Commando art

Pocket-sized war 'comic' that has been around since 1961 and is still going strong.

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Phoenix
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Re: Commando art

Post by Phoenix »

Commando CO wrote:Just because the phone wasn't answered don't assume we'd gone home. Maybe I was patrolling our anti-assassin defences.
You don't really think you're going to get away with that excuse do you, Commando CO? We've got you bang to rights. You were captured on CCTV footage just outside your place of employment, timed at 3.28 last Friday afternoon. Look, see for yourself. :coat:

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Re: Commando art

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More evidence has just reached my office. Cameras are everywhere these days, don't you think, Commando CO? And so efficient.

3.35 : The Ben and Butt Hostelry :cheers:

4.40 : Greeting a policeman and explaining wobbly walk :wave:

5.05 : At a local bus stop :snoring: :shhh:

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Sage the Owl
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Re: Commando art

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phoenix4ever wrote:Colin, you must give sage and me credit for a certain amount of common sense. Dundee at night is an irrelevance as far as our scenario is concerned. Sage would have had to make his approach in daylight. Commando CO just isn't the kind of guy to take chances in any town in the dark where people getting sliced and diced is a major hazard. I mean take today for example, a Friday you may have noticed, I rang Commando CO for one of our periodic chats. He didn't pick up his phone. He must have gone home before half past three. As wise (sage) as an owl you might say. :D
Us Owls dont do too well in the daylight so I would have to favour a nocturnal strategy, plus it would have to be some form of chemical attack as wings can be tricky things for holding Samurai swords and the like. :)

Interesting comment from Commando CO about "Future proofing" the art, its not something I had considered before but he's right, I believe that Disney are having problems with some of their early eighties movie soundtrack masters due to the equipment they were recorded with is no longer available. Its also nice to know that hand drawn art still has a place in the modern publishing industry (at least with DCT).

Went to the ABC show in London yesterday and managed to pick up an original piece of Grahame Cotton Air Ace cover art for a good price. What I didnt realise was that he used to paint not on art board but ordinary hardboard !, it certainly adds a sense of permanence to the image.
I paticulary liked the way he signed it, it's a picture of a Fairey Albacore torpedoing a battleship and he has put his signature just below the Royal Navy markings on the rear fuselage where the A/C's serial number would normally be, clever.

That's a very good Idea of Commando CO's about asking Mr Kennedy to do a commision, does anyone know how to contact him ? I've done some web searching but there is very little on him apart from a couple of interviews ?
Last edited by Sage the Owl on 02 Nov 2009, 14:48, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Commando art

Post by Commando CO »

phoenix4ever wrote:More evidence has just reached my office. Cameras are everywhere these days, don't you think, Commando CO? And so efficient.

3.35 : The Ben and Butt Hostelry :cheers:

4.40 : Greeting a policeman and explaining wobbly walk :wave:

5.05 : At a local bus stop :snoring: :shhh:
Glad to hear that our camouflage department's new strategy is working. I said that a double would never be convincing, but plainly it has worked a treat.

Just goes to show that the camera CAN lie...
Commando — home of heroes since 1961

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Re: Commando art

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Well, that doesn't explain why you were unavailable last Friday after 3.30. Which direction did you go off in? There may well have been some double dealing afoot at your workplace, but this was surely you in your lounge a bit later on when you heard that owl in your garden, unless of course this is your double, and you arrived home unexpectedly, your wife assuming that you would be in the Ben and Butt at that time, as you always are on a Friday from 3.30 onwards. :settee: Oh look, it's ten to three on a Monday. Come on, let's go and get a drink. What's the point of being CO if you can't do what you like when you like? Mine's a double.

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Re: Commando art

Post by colcool007 »

Sage the Owl wrote:
phoenix4ever wrote:Colin, you must give sage and me credit for a certain amount of common sense. Dundee at night is an irrelevance as far as our scenario is concerned. Sage would have had to make his approach in daylight. Commando CO just isn't the kind of guy to take chances in any town in the dark where people getting sliced and diced is a major hazard. I mean take today for example, a Friday you may have noticed, I rang Commando CO for one of our periodic chats. He didn't pick up his phone. He must have gone home before half past three. As wise (sage) as an owl you might say. :D
...That's a very good Idea of Commando CO's about asking Mr Kennedy to do a commision, does anyone know how to contact him ? I've done some web searching but there is very little on him apart from a couple of interviews ?
I did speak to IK about a separate commission, but as far as he is concerned, it would take something special for him to do anything above and beyond his current commitment to Commando. And the price would be another stumbling block. I wince at that thought, but do wish that I had the money available. *Sigh!*
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

