Ghostopolis

Absolutely amazing couldn’t put it down.

A GIFT WELL RECEIVED

Frank Gallows is a sloppy but effective agent of the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, responsible for tracking down ghosts lingering on Earth and sending them back to the netherworld of Ghostopolis. One day he mistakenly sends terminally ill (but still living) 12-year-old Garth Hale to the afterlife, a grave error that means he has to follow and extract the kid. Unfortunately, no one's been successfully extracted in more than twenty years... Nonetheless, Frank follows the boy in and adventures ensue as he tracks Garth down and they (along with Garth's grandfather and Frank's ghost girlfriend) get swept up in the machinations of the evil Master Vaugner, who's seeking to rule the afterlife. It's a classic plucky-kid-and-team-of-misfits-vs.-evil-baddie-and-his-many-insect-minions tale, but well told with plenty of humor and action. The mix of feel-good positive messages and action with creepy creatures makes it a winning combination for parents to safely read along with kids. I've only read a few of Tennapel's books, but his humor has always struck just the right balance of goofy slapstick and sharp wit for me. Great stuff with real heart to it!

Ghosts roam among the living on Earth, and it's up to Frank Gallows to go and catch them.However, Frank isn't exactly the best guy for the task - he's lazy and messy and usually eats food in people's fridges after a successful catch. Nevertheless, he still gets the job done. That is, until he accidentally transports his ghost horse AND a human boy named Garth to Ghostopolis.Now, it's up to Frank and his mysterious ex-fiance, Claire, to go back and return Garth to Earth.There's one small problem: Master Vaugner controls Ghostopolis and won't let Garth - a boy who seems to have as much power as himself - go. So, not only does Garth have to get through mummies, zombies, and skeletons alongside his loyal bone-horse, Skinny, but he also has to fight a powerful dark master in order to return to his mother.Doug TenNapel writes an intriguing story about the afterlife and where ghosts come from. His graphic novel is full of eye-catching illustrations and witty jokes that pull the reader in from the first line. GHOSTOPOLIS is recommended for anyone who's up for a quick and fun read; this book won't disappoint.Reviewed by: Steph

Started off ok. Unfortunately, it was over long and silly. It was an effort to read to the end. Then to discover that it hadn’t been worth it.

Doug's latest graphic novel is no exception to the quality of his more recent group of novels such as Tommysarus Rex, Black Cherry and Monster Zoo. There is a great understanding of the world and how to have something extraordinary happen without having it seem out of place and that all his books have a real soul to them and this is no different. I was first impressed by the overall quality and time that has been put into this production even daring to go full colour.The book opens with a young boy named Garth who has a mystery illness which is killing him and he only has months to live. And also introduces a character Frank Gallows who can only be described as a ghost detective who is making sure no ghosts escape to the human world. One issue is he is very bad at it and in a pursuit of one of the escapee ghosts he prematurely sends Garth to Ghostopolis a city between world for spirits. He has now no choice but to rescue the boy and find out what mystery's this ghost city holds for the both of them.I think its an enchanting read for young and old and is a good introduction to the other Novels or one to pick up if your already a fan of Dougs writing.

Auch beim Wiederlesen kommt Ghostopolis nicht über drei Sterne hinaus.Die Story ist witzig und kann mit vielen netten Details und Ideen aufwarten, trotzdem fehlt aber das gewisse etwas, das mich dazu motiviert, bei der Stange zu bleiben. Wäre es ein Film, dann die Sorte, bei der ich zwischendurch aufstehe, mir eine Stulle schmiere oder einen Tee koche - man verpaßt ja nicht wirklich etwas. Und die Zeichnungen sind leider mit Ausnahme einiger Panels, die wiederum auf witzigen Ideen basieren, auch nicht wirklich mein Geschmack.

my 9 yr old loves graphic novels and is enjoying all of them by this author.

Un jeune garçon, atteint d'une maladie incurable, fait la tournée des médecins en compagnie de sa mère, qui ne peut se résoudre à lui donner des soins palliatifs. Ces premières pages sont très touchantes, très réussies.Puis l'enfant est expédiés, par erreur, et prématurément, dans le monde des morts.Un monde de fantômes où les personnages apparaissent à toute allure, surgis de tous côtés: le rythme de l'action est certainement proche de bien des jeux vidéo. On sort, là, du côté intime, poignant, des premières pages.L'intrigue de la mère et du garçon mourant n'est pas très exploitée au bout du compte. Un peu dommage.

It has been read so many times I have replaced it in my elementary library with a new copy!

