Captain America: The Ghost Army (Original Graphic Novel)

by Alan Gratz, Brent Schoonover (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

When one of our favorite authors pens a story in the Marvel universe, it’s pretty much an automatic read. Add to that the fact that this graphic novel is coupled with epic illustrations by Brett Schoonover, and we couldn’t get our hands on it fast enough. Captain America fans won’t want to miss this blockbuster read.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz ( Refugee, Ground Zero) comes an all-new, original Captain America graphic novel!

In this thrilling historical adventure set during World War II, Steve Rogers (AKA Captain America) and his young sidekick, Bucky Barnes, encounter threat like none they've ever seen — a Ghost Army. The dead of this war and wars past are coming back to life, impervious to bullets, flames, or anything else the Allies can throw at them. The armies rise from the ground in the night and seem to disappear without a trace.

How can Cap and Buck fight something that's already dead? And just what does the mysterious Baron Mordo—sitting in his castle atop nearby Wundagore Mountain—have to do with this?

Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Gratz merges the worlds of historical fiction and super hero comics in this one-of-a-kind graphic novel that is sure to be met with major enthusiasm from fans of all ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338775891
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	29,735
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	GN480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

BRENT SCHOONOVER is a Midwestern-born illustrator who works in the fields of comic books and commercial art, having done projects for clients such as Target, Continental Airlines, Mayo Clinic, and the NFL. In the field of comics, Brent has worked on several creator-owned projects like Devil’s Highway from AWA, as well as on well-known characters such as Batman and Superman at DC Comics, and X-Men, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow at Marvel Comics. He currently lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Nicole; two daughters, Millie and Josie; and their bulldog, Agatha.

ALAN GRATZ is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several highly acclaimed books for young readers, including Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade,Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, and Code of Honor. Alan lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter. Look for him online at alangratz.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/13/2023

Gr 5 Up—It's World War II, and readers join Captain America and sidekick Bucky Barnes on the Eastern Front, surrounded by Nazi forces, struggling to help the British hold their position. With reinforcements nowhere nearby, the duo is flailing—until they hear the American cavalry rolling in. With the Nazis retreating, Cap and his compatriots are shocked to find the amassing American troops are just a few soldiers and jeeps with speakers, a "ghost army" of artists who dupe the enemies with smoke and noise. Their position thankfully maintained, Cap, Bucky, and the troops make camp, but little do they know they're in for a ghastly surprise. As they settle around the fire, they suddenly find themselves in a real ghost story—the spirits of the German soldiers from their recent battle have risen from the dead and are on the attack. The secret behind who's controlling these specters (and how to stop the dead from killing the living) lies at Wundagore Castle, where Baron Mordo's dark magic has created a ghost machine capable of awakening spirits…and summoning something even more dangerous. Can Cap and Bucky stop him before he turns the tides of the war, or worse, destroys the world? Gratz, a well-known author of historical fiction, works facts in with the flashy fiction: America's "Ghost Army" was a real top-secret deception unit tasked with pulling the wool over the eyes of the Axis. Readers more familiar with the Marvel movie version of Bucky might take a while to acclimate to this young Buck, but the thrill of the story will have them frantically flipping pages till the exciting cliffhanger ending. VERDICT A must-purchase for most libraries.—Abby Bussen

School Library Journal

An ABA Indie Bestseller!

A Common Sense Selection for Books

It’s hard to craft a superhero epic specifically for middle-grade readers that also honors an oldfashioned adventure mentality, but Gratz locks in reader interest . . . Schoonover’s art has old-fashioned charm as well, like an adventure movie with solid, practical effects rather than numbingly sleek digital ones, lending a visual assist to the story’s more human scope. This is not to suggest, of course, that either art or story skimps on the raucous action, nor that there aren't plenty of Marvel Easter eggs placed throughout the battlefield for eager aficionados to pick out."

-Booklist, Starred Review

Come for the Marvel flair; stay for the well-rounded characters and historical touch points.-Kirkus

From the Publisher

2023-02-08
A World War II tale that serves up history and heroics.

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, and his covert ops sidekick, Bucky Barnes, both White, charge forth through Transia, a fictional country on the Eastern European front, aiding British soldiers against Germany. Their secret weapon is a “Ghost Army” led by Japanese American Jim Morita, consisting of fake recordings and props to fool enemies. An attack from seemingly real ghosts leads Cap and Bucky to a city under Nazi siege and to supernatural villains. This theater of war is enhanced by period-appropriate details such as K rations, characters raising their rifles when crossing rivers, and well-developed character backstories. We learn that Morita joined the U.S. military in order to leave a camp imprisoning Japanese Americans, which Cap acknowledges with shame. Sofia, a young Romani woman who teams up with Bucky, teaches him that the term gypsy is a pejorative. Characters also reckon with trauma from the previous world war. The villains, scheming though they are, have a few relatable moments. Reliably timed action scenes keep the pace moving quickly and demonstrate Cap’s selflessness. Marvel newbies should find this story accessible, though fans will spot winks to the larger shared universe.

Come for the Marvel flair; stay for the well-rounded characters and historical touch points. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews