Ghostopolis (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Ghostopolis April Spisak TenNapel, Doug . Ghostopolis; written and illus. by Doug TenNapel; color by Katherine Garner and Tom Rhodes. Graphix/Scholastic, 2010. 267p. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-545-21027-0 $24.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-545-21028-7 $12.99 R Gr. 6-8. Garth may be dying of an incurable disease, but that doesn't excuse Frank's error of zapping this otherwise ordinary and still quite alive kid into a supernatural world along with a ghost he was hunting. Frank is committed to righting this error, but in the meantime, Garth is having quite an adventure on the other side; he even meets up with his grandfather who is, for now, stuck in child form because of some major unresolved issues that would allow him to mature and move on. Garth's granddad and most of the citizens of Ghostopolis are chafing under the tyrannical, cruel leadership of Vaugner (a man who was also accidentally transported as a child to this dead world), who sowed destruction and discontent between the seven kingdoms of the afterlife and then used the chaos to establish himself as ruler of all. In this graphic novel, TenNapel adeptly uses both text and illustration to explore, with elegance and a careful eye, the tensions between good and evil, living and dead, maturity and the often easier avoidance of responsibility. Both the living and the dead look mostly haggard, and the lush background colors rarely extend to the characters themselves, an evocative choice given the current dearth of joy in either realm. Although the cast primarily consists of either bumbling tough guys with hearts of gold or the sturdy women who help them find their way, Vaugner is a gem of a villain, at once both treacherous and achingly vulnerable. Middle-grade graphic-novel fans will find this an ideal concoction: a clear plot, intriguing intersections of illustration and text, and a rollicking adventure with just enough contemplative understory to make it memorable past the big explosions. [End Page 98] Copyright © 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois