Back to Blog

Interview with Ferg Handley - Part 2

Nov 28, 12:18 PM

Commando writer, Ferg Handley, answers more of your questions in the second part of our interview.

Part One can be found here.

Click on any of the article’s images to see a larger version.

From The Editor – Ferg, these readers probably don’t know that you write for other comics and magazines. Can you tell them why Commando is the best? Seriously, can you tell them who else you write for and what makes Commando different from the others?

‘Tenshun, editor online! Apart from Commando, I’m the regular writer on Panini’s ‘Spectacular Spider-Man’ title (done about 60 issues so far), and I’m picking up work on their new ‘Marvel Heroes’ anthology; great fun, as I do like my superhero stuff (and it means all my superhero reading hasn’t gone to waste). There’s hopefully other non-Commando work in the pipeline as well.

As for Commando – they are real history, and that’s the clincher for me. Any research I do is money in the bank in terms of improving my knowledge of the world, and I’m glad to be in a position where I’m constantly learning. And, as I mentioned earlier, Commando’s part of that amazing British comics tradition… a defiant survivor, if you will. Plus, Commando have some fantastic artists, and it’s always a buzz to see how they interpret my scripts.

The main difference, is that with other comics, I have to make sure the page works in terms of layout; with Commando, I just script in frames, which are paginated by the editors.

From Rob McGie – I’ve really enjoyed all the ‘Ramsey’s Raiders’ issues! How did you come up with the idea, and did you base them on real people in history?

Thanks, Rob, glad you enjoyed the Raiders… and hope you like what I’ve come up with for their return (starting in January 2009). As mentioned earlier, my former editor George Low came up with the basic idea, and it flowed from there. As for the characters, their maverick nature is based on the men of the original SAS, who were real characters (they’re not based on anyone specifically).

Sergeant Derek Jarvis happens to be the name of one of my oldest and best friends (and a Scot to boot), and his mother’s surname was originally Ramsey. To be honest, a lot of the Raiders’ characters were influenced by characters in movies; Monty is a bit of a David Niven type, for example; while Fitz isn’t a million miles away from Clint Eastwood (who did some fine sniping in ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’… and was a taciturn type).

From Scott P – How long does it take you to write a script for Commando, and how many pages do you need to write?

Good question, Scott. It takes exactly three days to script a Commando, and I do it frame by frame. There’s about 135 frames to a script, so it’s three sessions of fifteen frames each, over the three days. I put two frames to a page of script, so that’s about 67 pages (they seem to average out at about 12,000 words). However, a lot of the graft is done at the synopsis stage; I tend to write a long synopsis (up to 4,000 words), which I then divide into around 135 frames. Then it’s just a question of converting them into script form.

From Tony – Have you ever had any big changes made to a story once you’ve handed it in?

Not at the script stage, Tony. We always get the synopsis nailed down tight, which avoids major rewrites at the scripting stage. However, synopses don’t always work out; I’ve had some that didn’t; and yes, others have needed a fair degree of reworking to sort out.

Also from Tony – When you are writing a character into the story, do you tell the artist how to draw them? Do you talk to the artist to make sure they get it right, or does the artist just decide how things will look?

I don’t have much contact with the artists, apart from Garijo (who I managed to contact via the internet). And I don’t have any input once it’s in the artist’s hands. Sometimes I’ll suggest an actor that would work as the basis for a character – but to be honest, these guys really know what they’re doing. Mind you, the editors do put their own suggestions in for the artist as well.

From Grae – How much research do you need to do before starting a story, and does any type of story or period in history require more research than another?

Depends. I have a good handle on the basics of WWI and WWII these days, and sometimes they require little research; but if it’s something specific, like a certain battle or piece of equipment, then I can spend a lot of time researching. I do like to get things right, so I’ve often spent far too long researching minor details (more so now I’ve got broadband internet access… in my dial-up days, I tended to do the research then get on with it; nowadays, I’m often researching while actually scripting – which can slow the process down, but makes for a better end result).

In a way, it’s pot luck with historical stuff – I’m quite up on Dark Ages and Roman history (partly as a result of researching for Commando on my earlier historical pieces). A recent two-parter on Scotland in the ‘English’ Civil War and Caribbean pirates did take a lot of research though… but worth it in the end.

From Douglas – How many Commando comics do you write in a year?

Douglas, I try to write two a month, so that would be about 24 a year… though holidays etc. can eat into that. So let’s say about 20 a year on average (it used to be more, but now I work for other titles, and there are less original Commandos per month now, so less scripts needed).

From Peter – Does Commando often take on new writers, or are they chosen from established ones because they know the format? And how did you initially contact the Commando editor?