Venu du cinéma d'animation et du jeu vidéo (mais il est aussi apparemment musicien !), Doug TenNapel publie avec une régularité de métronome des trade paper backs depuis 1998. Dessiné dans un style à mi-chemin entre le franco-belge du journal Spirou (avec 3 à 4 cases par page comme du temps des "mini-histoires" !) et Darwyn Cooke, ce roman graphique étonnant allie humour, poésie et macabre. Un jeune garçon condamné par la médecine se retrouve dans l'univers des morts un peu plus tôt que prévu suite à une imprudence causée par un chasseur de fantômes qui opérait dans la maison d'à côté. Le livre nous raconte les aventures de ce garçon dans un monde des morts en pleine ébullition, ses diverses rencontres (y compris avec le chasseur de fantômes venu à la rescousse) et comment il va en revenir. Une excellente découverte due aux "recommandations" d'amazon.com !

Amazing book , the whole class really enjoyed it. We look forward to more books about Ghostopolis. Thanks again for the book!

Great for an eight year old boy.

A very expressively drawn story book with humour and wit. It is very engaging and suitable for all ages!

7.5/10If I had to describe Ghostopolis in a few words, I would say fun and adventure cinematic story This is a novel for young teens and adults young at heart. This an old-style comic book, one of those I grew up reading, that has all the elements to make it a winner with kids: It is entertaining, imaginative, has good graphics, is in full colour, has battles, lots of adventure, there are heroes and baddies, it is fun, lots of fun!, and what is not. This is one of those books you cannot put down until you finish reading it, probably in a seating.The book targets children, so the narrative has the common clichés of the genre and, of course, is predictable, but that doesn't rest interest or fun to the reading. As the adventures happen mostly in the afterlife, one would expect macabre and very dark images, but the contrary is true. There are skulls, skeletons, mummies and disgusting creatures, but they are quirky, funny, naughty and mostly not scary. There is a bit of Christian symbolism in the book, but it is very subtle, not straightforward, and not preachy at all. The creator is called Joe the builder, a Tuskegee airman, an Afro-American pilot of the WW2.One of the things I love the most about the book is how cinematic it feels, and how funny is. The character of Frank Gallows is really a cracker, very cheeky and likeable. Some of the names are also very funny, like Claire Voyant, or Boogie Boogie Avenue. Vaughner, the bad-man, looks very much like a punk-rock Billy Idol, although his mouth is very much Marilyn Maso'sn, and he is wearing skinny jeans! Some of the dialogues are also light-hearted and full of pun. Two examples: "Assemble my fastest team of night mares, a company of royal skeleton guards, and a carriage for thet wo lovebirds" [the skeleton king says when ordering to prepare his horses] (p. 183) "Well show them that you don't have to have organs to have guts!" [the skeleton says] (p. 194)The novel immediately reminds one of Ghostbusters and of some of Tim Burton's early movies (where the extraordinary and the ordinary live in a dysfunctional harmony). However, to be fair, we cannot reduce the plot or the history to Burton-like because darkness seems always more natural than the normal world or normal people in Burton's Universe. Unlike Ghostbusters, the ghosts in this novel aren't on earth to scare anybody, they are there to enjoy the peaceful surroundings as the afterlife is a bit messy. In that regard, Man in black seems more in tune with this story, especially the story having a group of police officers devoted to capture intruder ghosts and bring them back to their own world.The story develops well, has great characters, but it has a hurried ending.PLOT HOLES> If Garth is dying, why is his energy in the afterworld so humongous? After all, he has just a few weeks of life left. I think the fact that he was so close to dying was the reason why the accident happened; otherwise, the plasma device would have not taken him. Just saying!> The appearance of the Garth's son is senseless and not believable. One understands that the afterlife has not time or space. Great, but for the sake of the story, please show old Cecil or anybody who makes more sense.THE GRAPHIC ARTDough TenNapel is not only the author of the story, is also the main illustrator, drawer and penciler/inker. He has a great talent and can do anything, from beautiful rural escapes, cityscapes to action-packed crazy scenes. The arrangement of the vignettes is very dynamic and never boring, and every few pages there is a B&W silhouetted vignette inserted between the others, a kind of wink to the reader. I think that TenNapel shines when he creates simpler images, less busy visually, which are among my favourites. I loved the graphic depiction and development of some of the characters: Claire, Frank, Vaughner, the skeleton king, and all the mummies. I didn't like as much the depiction of Garth, his mother, and I hesitate about Joe.I found the subdued and washed out colouring very good, similar to that in old vintage comics. Not my favourite sort of colouring, but splendid nevertheless.There is a large group of colourists who have to be praised,The author of the lettering is not mentioned in the credits, but the lettering is one of the best things in this book. I absolutely loved the lettering fonts, sizing, colouring and style, and even more the very accurate onomatopoeic wording of it. It felt like real sounds in my head, not like other times when I read the ambience noises in a comic and I don't hear anything in my head. The lettering perfectly suites the book overall look and style, and it is in harmony with it.MINDMere for mid-grade children than for proper teens, I think. I would say about 8-13y.o.a. Older children would be already reading adults stuff or complex books to feed their hunger for adulthood.

