I went to the very cool new Central South City Library last weekend and amongst the shiny new books that I borrowed was a fantastic new graphic novel called Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel. It’s about a boy called Garth Hale who gets accidentally zapped into the ghost world by Frank Gallows, an agent for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force. Frank has messed up big time and gets fired from his job, but he promises Garth’s mum that he’ll find him in the ghost world and bring him home. Meanwhile, in the ghost world Garth makes friends with Skinny, a skeleton horse, and a ghost boy who just happens to be his grandpa. They meet all of the groups that inhabit Ghostopolis, including the Mummies, the Wisps, the Specters, the Zombies, the Boogeymen and the Bone People. Soon they’re on the run from Vaugner the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who wants to use Garth’s newly discovered abilities to increase his control of the spirit world. Will Garth find a way home and will Frank Gallows keep his promise? Find out in Ghostopolis.
Ghostopolis is a spooky, adventure-filled story with plenty of laughs thrown in. I really liked Doug TenNapel’s style of illustration because it’s colourful and the panels are not overcrowded with detail. I particularly like how Doug has presented his characters (Frank Gallows looks worried alot of the time, Vaugner just looks plain evil with his blank eyes and spiky hair, and Garth just looks like an ordinary kid). If you like graphic novels like Tintin, Asterix or The Rainbow Orchid and want something a little different, you’ll love Ghostopolis.
