COMPLETE 63-PAGE ACTION STORY

[V / i 1
No.5721 rrraj
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FOR A C T IO N A N D A D V E N T U R E
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IT WAS A PERFECT DAY IN THE TROPICS
IN JUNE OF 1942. HMAS HIBISCUS WAS C
A ROUTINE ESCORT WHEN SHE PICKED
UP A JAPANESE SUBMARINE ON SONAR

/ STORY >
1 BRENT
TOW NS

ART
ALEJAN DRO
PEREZ M ESA

COVER
N E IL
\ ROBERTS r BUT AFTER TWO RUNS AT THE
, CONTACT, THE HIBISCUS LOST HER
TARGET SOMEWHERE IN THE DEPTHS
 THE ONE PERSON WHO WAS REALLV UNHAPPY
ABOUT LOSING THE ENEMY SUB WAS COMMANDER
. TERRY MATTHEWS, THE HIBISCUS’S SKIPPER.
' HIS MEN WERE TARDY AND IT HAD COST THEM.
HE DIDN’T MINCE HIS WORDS TALKING TO HIS
NUMBER ONE, LIEUTENANT JOHN WELSH.

'TH AT WAS TOC

SLOW, MISTER SORRY, SIR. IT
WELSH. IT COS1 WON’T HAPPEN
v US A SUB. v AGAIN.

^ GET
NOT ^ US BACK ON
GOOD ENOUGH. STATION NEAR
MAKE SURE IT THE GYMPIE STAR
DOESN’T EVER SEFORE THAT SUB
HAPPEN. . COMES BACK.

AYE, AYE,
CIG> SIR.
 5

TW ENTy MINUTES LATER, THE HIBISCUS WAS

BACK WITH HER CHARGE, THE GyMPIE STAR.

^ MESSAGE >
FROM GVMPIE
STAR, SIR. 'GOOD THANK
TO HAVE YOU YOU, SPARKS.
v BACK.’ V

MAyBE IF THE DEPTH-CHARGE CREW

HAD BEEN MORE EFFICIENT, THINGS
MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.

HOWEVER, THE JAPANESE SUB

WASN’T FINISHED AND THE SITUATION _
WAS ABOUT TO GET WORSE.
6

CRIKEY!

SIR, I
SIGHTED A
PERISCOPE.

PERISCOPE! I SUPPOSE
JAPANESE PERISCOPE! YOU BETTER SHOW
ME.

NOT BELIEVING THAT THE SUB

WOULD HANG ABOUT, WELSH
WAS SLUGGISH TO REACT.
 7

BY THE TIME WELSH FINALLY WENT TO

SEE, THE PERISCOPE HAD DISAPPEARED. ' A DC ^
YOU SURE,
THOMAS? I SEE
NOTHING.

l-l
THINK SO,
SIR.

^ NEXT ^
TIME YOU
RAISE THE
ALARM, BE
s. SURE. >
AYE,
SIR.
8

INSTEAD OF REPORTING THE SIGHTING OR

SENDING THE SHIP TO BATTLE STATION,
WELSH WENT BACK TO THE BRIDGE.

MAINTAIN Ay
COURSE. sn

THE JAPANESE SUBMARINE

COULDN’T BELIEVE THEIR LUCK

ARE THE
TUBES READY,
LIEUTENANT?

HAI,
CAPTAII
TAKING HIS TIME, THE CAPTAIN
MOVED HIS SUB INTO POSITION.

READY,
LIEUTENANT?

READY
SIR.

FIRE
ONE.

FIRE
ONE.

FIRE
TWO.

FIRE
TWO
10

THE DEADLY UNDERWATER LANCES

LEFT THE SUBMARINE’S TUBES
TRACKING TOWARDS THEIR ENEMY.

THE TWIN TORPEDOES HIT THE GVMPIE

STAR AMIDSHIPS, BREAKING HER BACK.

THE EXPLOSION BROKE THE SHIP’S

BACK AND SHE WENT DOWN FAST

USELESS
BLOOMIN’ NAVY.
 1
i|l
31
-.1
—

<l[
13
15
16

BUT WHEN THEY WERE REQUIRED, THE

DEPTH CHARGES WEREN’T THERE.
17
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IQ
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^ pV
26
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ONCE HE WAS DONE, BILL DISMISSED THE

OTHER OFFICERS BUT HELD WELSH BACK.

BUT WELSH WAS GOING TO FIND OUT THAT

TURNER WAS GOING TO STRAIGHTEN THE
HIBISCUS OUT NO MATTER WHAT.
29
30

AFTER TOURING THE HIBISCUS, BOTH

MEN CAME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION.
 31

THAT SAME DAY, BILL HAD

THE CREW START CLEANING
THE SHIP. NOT ALL WERE
HAPPY ABOUT IT.
32

IT SEEMED THE WHOLE SHIP HAD AN

ISSUE WITH THEIR NEW COMMANDER.
33
36
 37

ll

r
1 *

WHEN THE DEPTH CHARGES

REACHED THEIR SET DEPTH, THEY
EXPLODED, LEAVING LARGE PLUMES
OF WATER IN THE SHIP’S WAKE.
• J O '" '-

*
f
 41

WELSH MIGHT HAVE BEEN HAPPY, BUT

BILL WASN’T AND HE LET HIM KNOW.

WELL?
THEY WERE TOO
SLOW. LIKE FLAMIh
SYRUP. I WANT
IMPROVEMENT.
WHILE THE HIBISCUS SAILED TOWARDS DARWIN,
OUT IN THE INDIAN OCEAN A JAPANESE FLOAT
PLANE HAD SIGHTED A SMALL CONVOY.

TWENTY MILES AWAY SAILED A

JAPANESE COMMERCE RAIDER. IN
COMMAND WAS CAPTAIN JIN HONDA.
43
 45

BUT,
SIR, THEY’RE NOT
READY FOR THAT KIND J
OF ACTION.

THEY’LL
HAVE TO BE. I’M
AFRAID YOU’RE ALL
WE’VE GOT AVAILABLE.
MAKE IT WORK, BILL.
WE’RE ALL RELYING
ON YOU.
46
50
TWO HOURS LATER, THE HIBISCUS
REACHED THE SCENE OF THE SINKING.
THERE WERE ONLY FIVE SURVIVORS.
\ <
52
54

THE NIGHT PASSED QUICKLY FOR HIBISCUS UNTIL

02:00 WHEN THE RADAR PICKED UP A CONTACT,
TOO BIG TO BE A SUB CONNING TOWER...
57
THE HIBISCUS CLOSED THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN THE TWO SHIPS UNTIL HER
MAIN GUN WAS AT OPTIMUM RANGE.
THE HIBISCUS OPENED FIRE
AND ITS SHOT FLEW TRUE.

A HIT.
WE GOT
f I’M HER.
IMPRESSED,
MISTER WELSH.
.N O W , SINK HER. ,

AYE,
SIR.
 /

THE RAIDER MANAGED TO GET OFF A

SHOT WHICH HIT CLOSE TO HOME.

BUFFER
TO THE BRIDGE.

WHEN COBB ARRIVED ON THE BRIDGE,

HE FOUND WELSH IN COMMAND AND
BILL UNCONSCIOUS ON THE DECK.

STREWTH!
^ GET ^
HIM OFF THE
BRIDGE, BUFFER.
I’VE GOT THIS.
ANOTHER SHELL FROM THE HIBISCUS HIT THE RAIDER
JUST BELOW THE WATER LINE, HOLING HER.

WE ARE
DOOMED

EVENTUALLY, THE RAIDER SLID BENEATH

fHE WAVES INTO THE DEEP.
 63

X SECURE
FROM ACTION BUFFER, >
STATIONS. WELL MAKE SURE THE
DONE, MEN. SHIP IS SECURE AND
SEND A BOAT FOR
w SURVIVORS.

AVE,
SIR.

