The Lonely War Of Capt. Willy Schultz!

The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz is a bit of a legendary series in the near hundred years lore of the comic book. The series was written by a very young man named Will Franz and drawn by a veteran talent named Sam Glanzman. It was produced by Charlton Comics, a house infamous for its production of what many deem substandard comics. Personally, I've always been a Charlton fan, appreciating the utter strangeness which could percolate in a company which by definition had little oversight over its talent because they paid so poorly. We'll pay you less money, but we'll leave you alone. It's a bargain many creators accepted. But in the case of this series maybe even the lackadaisical Charlton saw a need to crack down. (Caution: There are spoilers below.)

Will Franz was a very young man when he submitted samples to Charlton. At first his work was rejected but eventually he got a gig when his story titled "The Sniper" was published in the fifth and final issue of Charlton Premiere. War stories seemed to be his area of interest and he got a few more. Then he partnered with Sam Glanzman. Glanzman likely needs no introduction, but for the record he was a veteran of World War II and had been working in comics for a few decades when he and Franz joined forces to bring the world The Lonely Wart of Capt. Willy Schultz. 

The saga of Willy Schultz begins with a boner as the folks at Charlton misspelled his name on the cover of the debut issue of Fightin' Army. Willy is an American soldier in a tank unit. His immediate superior gives an order that kills his colleagues and Willy, a man of powerful conscience, is properly annoyed. Circumstances are such that as he pulls a gun on the hapless officer a Nazi soldier shoots and kills him. But the blame quickly falls on Willy and while being transported for trial his jeep is attacked and he is the only survivor. Considering himself a de facto dead man in the American forces, he puts on a German uniform and after a brutal trek across the desert blends into a unit. His dilemma is powerful -- how does he save himself while masquerading as a Nazi and at the same time not bring harm to Allied forces. 

While still set in WWII in North Africa, the story brings to the four-color page the situation of a warrior who finds decency in his enemy. It's not a message necessarily that folks looking to program young men to fight in foreign lands are eager to see. The depth of the characterization is something apart from the war comics of the time. Below are some of the war titles on sale alongside the debut issue of The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz. 

An entertaining batch of comics to be sure, but not comics that necessarily challenge the aims of war fighting. 

I'll just note (as did Stephen Bissette in the fantastic introduction to this collection) that another entertainment at the time was causing some ripples in the classic approach of media to war fighting. Branded starring the Rifleman himself Chuck Connors dealt with a disgraced military officer who must wander through the wild west seeking some solace. 

Willy spends several issues disguised as a German fighter, manning a Panzer tank. His situation is quite intolerable as he tries to negotiate the battlefield without directly taking American lives. The fact that he is nonetheless supporting the effort is treason by any definition. His choice to commit treason is that he's found a sympathetic humanity in the enemy. He eventually is able to slip away in the heat of battle and chances on a dead U.S soldier and appropriates his identity. But his time with the Germans has given him sympathy with the men if not their cause and he finds killing "the enemy" difficult. 

He continues his trek across North Africa, trying his best to avoid both forces. He has no success in that when he comes across a young German woman who has been blinded in a small engagement. His fluent German convinces her he's on her side, though that's an illusion which only lasts until others arrive. Willy and the woman named Ilse develop feelings for one another. 

There is some sense of redemption for Willy when he finds himself captured alongside General Stenik, the man whose son's death he's charged with. The General seems much more open to hearing the other side, though it's a tragic result for all those involved. 

Schultz is drawn into helping a British commando unit when they mistake him for American sent to assist them. He cannot adequately explain his presence, so he dons yet another German uniform and proceeds with the mission. He is ultimately captured along with the rest of the British team and lined up to be shot as a spy, but destiny in the name of Ilse provides an out. 

Sam Glanzman's artwork was really opening up about this time. His work on Hercules was becoming looser and vigorous, and likewise I see the same ideas for interesting design beginning to assert themselves in this two-parter which has Willy as a POW in an Italian camp, and he is  selected to lead an escape. As with most things in Willy's life, it doesn't go all that smoothly. 

Willy is recognized by an American officer, but one who decides that Schultz is more useful helping the Italian Partisan movement. An OSS officer named Daurio offered to get Schultz a pardon for his crime if he worked with the underground.

Franz's commentary on the ugly violence of war seems to be becoming more in focus as this two-part tale unfolds and Willy himself almost falls victim to the fury and rage of those he's trying to help. It was around this time that even the usually hands-off folks at Charlton started to request some changes. 

Both Glanzman and Franz seem to have found their way finally on this series, with the writing becoming ever more focused and emotional and the art more illustrative and compelling. Still and all the impact of the series was being felt and would yield repercussions. 

Shultz is routinely confronted with dilemmas while seeking to kill as few of the enemy as he can. Often his own life is at risk. Those around him are more willing to kill, as of course that's the purpose of war. 

Willy is able to find some measure of happiness even when he finds love with an Italian girl named Elena. They are confronted with the fact that they might have only a short time together and tragically that proves to be true. 

The series comes to an end with the death of the OSS officer Daurio and the chance for Schultz to gain his pardon. The Italian forces they fought with are wiped out, save for Elena and a few others. Where the strip would've gone from this point is unknown, but it didn't matter. The humanity and sympathy that the series demonstrated for the "enemy" was cited by one Conscientious Objector and that caused the military to contact Charlton and request that the series come to an end. Franz was given little notice and after a few more random war tales, effectively did not work in comics again. 

During the run of The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz DC began the series Enemy Ace, which to my mind touched on many of the same themes, albeit with a more distant war and with warriors of a different kind. 

For this collection a new story by Franz was solicited, a chance to bring the saga of Willy Schultz to a satisfying conclusion. So, after many decades Franz was able to wrap up the saga, but sadly without his partner Sam Glanzman who had since passed away. Wayne Vansant was picked to draw the story, and he does a remarkable job of following Glanzman's style. We learn that Willy's life of tragedy continues when he loses Elena and soon thereafter circumstances again allow him to assume the identity of a German soldier. The war comes to a conclusion and escape detection he joins the French Foreign Legion and fights for many years before settling down on a rubber plantation in Vietnam. He'd found Isle again and they live a somewhat happy life, as much as anyone can after all the tragedy they'd endured. 

The series was reprinted by ACG many years ago, but it is wonderful to have these stories in a solid collection and it's most interesting to read an ending after all these decades. DC emblazoned their war stories for a time with the phrase "Make War No More", but in the saga of Willy Schultz we see that ideal played out as much as it can be. 

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