The Commando staff takes each story on its merit, Peter, so if a novice writer came up with a good idea, they’d certainly develop it.

I phoned George Low and was asked to apply via letter for the writers’ guidelines. That I did, and that’s how it all began.

From Philip – Do you have an official website?

Nope, nor an unofficial one, Philip.

Also from Philip – What are your views on the state of comics in Britain?

Well, the industry is in much better shape than 12 years ago, when I first started trying to break in. DC Thomson has always had a strong line of core titles (Commando, Beano, Dandy), but now there’s a lot more comics that are tied-in to TV shows, especially for the junior market.

And I can’t complain, as I’m making a living from UK comics. However, the comics medium was essentially born in Britain, and it bugs me that this is not appreciated – government funding for a national comics museum would be good, as well as funding for creators and new publishers. But that’s modern Britain for you.

In terms of creators, the UK has always produced great talent, and it’s good to see how many British creators are working on top US titles (Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis being two of the leading lights).

From Malcolm – Has an artist ever completely misinterpreted your writing in their artwork? And do you or the artist decide on which panels to use?

Not really, as the scripts are sub-edited by the Commando staff, and they can tell if a panel description is wrong or ambiguous. And over the years, I’ve learned to keep things simple for the artists – mainly because I don’t normally know in advance who’ll be drawing it, so I have to assume it could be a foreign artist. Plus, I’m not into very lengthy descriptions for the artists, unless strictly necessary: good artists are also storytellers, and they should be allowed to do so.

The decisions on which panels are used are made in the sub-editing stage. Now and again, an artist will split a frame to make it easier, and that usually works out fine.

From George – I really enjoyed the Romans in Britain books you did a while back with John Ridgway, which leads me to ask; is there a period of history you would like to write but have decided not to because it falls too far from the standard Commando story? (Oh, and any chance of more Romans in Britain tales?)

Yes, George, there’s always scope for more Roman ones (and I always try to get a British angle in). Nothing in the pipeline right now, but readers pestering the editor might help. There’s no period of history Commando can’t cover, so that’s not really an issue. Mind you, I’d quite like to do a Stone Age story, though I’ve never suggested it.

Must admit, I’d love to do futuristic stories; I did manage one (3309 ‘Warriors In Time’), but it started and finished during WWII. But sci-fi isn’t really Commando fare.

We finish with several questions from Brucie – How is the text formatted with the contents of text boxes and speech balloons?

Best answered with an example, Brucie. This is a panel (which we call pics) from No.4115 ‘Oath Of Honour’:

Pic 4. Flashback. Hans and Willi are stood by their field kitchen (not cooking, there are no rations). A column of German infantry are moving along the road (they look dishevelled and exhausted – there’s the odd vehicle, but no tanks or half-tracks). Some of the infantry start pointing to the sky and shouting – several American planes are approaching (P-51 Mustangs, carrying rockets).

PANEL ABOVE: THIS LEFT THE TWO OLD HANDS STRANDED WITH THEIR FIELD KITCHEN, NOT THAT THERE WAS ANY FOOD LEFT TO COOK. AND AS A COLUMN OF EXHAUSTED TROOPS FILED BY, SHOUTING SUDDENLY BROKE OUT…

1ST GERMAN: ACHTUNG, AMI JABOS!
2ND GERMAN: RUN FOR IT – RAUS, RAUS!

Depends. I do tend to see each ‘shot’ visually as a comic frame, and I try to get that across to the artist. Some shots need more description than others (especially when we are introducing locations or characters for the first time); and if a story has a long sequence in a specific place, I try to describe it in detail – better that than constantly adding stuff as I go along.

Is it difficult coming up with new ideas that haven’t been done before?

There’ve been a lot of Commandos published over the years, so it’s often a question of getting a different take on an idea (for example, showing a battle from the Germans’ perspective). But the more I read, the more the ideas leap out. And these days, there’s more scope for ‘historical’ ones, which broadens the horizon.

Do you research the themes of back issues or submit your synopsis to the editor and then modify it if necessary?

No, if a story is too close to one that’s been done before, the editor will let me know… and as I usually hit him with the basic idea before doing the synopsis (which can sometimes run to almost 4,000 words), ‘repeats’ are quashed at that stage.

Of course, I will deviate from the synopsis sometimes, nothing major though.

Do you get useful feedback about changes to your script?

Not really…the script is accepted (no failures yet, fingers crossed it stays that way), Calum will confirm he’s got it, then I don’t see it again until the actual Commando book comes out (though sometimes, I do get a sneak preview of the artwork).

Anyway, thanks to all of you for your questions and your interest in Commando. See you on the Front Line!

(And a big thanks from all of us at www.commandomag.com to Ferg for taking the time to answer all the questions we put to him.)