I've enjoyed "darker" animated movies such as, "The Nightmare Before Christmas", and "Coraline", and when a friend of mine recommended this book on the basis that it had a similar vibe to said movies, I decided to give this graphic novel a look. What followed was a very unique peek into the afterlife, and one boy's quest to escape it.Garth is dying of an incurable disease. But that turns out to be the least of his problems when a paranormal secret agent named Frank goofs up in his pursuit of a literal "night mare", and ends up accidentally teleporting Garth to the afterlife. Once there, he must tame a skeletal horse and traverse the various lands of the dead--befriending the various quirky residents, including his grandfather, all while trying to find a way home. At the same time, Frank and his ghostly girlfriend Claire are in hot pursuit to get the boy back safely (as well as save his job), while evil forces close in on Garth...for the boy now has special powers as long as he remains living in the land of the deceased.The story is pretty engaging; always twisting and turning and leaving you in suspense as to what'll happen next. Garth starts out understandably depressed over his situation, but his adventures in the afterlife teach him to make the most of the time he has...and that there actually might be a ray of hope for him after all. Frank, oddly enough, serves as the comic relief; always bumbling with his job, and reacting to almost everything with a deadpan sense of humor. The villain seems to start off as one note, but in the final act, we get a major twist that changes everything you thought you knew about him.As for the artwork, it takes on a rough, scratchy look that compliments the dark atmosphere very well, with highly detailed scenery and backgrounds. But don't think that everything is doom and gloom--there's plenty of uplifting and funny moments to be had as well--mostly stemming from the odd people, monsters, anthropomorphic insects, and other weird denizens of the underworld.If you're a fan of Tim Burton, and/or macabre humor, give this graphic novel a look. I'm now interested to see what other works the artist produced.

Super cute story. My kids and I found this at the library and I read the entire thing to my 5 year old. He loved it so much that he would want to check it out about every other month. It finally got to the point where I just bought the book. It's an adorable and creative story about this world and the ghost world. A little boy finds himself in Ghostopolis with a skeleton horse for a friend. He has to get back home and soon finds out he's being followed. Check this out for sure.

Greasy bye! I bought it used and it was smazing!! Thank you!!! I got this book for my little brother and he loved it!! Great quality!!!!! Little or few imperfections!!!! It was listed as very good and would buy again!!!! Got here right before Christmas!!! Just in time!! 4 stars because the city would be for getting here in time! But that's not really fair....... But so awesome!!!! Thank you Amazon!!! He was so happy!

Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel is the story of Garth, who is accidentally sent into the afterlife by Frank, an officer of the Supernatural Immigration Task Force. Frank messed up good, and he finds himself fired by his boss, who prepares to lead a task force to get Garth back. Arriving ahead of time with the help of a ghost named Claire, Frank finds Garth, and the whole mess begins.I was a little hesitant to read TenNapel because his Amazon page says that he's a "convinced Christian." There's nothing more boring than Christian rock, Christian movies and (**shudder**) Christian hip-hop, but this is good stuff. Mr. Rogers was a Christian minister, and he never mentioned Jesus or God on his television show. Doug TenNapel is the same way. He tells stories that are fun and readable, and he's a very capable graphic artist. He's no Moebius, of course, but the artwork is appropriate and engaging. ****1/4

I have all of Doug TenNapel's graphic novels. I think with just a couple of exceptions they have all been optioned as films. Doug tells a compelling and imaginative story with well dimensioned characters. And they are usually about something fundamental to the human experience. But they also manage to have things like a giant lightning bug serving as a nuclear reactor power source for the seven kingdoms of the afterlife. Doug goes way out there but brings it all home with the personal character touches. The bad guy has a very good reason to be bad, but it's no excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior like using most of the skyscrapers of Ghostopolis to morph into a giant skyscraper robot. With the asymmetry of different buildings giving him varied body, arms, legs and head. The pleasing, appealing art and imagination are reason enough to buy the book. There's a love triangle. A lost boy that has to find a reason to survive a mortal illness. A self sacrificing Skeleton Lord that aids God in the afterlife to usher the helpless past the Evil Vaugner. It's a hefty 200 pages plus of the fantastic. Can't wait for the movie.

I must admit I walked into this story cautiously, as it didn't grip me from the beginning. Once I got deeper into it though, I wondered why I ever doubted. This is a great story with characters you can relate to, characters that'll make you laugh, and some that you can't quite wrap your head around.There's a strong Christ figure in the story, as there is with much of TenNapel's art, but I felt this one was a little forced. The message is still great though, and Doug TenNapel always manages to give a salvation message without sounding too preachy or turning people off from the story. I am a Christian but do not appreciate when books try to shove messages down my throat, and TenNapel does not do that. His books are a real gem because of it - I've never found any like them.Story-wise it's fun, there are a lot of interesting characters, and it has a message that'll grip you at the heart.As far as artwork goes, it's pretty lush. A minimum of strokes is always used for the maximum effect, as with all of TenNapel's work. But this one is different because it's in color. The colors are strong and bold without being ugly - very artistic. I love it.In short, this book is good and worth a read. Hey - it didn't get slated for production as a movie for no reason!