Captain Willy Schultz is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

comic-book soldier, a German-American U.S. Army captain during World War II, who after being falsely accused and convicted of murder, escapes and blends into the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

while seeking a way to clear his name and retain his

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

allegiance. Created by writer

Will Franz William Franz, who wrote as Will Franz, Willi Franz, and Willie Franz, is an American comic-book writer and occasional penciler, best known for his Charlton Comics War comics, war stories, mostly published from 1967 to 1970. Franz is particularly ...

and artist Sam Glanzman, the character starred in the feature "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz", which debuted in Charlton Comics' ''Fightin' Army'' #76 ( cover-dated 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 The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, 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 Charlton Comics war comics

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' Fightin' Army'' #76 ( cover-dated 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 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 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 One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

''Star Combat Tales'' #1 (Oct. 18, 2000).

Fictional character biography

During the fighting in North Africa during World War II, 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'' 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. He escapes when the prison train is destroyed in a British air raid. Schultz subsequently joins up with

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

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 Sam Glanzman's feature "The Lonely War of Capt. Willy Schultz", is among the comics included in author and comics essayist Tony Isabella's ''1,000 Comic Books You Must Read''.

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Accolades

References

Further reading