Monday 13 July 2015

Tornado (1979)



Sometimes all is not as it seems.

And so I discovered when I finally got hold of a copy of Tornado #16 which I originally saw somewhere on line (I forget where) and had asked my local comic shop to add to my "wish list". It finally turned up this week.

The cover is part of a competition so doesn't relate to any story inside I'm sorry to say. The idea was for a reader to submit a 350 word story based on the cover feature. First prize was £20, quite an amount for those days. Sadly since the comic ceased publication a few weeks later I do not know whether anyone won let alone saw that story in print.

However the comic itself (which I'd never read before) did prove interesting

With features like The Mind of Wolfie Smith, The Angry Planet and Black Hawk it's actually quite a good read and a comic worth collecting. Tornado only lasted 22 issues, though there was a Summer Special and two Annuals!

The other stories are reasonable fare. Cold War adventure Wagners Walk seems worthy as does Victor Dargo a private detective sleuthing in a story set in London back in 1929.

Tornado eventually merged with 2000AD after less than six months on the shelves. Shame really.

One of several titles that didn't last long like Jet and Thunder which have also proved to be lost gems from the wonderful world of British comics!

 

First and last issues of Tornado.

1 comment:

  1. I don't think any of the 'Its Your Turn' stories ever got published. It was an excellent comic whilst it lasted though. I particularly enjoyed Kevin O'Neill's artwork on Captain Klep. and Dave Gibbons as Big E!

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