Sturmtruppen

Sturmtruppen is a successful Italian series of anti-war comic books, written and drawn by Bonvi, the artistic pseudonym of Franco Bonvicini starting as four-frame comic strips back in the 1970s and evolving into fully sized collector books up to the 1990s and first decade of the third millennium.

The German word Sturmtruppen is usually translated into English as Stormtroopers

Subject

These comic books were about the misadventures of an anonymous German army corps in various war theatres of World War 2, by portraying the daily life, sufferances, problems and joys of the average, anonymous soldier.

What made the comic hilarious to read was the fact that all texts and dialogues are written in an improper, German-mocking Italian, usually achieved by adding a final "-en" to most Italian words, or by exchanging "b"s with "p"s, and "v"s with "f"s to achieve a "German-sounding" Italian.

According to some people, this is yet another expedient of the author aimed at emphasizing the servilism and the authority imposed on the poor soldiers, down to the point of denying them the right of using a "normal" language.

The stories and characters themselves are based partly on the military experience of the author himself, and partly on military literature, folklore and of course stereotypes.

The subject of the stories themselves carry a lot of criticism against war and the absurdity of military bureaucracy and mentality and (also by references to the famous Catch 22) also the message that "civilian" life isn't much different from military life, disguised.

The monologue of an anonymous soldier muttering to himself:

"Kuesta maledetta najen dovra pur finiren. Ne ho piene le tasken di dofer dire Signorsi'a un kualsiasi graduaten. Non fedo l'oren di ridifentaren un cifilen kualsiasi e poter diren 'Signorsi' a un kualsiasi superioren"

Which translates more or less as:

"This damned military service will have to end sometime. I've grown tired of having to say 'Yes, sir' to anyone with a higher rank. I can barely wait to rebecome an anonymous civilian and being able to say 'Yes, sir' to any of my superiors..."

Gives a clear idea of the black humour and Kafkian atmosphere of this comic book.

Characters

Most characters don't have proper names but are rather called by their rank, speciality or position. Most simple soldiers are given generic "German" names such as Otto, Franz, Fritz, etc.

• The "Sergenten" (sergeant), a sadistic, brutal and cruel veteran completely absorbed into the system and obsessed with "duty" and "discipline", frequently abusing of his position by beating up soldiers for no reason and even using them as living barbed wire poles and barricades, ordering them to run into a minefield or to remove their gas masks in the middle of a gas attack to "check out if it's safe" etc.

• The "Mediken Militaren" (military medic), a high ranking career officer of the medical corps who has actually studied as a veterinary, but because "animals refused being cured by HIM, he was assigned to the closest human category: the soldiers," as the text said. From time to time the doctor becomes obsessed with things such as Vampires, researching the elixir of invisibility or some "revolutionary" field medicine procedure, usually at the expense of the poor soldiers and his fellow officers.

• The hilarious "Sottotenenten di Komplementen" (complement 2nd Lieutenant), a highly incompetent young officer who has obtained his rank through nepotism and bureaucracy inside the army itself, and while he willingly offers to carry out the most dangerous and responsible tasks to prove himself, he usually ends up failing miserably.

• The so-called Italian ally, "Il Fiero Alleaten Galeazzo Musolesi" (the proud ally Galeazzo Musolesi), a name clearly mocking both Benito Mussolini and Galeazzo Ciano, and the character being a dishonest and cowardly man always trying to steal from and take advantage of his "allies", willing to perform any task as long as it's not too hard and he can somehow cheat on it.

• The "Kapitanen" (Captain) is one of the few characters representing sanity in an otherwise completely insane environment. He usually stays calm and rational even when dealing with the most bizzarre and peculiar (or hilarious) situations.

• The "Kuoken Militaren" (military cook) it the company's cook, always getting criticized for the quality of his food and usually having to deal with an eternal lack of food and supplies or administration problems, which usually result in, e.g. serving dry peas instead of pea soup "because there's no water", FROZEN soup, soup made of motor oil and boiled tyres and even the dirty laundry water, let alone those cases where there's a meat shortage, and some young soldiers "mysteriously" disappear...he also is in constant battle with the "Sergenten" and the "Proud Ally" who always try either sabotaging his kitchen or stealing food.

• The "Alleaten del Sol Levante" (the ally from the Rising Sun) is a clear satyre of the Japanese soldier, mostly based on stereotypes such as a self-sacrificing attitude, sense of honor etc.

External links

• http://www.chrisound.de/indexi.html
• http://www.sturmtruppen.it (Official Bonvi web page)