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) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

It's hard to craft a superhero epic specifically for middle-grade readers that also honors an old-fashioned adventure mentality, but Gratz locks in reader interest by allotting generous story focus to Bucky, Cap's young teenage partner. Behind enemy lines during WWII, Cap values Bucky's competence, and we see just how the future Winter Soldier fills in important gaps in the Captain's own skill set. What's more, the two team up with Sofia, a young Romani resistance fighter who's every bit Bucky's equal, as the three contend with enemy magic that brings forth the ghosts of fallen soldiers. Magic may be at work, but Gratz importantly grounds the story in real historical events and issues that will invite young readers to explore more deeply: they address Japanese internment camps head-on, for instance, and we meet the actual American Ghost Army, a true-life tactical deception unit of the era. 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.