In regards to Willy Schultz's wartime career, there's a time jump between the last issue of Fightin' Army and this one (#83--January 1969). When we left him at the end of the last issue, he was still wandering in the Sahara and wanted for murder by the U.S. Army. This one picks up in the middle of a commando raid on a German supply base. The commandos are British, but Willy, dressed again in a German uniform, is helping them.
At first, it seems like there's a missing chapter. The change in story direction is pretty abrupt and I am tempted to argue that there SHOULD have been a chapter detailing how Willy hooked up with the commandos. But writer Will Franz explains in a sentence that Willy met them by chance and joined with them pretty much because he has nowhere else to go. And, to be fair, that is enough to tell us what is going on.
Sam Glanzman's art, as always, looks great. As I said, we join the action in the middle of the raid. Willy is in a German uniform, presumably, because they were making use of his knowledge of German to gain access to the base. But everything is out in the open now. Guns are blazing, stuff is blowing up and the commandos are outnumbered & in trouble.
Willy has accepted his role as a soldier, though he still regrets having to shoot Germans in the back to save a few commandos. The British are trying to regroup and retreat when disaster strikes. One of the commandos, mortally wounded, throughs an explosive charge into a nearby tent before he dies. He doesn't realize its a hospital tent.
Both the art and the narration don't stint on the ensuing horror, as wounded men and medical personnel die in the spreading flames. One dying man stumbles into Willy's arms. He realizes its one of his friends from his time with the German army. There's nothing he can do but watch him die. Willy is then captured and discovered to be one of the commandos.
This chapter ends with Willy about to be executed by a firing squad.
What makes this story work so well is the simple touch of the hospital tent being destroyed by accident. Willy seems to have accepted that his role as a soldier can't be ignored. But we see that no matter what a soldier's intentions, innocent people are going to die in a war. You might be the good guys (and there's no question about the Allies being the good guys during World War II), but war itself is always going to be dirty and horrific.
Also, the cliffhanger ending is a good one. Altogether, we have yet another strong chapter in this superb series.
Next week, I think we'll visit with one of Marvel's classic What If tales.
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