Combat Colin

The name or term "Colin" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Colin (disambiguation).

Colin's hopes were prematurely raised like so many fans...

Combat Colin was a comic strip drawn by Lew Stringer and originally published in the Marvel UK Action Force comic (starting in issue #5) but transferring to the Marvel UK Transformers comic when the former title merged into it from issue #153. The strip replaced the Robo-Capers strip, although the two strips would have a special crossover in issue #200.

In Transformers the strip was initially a half-page in colour, with the occasional full page special, but transformed into a full page black and white strip from issue #224, with the occasional colour strip. From issue #300 the strip was in full colour. For the final two issues of the comic the strip was given two pages.

Although Combat Colin began life as an Action Force inspired strip he proved highly popular in Transformers and remained in the comic even when Action Force (later G.I. Joe the Action Force) left the comic on three occasions (between issue #183 & issue #190, issue #213 & issue #219 and permanently from issue #306).

Combat Colin told of the adventures of Colin Doobrey-Smiff, a bumbling would-be war hero living in British suburbia. Together with his sidekick Semi-Automatic Steve he had many adventures. The strip quite often breaks the fourth wall, acknowledging the readers and the wider comic.

You might have your own comic strip, but it's only a back-up in a toy robot comic, isn't it?Mega-Brain

Ouch! That hurt!Combat Colin, "Return to Mars!", UK issue #276

Combat Colin/Transformers crossovers

Colin and Steve were looking forward to the party to celebrate both Christmas and the 250th issue of Transformers but when they arrived, a sign on the door told them the party was for Transformers only and humans weren't invited - "In other words: Clear off, you two!" They instead held their own party in the Combat Shed and invited many heroes and villains from other Marvel comics. Christmas with Combat Colin

Later, whilst Colin was celebrating both the 300th issue of Transformers and being in full colour permanently, almost all his villains launched a joint attack. After defeating them with a single blast from a boxing-glove gun, Colin was so elated, he suggested he might boot out the Transformers and take over the whole comic. Suddenly, Blaster appeared and picked up Colin to ask him, "Boot out WHO and take over WHAT?" Colin decided it would be best to stick to his own page after all. Combat Colin 300

Notes

One of Marvel UK's most fondly remembered action strips and also Action Force.

• Originally, Lew Stringer proposed to call the character and strip "Dimbo", but Action Force editor (and oftentime Transformers letterer) Richard Starkings suggested "Combat Colin", a name that would not date so quickly. Steve White came up with the new name and ended up as the inspiration for Semi-Automatic Steve, that name from Starkings.
• During his Action Force days, Colin got a Joe-style profile which claimed he'd applied for Action Force. "They refused. He applied again. They refused. He applied again. They nuked his bedroom. He got the message."
• As well as occasionally appearing in the world of the Transformers, Colin had some adventures involving other characters from the mainstream Marvel Universe. Spider-Man makes cameos in a number of strips, whilst Doctor Doom appeared in one two-part story. Another story saw an encounter with the Gwanzulum, a race of shapshifters who appeared in a number of different Marvel UK titles in 1988.
• After The Transformers ended, Marvel UK returned all rights to Colin to Lew Stringer. This has allowed him to sporadically return and for Stringer to reprint his work.
• The strip ended with Colin and Steve apparently killed by a nuclear bomb, but a sequel "The Return of Combat Colin" revealed that they had been sent back in time to Blackpool in the year 1967. A further sequel, "Combat Colin in the 21st Century" saw them turn a candy floss spinner into a time machine and they ended up at the Transforce convention in the year 2000, where they witnessed their enemy Doctor Nasty use a heat ray to meld a fan to his Optimus Prime toy forever.

External links

• Combat Colin at Wikipedia
• Blimey! It's another blog about comics! By Lew Stringer