Willy Schultz, Part 3

 

cover art by Rocke Mastroserio

The Lonely War of Captain Willy Schultz continues in Fightin' Army #78 (February 1968), with Will Franz still writing and Sam Glanzman continues to provide superb art. 

Like the last chapter, this one picks up in the midst of violent action. The German armored company with whom Willy has been serving is ambushed by American anti-tank guns and planes, with tank after tank getting blown apart. What's notable here is how effectively it continues the theme of humanizing everyone--both Americans and Germans. Germans who are killed are often named, with one caption informing us that one German had a wife and a little kid. As the saga progresses, it will not ignore the evils of the Nazi regime, but it will often be reminding us that not all Germans were Nazis. Some were just guys desperately trying to stay alive.

The surviving Germans, along with the American-pretending-to-be-German Willy Schultz, are captured. There's a brief but effective moment when a young American soldier abruptly sees Schultz, whom he thinks is his enemy, as a human being.

Locked up in a compound at an American base, it's not long before Willy is recognized by someone. Unfortunately for him, its an officer who has reason to hate Willy. Willy tries to brazen it out, claiming not to speak English and vainly hoping his "resemblance" to a convicted murderer is taken as a coincidence. But it doesn't fly. And there's another great, though subtle, bit of characterization in the form of an interpreter who is obviously uncomfortable with the major's violent interrogation technique.

When a friend of Willy's walks into the tent, Willy inadvertantly gives himself away. This requires him to throw some punches and make a break for it.

Willy has a chance to spring the other German prisoners. But they don't want to go, having no desire to swelter in inside a tank to die in the service of their "glorious Fuhrer." The chapter ends with this irony--the Germans want to stay in the American camp, while the American protagonist has not choice but to flee. 

It's another strong chapter in the saga. Franz and Glanzman continue to throw Willy from one morally impossible situation to another, putting him through a physical and emotional ringer. Tension from physical danger builds upon emotional tension, making this one of the most riviting examples of graphic storytelling ever produced.

Next week, we visit with Dr. Fate.