EXTRACTS: The Art of Commando (illustrators special) © 2019 The Book Palace (144 PAGES in Full edition)

98 evening class on comics writing, run by the Comics Creators Guild. Maybe a month in, lecturer and comics writer Win Wiacek mentioned that while British comics were in a parlous state (no change there then)— there were a few comics you could still try out for. “You could give Commando a go,” he suggested. “Just imagine you’re writing a black-and-white World War Two movie.” Like a lot of people in that class, I was a little surprised Commando was still going. I used to pick up bundles of them from jumble sales (though I preferred the SF-themed Starblazer , when I could find them) but had no idea they were still a going concern, probably because their circulation was spotty down in my part of the country. But getting to write a proper comic, getting paid (a bit!) to write a comic—sounded like a good deal. Also encouraging was Ferg Handley, who by then had already written his first few. That involved typing up your proposed plot line then mailing it off to DC Thomson in Dundee—physically, not electronically, in those days, but otherwise the process remains basically unchanged (the pay remains unchanged too, but that’s another story…). ABOVE: Sean Blair’s first Commando , Issue 3133 – 'Rocket Terror', his first published script, Ian Kennedy cover and Gordon Livingstone art. FACING PAGE: Artists such as Ian Kennedy and John Ridgway capture Sean's fascination with technology and the supernatural with their compelling cover art.