 Here's some more of your letters mates!  | Dear Steve, I've been searching for the odd issue of action for ages, picking up a few here and there. Other than Death Game 1999, which was always a favourite, I'd love to see Hellman reprinted. Anyone remember Wagner's Walk in Tornado? The three characters looked remarkably like Hellman, Max & Gruber. Keep up the good work. Paschal |
| Dear Steve, Does anyone remember the comic Tornado? I'm asking because one of the stories in the comic was called Wagner's Walk, which dealt with three German POW's escaping from Russian captivity. The characters had a strong resemblance Hellman and Co. I remember reading the last episode of Hellman where they were captured and then reading the first issue of Tornado and thinking Wagner's Walk? More like Hellman's Walk! Lou |
| Steve says: Never got into Tornado myself, it just looked stupid with Dave Gibbons on the cover in that idiotic costume. Yes, Wagner's Walk was based on the Hellman characters, but didn't use the names for some reason. Tornado also had to drop the ancient character of Sexton Blake, and rename him Victor Drago, after they remembered that they'd sold the rights. "Wagner's Walk, written by R.E. Wright and drawn by Lozano, followed the story of tank commander Major Kurt Wagner just as WW2 had finished, but for the German prisoners the ordeal has just began. These soldiers were forced to make good the devastation wreaked by Hitler's invasion and many became slaves to the Russians in their attempt to rebuild mother Russia. The years past and the ex-prisoners were sent to Siberia to continue their enslavement. Then, one day in 1948, Wagner met up with some old friends, Big Karl and Gruber. Wagner happened across a child's atlas and realised that India was only two-and-a-half-thousand miles away. He turned to his friends and said we will walk to freedom, and there we have the nucleus of the story. On their trek they encounter vicious Timber Wolves, a helicopter (for the first time), Russian tanks, a double-cross tactic, minefields and many more obstacles. The walk (aided by aircraft and road-vehicles) ended in issue #19." Thanks to www.comicsuk.co.uk for that. R.E. Wright is a poor joke that was used in Tooth (2000AD) for ages if the script was poor, disowned or rewritten. It was a favourite nom-de-plume of Pat Mills. Mike White, of Hell's Highway fame, took over as artist a few weeks in. Panzer Major Kurt Wagner, that's a bit close isn't it? Big Karl and Gruber? Big Max and Dekker! How close did they want to get? Blatant Hellman if ever I saw it. Well done!! |
