Commando Goes Digital
- Published:
- Thu 01 Sep 2011
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Taking the action off the page!
Since 1961, over 4400 issues of
"Commando" have gone into print. That's
more than 299000 printed pages! A complete collection would require
a whole lot of storage space... once upon a time. As the popularity
of smartphones and digital readers make it easier to read
electronic versions of books and comics, we're now a step closer to
the day where a "Commando" collector
could browse every issue on something small enough to slip into a
briefcase or pocket! (Though, of course, with so many back issues
to be digitised and added to those already available, this is still
a goal to be worked towards.)
The issues available with a digital subscription have identical
contents to the printed copies, but with the first attempts at an
online version it was a different story. On 5th December 2007, the
very first online "Commando" comic
appeared on an earlier version of this site. This was a serialised
adaptation of "Wall of Death", taken from
issue 221, originally scripted by Redbridge, and drawn by
Cortes.
For the adaptation, changes were made to suit the way the strip
appeared on the site - readers clicked through a sequence of around
12 single panels in each chapter. The story had to be broken down,
creating cliffhangers that left readers anticipating the next
instalment, so some of the dialogue and captions in the final panel
of each chapter was punched up to emphasise the peril and
excitement. The captions and speech balloons were completely
redrawn, which also meant that new artwork had to be drawn to fit
the gaps left by the removal of the original balloons.
The serial was warmly welcomed by visitors to the site, and a
second, "They Flew By Night", followed
the same process. But, as well as being time consuming to produce,
it was felt that readers weren't being given the chance to see
these classic adventures as they had originally appeared. As of the
third story selected for serialisation - following the army and
airforce themes of the first two, it was time for a naval tale with
"Buccaneer Bob R.N." - these pages could
be seen onscreen in their original format, with the original
wording securely in place.
The one drawback to these web-strips was that they could only be
viewed on a PC or Mac which was connected up to the
"Commando" website at the time, making
them even less portable than the original comics. All of this was
to change with a new-look site which came online in time for the
comic's 50th anniversary. Through the digital
subscriptions on offer, readers armed with iPhones and
iPads can now access their "Commando"
collections wherever and whenever they want!
(This article originally appeared as a tie-in to the
National Army Museum exhibition Draw Your Weapons: The Art of
Commando Comics - September 2011-April 2012.)
