Patton famously chewed Mauldin out), but Mauldin spoke truth to power from a very early age. Remarkably, he was given a lot of leeway to draw his single-panel strips, which were featured in Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper that every soldier read. By giving a voice to the grunts, the higher-ups deemed it an important way to let off steam and even improve morale. Not every officer felt this way (General George S. As such, his strip, featuring the unshaven & cynical soldiers Willie & Joe, boldly depicted the drudgery of a soldier's life, the hypocrisy of commanding officers and the frequently ludicrous logic of the military. While he did not engage in combat, he spent a considerable amount of time in combat zones and knew the ins and outs of daily GI life.
A novice cartoonist at the time he was drafted into the army, his chops and perspective were honed in a remarkably short period of time thanks to what he saw on the front.
Wille & Joe: Back Home is the follow-up to the massive, impressive collection Willie & Joe: The WWII Years. That latter work was just reprinted in softcover format by Fantagraphics. The softcover, clocking in at close to 700 pages, lacks the pizazz of the hardcover but certainly gets the job done. Bill Mauldin's career was lightning in a bottle, a combination of luck, timing, talent and a point of view that many could understand and relate to.
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