WELSH THEN REALISED THAT IT WAS THE

FIRST TIME COBB HAD SHOWN HIM REAL
RESPECT. HE’D FINALLY MADE IT.
64

WHEN BILL FINALLY WOKE, HE FOUND

AN OLD FRIFND THFRF WITH HIM.

GLAD
TO SEE YOU’ RE
AWAKE, SIR, COBB?
WHAT HAPPENED?

r WE
SUNK THE
RAIDER. WELSH
DID A GREAT
. JOB, SIR.

I GUESS
OUR WORK IS
DONE, BUFFER.

AYE,
SIR.
 65

* THE
MEN DID WELL,
BUFFER. LET’S
HEAD BACK TO ^ THEY
DARWIN. DID, LIEUTENANT
WELSH. AYE, THEY
. DID. a

THE HMAS HIBISCUS SET A

COURSE FOR HOME TO HAVE HER
DAMAGE REPAIRED. ABOARD,
THE OFFICERS AND CREW WERE
, HAPPY WITH THE OUTCOME.
1NONE MORE SO THAN BILL
TURNER AND ROY COBB.
ommando
T H E EATD

THEFOUR
LATENT THE SPY OF SWESLIK CASTLE
ALL-ACTION ARCTIC ACE
COM M ANDO ROLL DEPTH CHARGES!
W AR S T O R IE S
A R E OUT N O W ! BEHIND ENEMY LINES
66

T H E N , T R OOPS! I ' V E &OT E N O U G H

E Q U IP M E N T A N E E N J O Y A B L E REAPS TO K E E P
A N Y S O L E IE R HAPPY, 9 0 F E E L F R E E TO P E R U S E
A T Y O U R O W N P L E A S U R E . M I N E IF Y O U S E E
A N Y T H IN G YOU L IK E , Y O U C A N L E T M E K N O W B Y
W R IT IN G E I R E C T T O C O M M A N E O H O W IT H Y O U R
T H O U G H T S . A L L T H E F A N C Y IN F O R M A T IO N
A N E A E E R E S S E S A R E BELO W .

Nah then, squaddies, gather

round for the latest in all
things Commando. I've got
a mate in HQ who keeps me
VERY well informed.

First up, we seethe return of Tomasz

Zielinski, who had escaped Poland in 1939
by hopping aboard a Polish armoured
train headed for safety. Now, in 1940, H aven't y o u lot h e a rd ? Yup, 1
he is approached by a familiar face with that's right, C om m ando
a top-secret mission to head straight Presents... a n d Heritage
into danger to steal a top-secret engine C o m ic s Presents... are
right from under the Nazi's noses! Then releasing digital content!
alongside that, is another feisty European Delving into the D C T ho m son
ready for revenge as the Nazis really archives, these digital editions
are collecting the likes o f
kicked the hornets' nest the day they rolled
Spellbound, Warlord a n d
into Collette Sauvage’s farm in France.
c la ssic C o m m and o issu e s
Then they really went and did it when
ranging from topics like The
they strong-armed her off her land, using
Great W ar a n d sc ie n c e fiction
her ba rn to store their ill-gotten goods. sh en an iga n s — there's
But with a little help from a downed RAF so m e thing for everyone there,
airman, the Germans would rue the day s o g o c h e c k them out on
they messed with the woman known as Kindle a n d C om iX ology now!
Madame Revenger!

A n d remember, fo r m ore actio n and adventure, d o n 't fo rg e t

th e re 's ano ther fo u r cham pion C o m m a n d o s out in two
w e e k s' tim e. G e t yo ur co p ie s then. Tarra.
B y direct order o f the Quarterm aster.

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 The H M AS Hibiscus had to
be the worst Bathurst-class
Corvette in the whole Royal
Australian Navy. Its crew was
m slow and lacked discipline,
and its officers weren't much
better. But they were in for
m a shock, for Commander Bill
(fM jjjfurner had been sent in to
straighten them out — and he
didn't care how many backs
he had to break to do it!

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