Willie & Joe: The WWII Years

Before becoming one of America's leading editorial cartoonists, Mauldin (1921–2003) first achieved national fame as a young artist during WWII, drawing his iconic pair of soldiers, Willie and Joe. This deluxe two-volume slipcased set, edited by Todd DePastino, collects all of Mauldin's extant wartime cartoons. Volume 1, “Homefront, 1940–1943,” traces the teenage soldier's rapid development as an artist, imparting increasing realism to his original “cartoony” style, but these cartoons are unmemorable. Mauldin reaches greatness in the second volume, “Overseas: 1943–1945.” Sent to Italy as a member of the 45th Division's press corps, Mauldin observed soldiers in the midst of war, and Willie and Joe emerged. The public image of the American soldier, fostered both by the armed forces and Hollywood, had been an actively heroic, handsome, clean-cut youth. In startling contrast, Willie and Joe, Mauldin's everymen at war, were unshaven and unkempt “dogfaces”; they characteristically slouched with weariness. While funny, Mauldin's cartoons were also darkly ironic. It was clear that Willie and Joe had been beaten down by both the tedium of army life and the overwhelming dangers of combat. Their heroism lies in continuing to survive despite the odds, and these cartoons retain their power and relevance. (May)