By Helen Brown

THE 90TH anniversary of the end of the first world war is being marked in a range of ways by people all over the world.

D C Thomson’s Commando magazine, famous for its action and adventure tales, most based in war-time, has brought out a series—four re-published classics and four newly-commissioned stories—with this major occasion of remembrance very much in mind.

All eight are based on the events of the Great War.

Edinburgh-based author Ferg Handley has been writing for the magazine for some years now, having been a full-time comic-book writer for a decade. His contribution, Battlefield Bike, is based around the notion of a small group in the early days of the war, separated from the rest of the retreating army and trying to link up again—via the battlefield bike of the title.

His first published work was for Commando and since then he has scripted over 200 war stories but fewer more topical than this one. His love of history surfaced as a youngster—as did a love of comics like Victor, Beano, Whizzer and so on (including an Avengers publication when he was only four!)—but his studies were in politics. That did include, mind you, a dissertation on American super-hero comics and US ideology, so perhaps the professional die was cast a little earlier than he might have planned.

Popular and easy to digest, comic book writing is nevertheless a complex process and it’s described by experts as the one type of reading that uses both the left and right side of the brain. Ferg himself realised that there was a potential career in doing what he liked after attending training sessions run by the Cartoon Art Trust and after the traditional beginning of first attempt, rejection, encouragement and eventually acceptance, he has hardly looked back since.

His other credits, apart from Commando, include The Dandy and Marvel Comics Spectacular Spiderman and Rampage Titles.

He explained, “Battlefield Bike was written a little while back but obviously with this special time in mind, it was ideal to be part of the Armistice specials and I’m pleased to be part of that. The comic style is fun, it’s about adventure and thrills but it also mirrors a bit of the life we’re writing about and it’s the kind of thing that isn’t far away from what actually happened to real people. Obviously, we don’t forget that.

“The history part is very much the context of each story—it’s always there as part of the background but it stops with the first bullet and the characters and action take over. The combination of the two is pretty potent.

“My dad was bomb crew in the RAF in the second world war so indirectly, there’s a family link, as with many people of my 40-ish age group but funnily enough, what I remember particularly clearly is being a mad keen reader when I was a youngster and being allowed an adult library ticket—under supervision, of course!

“One of the first things that made a big impression was a factual book featuring German officers in 1918. I was about 10 at the time, I suppose, and I vividly remember the pictures, almost ghostly images of people from what seemed to be back then to be a different universe. It stuck with me, though, it was such a strong image.”

Interestingly, too, he finds that writing about the first world war, in particular, can bring out a lighter side. “Although it was a brutal conflict and the loss of life was unimaginable, there are aspects of it, of the times themselves that give the chance for a bit of satire—about the class-ridden nature of the times, for example—and real character-based fun. It was so massive, so huge, as opposed to something like the Falklands which was a much more limited campaign, that the possibilities for stories and for ideas are almost endless.

“So much was happening to so many people. Many think of the trench warfare situation but trying to get other aspects means using a bit of imagination and taking ideas from what actually went on and expanding that to take in people’s own actions and heroics. Battlefield Bike is a case in point—there’s scope there to move people around, for them to see other aspects of a war in a foreign land.

“It brings out a human side, a side that people know and recognise—and shows that ordinary people were capable of amazing feats.”

Commando itself is still very much in the front line of its style although it can also claim to be something of a veteran, having first hit the news-stands in 1961.

Described variously as “the idea size for the pockets of combat trousers” and a “training manual for officers” by members of the armed forces, it has recently enjoyed a high profile through special editions of classic stories published in conjunction with Carlton Press. The limited edition Ammo Box containing three of these collections plus a re-creation of the very first issue have brought it back into the public eye.

Editor Calum Laird explained, “Commando has always tried to paint a picture of events that could have happened by sticking to historical facts for our backgrounds. The stories themselves are pure fiction but you can pick up a lot of history from the stories, thanks to the extensive research our authors do.

“If our stories give an authentic taste of the kind of experiences the people who will be honoured this month went through, we’ll be very pleased.

“We are also hoping that our special stories to coincide with Armistice 90 will reawaken former readers’ interest in a title many of them will have thought no longer exists and awaken interest in younger readers looking for action and adventure stories in a format less intimidating than a full-length novel.”

For comic fans, artists featured in the series of eight are Keith Page, Carlos Pino, Jose Maria Jorge, Olivera and Alan Burrows with a cover by Ron Brown. Alongside Ferg Handley, fellow authors are Alan Hebden, Ian Clark, Peter McKenzie, Alan Hemus and Mike Knowles.

The first four Commando Armistice 90 specials are published on November 13, with the next four following on November 27. Each costs £1.30.