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Sage the Owl
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Re: Commando art

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colcool007 wrote: I did speak to IK about a separate commission, but as far as he is concerned, it would take something special for him to do anything above and beyond his current commitment to Commando. And the price would be another stumbling block. I wince at that thought, but do wish that I had the money available. *Sigh!*
Shame, I believe that he is semi retired now so I suppose that his Commando work is enough to "keep his eye in", I guess its back to trying to find the odd page of his art in the various auctions & shows.
Out of curiosity how much "winceing" are we talking about ?

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Re: Commando art

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Sage the Owl wrote:Out of curiosity how much "winceing" are we talking about ?
Look at it this way, sage, if IK offered to do Colin a masterpiece for £20 he would wince, and it would be quite some wince. I mean why would we expect anything different of him? He might currently be settling into life in London but breeding will out, he can't avoid it, he's from north of the border. It's not just John that keeps a tight hold of his groats up there, you know.

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Re: Commando art

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Phoenix wrote:
Sage the Owl wrote:Out of curiosity how much "winceing" are we talking about ?
Look at it this way, sage, if IK offered to do Colin a masterpiece for £20 he would wince, and it would be quite some wince. I mean why would we expect anything different of him? He might currently be settling into life in London but breeding will out, he can't avoid it, he's from north of the border. It's not just John that keeps a tight hold of his groats up there, you know.
If I was offered an IK original for £20, I would be cutting someone's arm off for it. I've paid more for a limited edition print of his. At a rough guess, though, I reckon you would have to think at least 10 times this amount for IK to even consider it. And even then, it would be dependant on his commitment to Commando CO. And yes, I'm a north of the border man, but it wouldn't stop me buying something that I think is worth it if I have the money.
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

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Re: Commando art

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colcool007 wrote:If I was offered an IK original for £20, I would be cutting someone's arm off for it. I've paid more for a limited edition print of his. At a rough guess, though, I reckon you would have to think at least 10 times this amount for IK to even consider it. And even then, it would be dependant on his commitment to Commando CO. And yes, I'm a north of the border man, but it wouldn't stop me buying something that I think is worth it if I have the money.
Well, well. You seem to be in serious danger of taking me seriously, Colin. You of all people. Shame on you!! Chill out!! :D

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colcool007
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Re: Commando art

Post by colcool007 »

Phoenix wrote:
colcool007 wrote:If I was offered an IK original for £20, I would be cutting someone's arm off for it. I've paid more for a limited edition print of his. At a rough guess, though, I reckon you would have to think at least 10 times this amount for IK to even consider it. And even then, it would be dependant on his commitment to Commando CO. And yes, I'm a north of the border man, but it wouldn't stop me buying something that I think is worth it if I have the money.
Well, well. You seem to be in serious danger of taking me seriously, Colin. You of all people. Shame on you!! Chill out!! :D
I didn't even realise you were fishing! :lol: Mind you, I would still wince at paying out that sort of money all in one go. I was bad enough when we were shopping for furniture!
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

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Re: Commando art

Post by philcom55 »

Speaking personally I think I prefer artwork that's been previously published - especially if it's something I have particularly fond memories of. Either way the piece is unique, and the older it is the greater the historical interest. For example you could possibly get an IK Paddy Payne for around half your estimated price for the commission.

- Phil Rushton

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Sage the Owl
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Re: Commando art

Post by Sage the Owl »

I've just been reading some of the posts relating to the 40th anniversary of the publishing of Ian Kennedy's first Commando work over on the Commando site.
One that caught my attention was from an individual who states that he has the original art to Ian's first cover "Seek and strike" that has just been re-printed.
I was wondering how they came by this "holy grail" bearing in mind commando CO's earlier comments that they have nearly all of the original art still in store.
Also, if this is true how was the art sourced for the reprint ?
I also remember seeing an advert in an old issue of "Comics International" offering for sale the entire art for the story "Send for Spitfires".
Is this a similar scenario to the art that Neal Adams had "liberated" from the DC offices in the early '70's or was there some limited release of art by DC Thompson at some time in the past ?
Can anyone she any light on this ?

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