witch and also why a King Tiger is a big deal.

So to sum up, 3 Commando issues that are worth checking out if you want your war stories with a healthy does of weird shit. 

I have maybe one more post to go so see you next time.

That's All Folks. 

When Commando Gets Creepy: Revenge

 Hello and welcome back to another post about some of Commando's weirder stories.

Revenge is a theme that Commando absolutely loves, whether it is a good guy wanting to avenge his fallen comrades or a bad guy looking to get even after a humiliating defeat.  There's that old saying about "Revenge is  dish best served cold" which I've always interpreted as "The best time to get revenge is after you've had time to really give it some thought and quite possibly long after the other person forgot all about it." 

 

 That doesn't make me sound like a psycho does it? It's not like I have an ongoing list of people I want to stuff into a woodchipper or anything...

Anyway, revenge is a powerful motivation and in the comics below, it's so strong that certain characters come back from the afterlife just to get even. 

Commando 2647: Dead Men's Revenge (1993) 

1940. During the Battle Of France Corporal Nick Gray's unit are getting hammered by the Germans when a shellburst knocks him out cold.  When he comes to, the rest of his platoon are gone. But then 4 men in outdated uniforms walk out of the mist.

 In 1917 they had been falsely accused of cowardice and executed. They are not happy about this and would like Nick to clear their names. 

  Like a lot of Commando stories a flashback delivers important background. There's also that other Commando favourite: an officer who is a complete wanker. 

I feel the ghosts in this story are the least proactive here. Aside from popping up a couple of times to remind Nick that they require his help, they play little part. As we shall see,  other restless spirits are happy to get stuck in. 

On the whole, not a bad tale. 

   

Commando 3428: Ghost Of Evil (1986 republished 2001)

   Mortimer "Black Mortimer" Somerville terrorised the people of his estate until they finally had enough of him and somebody jammed a sabre into his chest.  Pausing long enough to promise he'd be back for revenge, Mortimer expired. And there was much rejoicing.

 A century later, an RAF officer has a freak accident at the site of Mortimer's death and begins acting like a bloody lunatic. As his crew begin wondering if he's trying to get them all killed, one man realises that "Black Mortimer" is back. Since the man in question is descended from Mortimer's killer, that is going to cause some issues.

A rare case of a villain making a comeback, and a proper, bastard he is too. As long as you're Ok with Commando's spooky side, this is a fun read. 

  

Commando 3996: The Lost Legion (2007)

 3rd Century AD . A Roman legion is betrayed and wiped out when their German "Allies" lure them into a trap and drown every last one of them by cracking open a dam 

 As the Roman leader dies, he curses the Germans.

Well you would, wouldn't you. 

 Afterwards a forest grows up at the site of the defeat, suspiciously fast. Supernaturally fast.  

Fast forward to 1944 and Captain Blake Farley is due to join his unit in Germany but before he does, his uncle - a veteran of WW1 - warns him "Beware of the Hunzberg Forest. Scary shit happens there."

 Cue the traditional Commando flashback and a horror story that Captain Farley ignores -at first.  Who would believe in a forest that hates Germans anyway?

 Certainly not the ruthless SS officer who has a fiendish plan to lure British troops into the valley and blow the new dam, drowning all of them. 

 The forest has other ideas...

I loved this one. It has all the classic elements: History repeating itself, Nazis getting their comeuppance and the supernatural coming to the aid of the Allies.  Worth a read. 

  

Commando 4160: Back From The Dead (1991 republished 2008) 

Lightning strikes a museum, scoring a direct hit on the Pz IV on display.  The dummies crewing the tank come to life - well, four of them do at any rate - and the Panzer roars into life and rolls off into the night.  Meanwhile one of Germany's richest wankers is speeding down the autobahn in his Mercedes. When the two collide there could only be one result. 

 The police officer investigating is left with a mystery: what the bloody hell just happened? 

 That's when a ghost pops up to deliver a flashback.  In the final days of the Reich a young panzer crew is betrayed by one of their own and murdered.  This pissed them off.  

Wonder how the copper put that down in the report? 

I must admit this has to be one of Commando's wackier stories but still works. I could have put this in with the "Haunted" post  ( SEE HERE) but felt it was better suited under "Revenge".  It's interesting that the good guys and villain are all Germans. 

 And that will do for now but I think I'll make at least one more Creepy Commando post so I'll see you soon. 

That's All Folks