Willy Schultz, Part 6

 

cover art by Sam Glanzman with alterations tentatively credited to Charles Nicolas

When we looked at Part 5 of "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz" a few weeks ago, I complained about what I felt was a contrived plot element. But with Part 6 (published in Fightin' Army #82 (November 1968), writer Will Franz and artist Sam Glanzman are back on track. This chapter is superb.

Schultz has been switching back and forth between American and German uniforms quite often. For the last couple of issues, he's been back in U.S. duds. So when he's picked up by the crew of a German halftrack (after a month of wandering around the Sahara), they take him prisoner. There's another American prisoner--General Stenik, the father of the man Willy was falsely accused of murdering.

At this point, the story becomes very dialogue-heavy. Often, that's a problem in a storytelling medium that is largely visual. But here, Will Franz writes absolutely fantastic dialogue, giving us insight into both Schultz and Stenik. 

Schultz tells a story of having recently killed a German to get some food and was sickened by the experience. Between that and the fact that his experiences have forced him to see both Americans and Germans as human beings--well, he's convinced he's no longer able to kill.

Stenik, we learn, no longer believes Schultz killed his son. But he had a problem of his own. He knows about future American troop movements and doesn't feel strong enough to stand up against torture should it come to that. Torture is very possible, as the troops holding the two of them are S.S.

Schultz is adamant in refusing to help, even when Stenik reminds him that Americans could be killed uselessly if he (Stenik) is forced to talk. But when an opportunity comes to slug a German officer and grab his pistol, Schultz does so without thinking. There's "no middle ground," he has realized. Duty, morality, self-defense--all of this is muddled together in his head and boils down to "kill or be killed."

There's a shootout, with Schulz bagging a couple of the Germans before they start to toss hand grenades. Stenik takes the brunt of a grenade blast to save Schultz's life.

Schultz is able to finish off the Germans and is once again wandering the desert alone. The general might have been able to clear him of the murder charge, but that chance is now lost. He once again has no place to go.

As I said, this issue is very dialogue-heavy, but this is made to work. Schultz's account of his moral journey in the desert is heart-rending--all the more so because his final conclusion is he can't escape the necessity of killing others. General Stenik's short but powerful character arc complements this and is in of itself heart-rending. "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schulz" continues to one of the finest examples of graphic storytelling I've ever read.