Captain Willy Schultz is a fictional

comic-book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

soldier, a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

captain during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, who after being falsely accused and convicted of murder, escapes and blends into the German Army while seeking a way to clear his name and retain his Allied allegiance. Created by writer Will Franz and artist

Sam Glanzman Samuel Joseph Glanzman (December 5, 1924 – July 12, 2017) was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series ''Hercules'', about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories abo ...

, the character starred in the feature "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz", which debuted in

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T.W.O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line was a division of Charlton ...

' ''Fightin' Army'' #76 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d Oct. 1967). The Willy Schultz storyline was a departure from most other combat features of this time, with its conflicted hero caught between loyalties. Writer Franz opposed the American war in Vietnam, and the Schultz character reflected the divisiveness of the era.

Publication history

Following the debut of his feature "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz" in the

war comics War comics is a genre of comic books that gained popularity in English-speaking countries following World War II. History American war comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began incl ...

anthology ''

Fightin' Army ''Fightin' Army'' was a bimonthly war comic published by Charlton Comics from 1956–1984 (though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 to the end of its run). Telling fictional stories of the United States Army, it was a sister title of the ...

'' #76 (

d Oct. 1967), Captain Willy Schultz continued in that series through issue #92 (July 1970), except in issue #81 (Sept. 1968).Willy Schultz (character)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

The feature was reprinted in ''Fightin' Army'' #141 (Oct. 1979) and #150 (Mar. 1981), as well as in the Charlton series ''Attack'' #20 (Feb. 1980), ''Battlefield Action'' #68 (Apr. 1981), and ''Captain Willy Schultz'' #76-77 (Oct. 1985 - Jan. 1986). In 1999 and 2000,

Avalon Communications Charlton Media Group (CMG) is a Montreal-based publisher owned and operated by Canadian entrepreneur Roger Broughton. CMG has published Charlton Comics and American Comics Group reprint comics, under several names, including Sword in Stone, A+, a ...

collected the feature in the four-issue series ''The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz'', and reprinted another Willy Schultz story in its one-shot ''Star Combat Tales'' #1 (Oct. 18, 2000).

Fictional character biography

During the fighting in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

during

, Schultz, an armored company commander, is falsely accused of murdering his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Stenik. Arrested by Stenik's father, a U.S. Army general, Schultz is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Escaping from custody and in desperation, he joins a German Army ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ...

'' unit, passing himself off as a German tank crewman separated from his unit. Using his language skills and knowledge of German military customs, Schultz goes through several adventures. He changes sides again, joining British commandos in a raid on a German base. He is captured by the Germans and sent to a prisoner of war camp in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He escapes when the prison train is destroyed in a British air raid. Schultz subsequently joins up with Office of Strategic Services Major Jon Daurio, who promises to get him a pardon if he agrees to work with Daurio's band of Italian partisans. Schultz became the sole survivor of his partisan unit, escaping to once again join the Germans and being sent to fight on the Eastern Front. By 1945, he has become completely immersed in the German military and could no longer go home to the United States. The last story sees Schultz meeting Lassiter Wilkes (the U.S. officer who prosecuted Schultz for Stenik's murder) after the surrender of Schultz's German unit, and calling out, "I didn't kill him" — but without Schultz knowing if he spoke in English or in German. Despite an initial inclination to kill Schultz at the end of the war, writer Franz instead had him go off with the daughter of a German general to start a new life.

Accolades

Charlton Comics' ''Fightin' Army'' #76 (Oct. 1967), introducing writer Will Franz and artist

's feature "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz", is among the comics included in author and comics essayist

Tony Isabella Tony Isabella (born December 22, 1951) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath; DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning; and as ...

's ''1,000 Comic Books You Must Read''.

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Accolades

References

Further reading