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HRISTMAS 1942 WASN’T EXACTLY THE C MOST FESTIVE OF TIMES IN THE KILLING GROUNDS OF STALINGRAD, ESPECIALLY NOT FOR THE CONVICT COMMANDOS WHO FOUND THEMSELVES FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT SAVAGE VORTEX OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION. GOT IT!

MORE DEAD NAZIS! THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT A MAN CAN HAVE!

STORY ALAN HEBDEN ART BENET WHERE’S JELLY?

COVER BENET

4 THE GERMANS WERE DETERMINED TO WIPE THEM OUT AND SENT A HUNTING PACK OF THEIR MOST FEROCIOUS TROOPS TO OUTFLANK THE POSITION.

DON’T TELL ME HE’S...

GRIEFI

THE SCHWEIN WON’T KNOW WHAT’S HIT THEM. LOOKING ROUND FOR JELLY, GUY SUDDENLY SPOTTED THE APPROACHING DANGER. GUY YELLED A WARNING AND THE OTHERS RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY, CUTTING DOWN THE FIRST WAVE OF ATTACKERS. BUT IT WAS CLEAR THERE’D BE NO STOPPING THOSE BEHIND.

YUUURGH!

THERE’RE TOO MANY OF THEM! WE’VE HAD IT!

5 WITHOUT WARNING A HEAVY MACHINE GUN OPENED FIRE, SCYTHING DOWN THE GERMANS LIKE WHEAT IN A FIELD.

AAIIEEGH! WHAT THE...?

IT WAS THE FOURTH MEMBER OF THE TEAM, THE NORMALLY COWARDLY JELLY, BUT NOW SEEMINGLY TRANSFORMED INTO A SUPERHUMAN AVENGER. I’M GONNA KILL EVERY GERMAN IN STALINGRAD!

OH NO, WHAT’S HE GONE AND DONE? WHAT INDEED, AND HOW HAD IT COME TO PASS?

6 A WEEK EARLIER A RUSSIAN SUPPLY TRAIN FROM MURMANSK TO MOSCOW WAS STEAMING ACROSS THE SNOWBOUND STEPPES. A PASSENGER COACH HAD BEEN ATTACHED TO THE END, ITS PASSENGERS NONE TOO HAPPY AT BEING TRANSPORTED THROUGH THIS FROZEN LANDSCAPE. I THOUGHT FLAMIN’ NORWAY WERE COLD, BUT IT WERE DOWNRIGHT TROPICAL COMPARED WIV THIS ICEBOX.

PERHAPS MISTER TENBY MIGHT DEIGN TO ENLIGHTEN US AS TO WHAT THE DEVIL WE’RE DOING HEADING FOR STALINGRAD.

IN THE CARRIAGE, SECRET SERVICE AGENT GUY TENBY FOUND HIMSELF THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION AS TITCH MOONEY, JELLY JAKES AND SMILER DAWSON, THE SO-CALLED CONVICT COMMANDOS, LOOKED SHARPLY AT HIM. IT WAS TIME TO EXPLAIN THE MISSION THAT WAS TAKING THEM INTO THE GREATEST BATTLE OF THE WAR.

THE STORY BEGINS DURING THE LAST WAR. IN 1917 A RENOWNED BRITISH PSYCHIATRIST, PROFESSOR HORACE MAYBURY, WAS SENT TO PETROGRAD AT THE REQUEST OF A RUSSIAN PSYCHOLOGIST, DOCTOR FEDOR SLAVITCH, WHO CLAIMED TO BE DEVELOPING A WAR-WINNING WEAPON.

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SLAVITCH, AN OLD FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OF MAYBURY, MET HIM ON HIS ARRIVAL IN THE CAPITAL OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AND EXPLAINED WHAT HE WAS WORKING ON.

I AM DEVELOPING A DEVICE TO CONTROL MEN’S BEHAVIOUR BUT I NEED YOUR EXPERTISE ON THE WORKINGS OF THE MIND IF I AM TO PROGRESS. IF THE DEVICE WORKS IT MAY HELP US DEFEAT THE GERMAN AND AUSTROHUNGARIAN EMPIRES BEFORE THEY DEFEAT US.

THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE DEFEATED, FEDOR? SURELY NOT!

AS IF TO ILLUSTRATE SLAVITCH’S POINT THE CARRIAGE TOOK A SHARP DETOUR IN ORDER TO AVOID AN UGLY CONFRONTATION BETWEEN PROTESTORS AND MOUNTED DRAGOONS.

DEATH TO THE TSAR...

UURF!

THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE FACES DEFEAT FROM WITHIN, MY FRIEND. UNLESS THIS WAR IS ENDED QUICKLY WE FACE REVOLUTION AND POSSIBLE CATASTROPHE.

I SEE. IN THAT CASE WE’D BETTER GET CRACKING ON THIS DEVICE OF YOURS.

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WITH THE SECURITY SITUATION IN PETROGRAD DETERIORATING, IT WAS DECIDED TO MOVE A THOUSAND MILES AWAY TO SLAVITCH’S HOME TOWN OF TSARITSYN. HERE THE CELLARS OF HIS VILLA WOULD BECOME A WORKSHOP.

TSARITSYN IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE, HORACE, ON THE WEST BANK OF THE MIGHTY VOLGA RIVER.

BUT THE PROJECT HAD TAKEN TOO LONG. BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND ENSUING CIVIL WAR ENGULFED TSARYTSIN. INITIALLY THE RED ARMY OCCUPIED THE CITY, BUT WERE DRIVEN OUT BY THE WHITE ARMY.

SLAVITCH’S VILLA LAY CLOSE TO THE TOWN CENTRE AND WORK PROGRESSED DURING THE SUMMER AND EARLY AUTUMN OF 1917. MAYBURY OFTEN WROTE TO A COLLEAGUE IN LONDON.

‘MY DEAR WATSON, WE ARE CLOSE TO A BREAKTHROUGH. BY COMBINING CERTAIN ULTRA-SONIC FREQUENCIES IT SEEMS POSSIBLE TO TRIGGER A MAD RAGE IN A SUBJECT, MAKING HIM TEMPORARILY IMMUNE TO FEAR. AN ARMY OF SUCH MEN WOULD BE UNSTOPPABLE...’

9 FINALLY THE RED ARMY PREVAILED, AND FROM THEN ON THERE WAS NOTHING BUT SILENCE FROM TSARYTSIN.

MAYBURY WAS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM. AFTER IT HAD PASSED, ALL COMMUNICATIONS WERE CONTROLLED BY THE REDS AND THERE WAS NO MORE WORD FROM HIM.

SO WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

MAYBURY MANAGED TO GET OUT WITH THE RETREATING WHITE FORCES AND SPENT THE NEXT FEW YEARS WITH THEM AS A MEDICAL OFFICER WHILE THEY FOUGHT A LOSING WAR AGAINST THE REDS IN TRANSCAUCASIA. EVENTUALLY HE REACHED PERSIA AND MADE HIS WAY TO THE BRITISH MISSION IN TEHERAN. MY NAME IS PROFESSOR HORACE MAYBURY AND I SHOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO GO HOME!

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SEVERAL WEEKS LATER MAYBURY REACHED SOUTHAMPTON AND TOOK THE TRAIN TO LONDON. IT WAS ONLY WHEN HE OPENED THE PAPER HE HAD BOUGHT FOR THE JOURNEY THAT HE BECAME AWARE OF WHAT HE IMMEDIATELY REALISED WAS MOMENTOUS NEWS.

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE OUTCOME. I HAVE TO TELL THE GOVERNMENT WHAT HAPPENED IN TSARITSYN. THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE SECURITY MAY DEPEND ON IT.

MAYBURY HAD ENOUGH CONTACTS TO ARRANGE A HIGH-LEVEL MEETING AND A FEW DAYS LATER HE WAS HURRYING ALONG WHITEHALL.

IT’S VITAL THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DEALING WITH IN RUSSIA.

THAT’S HIM! PULL LEVEL.