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178th out of 434 books
—
240 voters
Ghostopolis
A page-turning adventure of a boy's journey to the land of ghosts and back.
Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who would use Garth's newfound abilities to rule th...more
Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who would use Garth's newfound abilities to rule th...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
July 1st 2010
by GRAPHIX
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I. think. its. interesting. of. what. rulers. there. where. and. the. boger one. was. funny
A terminally ill boy named Garth Hale is accidentally teleported to the afterlife before it is his time to go, and he is introduced to a world oddly similar to our own if you don� t count skeleton nightmares, fortune-telling werewolves, and monstrous bugs. The supernatural beings populate Ghostopolis, moving amongst towering black and red skyscrapers, sprawling suburban neighborhoods, and stinking sulfurous caves. While the fantastic illustrations will keep you turning pages, the story is also c...more
Doug TenNapel’s Ghostopolis would make a perfect animated movie. I don’t think of books in terms of movies, in fact, I abhor the idea of judging books in terms of what kind of movie they would be. However, this is a genuine compliment for Ghostopolis, since what makes it an excellent candidate for a movie are its excellent illustrations, engaging plot, and compelling characters.
Without too much time wasted on exposition, the story begins with Garth, a boy who is dying of an incurable disease, a...more
Without too much time wasted on exposition, the story begins with Garth, a boy who is dying of an incurable disease, a...more
With its fast action, light text, and simple themes of forgiveness, hope, redemption and love, this graphic novel is best suited to the 4th grade to early 6th grade audience. A fun, fast read, with excellent, vivid visual action.
At times, the action & plotting were choppy & skip around between characters & scenes, but all this serves to keep things moving quickly, without much in-depth explanation. Thus, the young reader doesn't lose interest. An older, more experienced reader might...more
At times, the action & plotting were choppy & skip around between characters & scenes, but all this serves to keep things moving quickly, without much in-depth explanation. Thus, the young reader doesn't lose interest. An older, more experienced reader might...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Ghostopolis is a graphic novel I read a while ago about a young boy named Garth who lives in a world where there is little separation between the afterlife and living people. Agent Gallows is a middle-aged man who sends ghosts back to the afterlife for a living. One day, he was chasing a dead horse, but right as he captures the horse, it jumps through Garth’s wall, trapping Garth. Therefore, when Gallows sends the horse back to the underworld, he sends Garth too. But the underworld isn’t the te...more
Dec 08, 2012
Brad
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novel,
read-in-2012
My Brontë loved this graphic novel, and I can see why. It's a feel good story full of classic "monsters" -- mummies, skeletons, goblins, demonic insects -- but they're all cleaned up and as unscary as can be. There is a simplistic good versus evil tale going on (albeit with a nurture rather than nature bent). There is a lovable grandfather, who was a poor father, looking for and finding redemption. There is a sacrifice for love. It hits all the right notes for the kids who are its target audienc...more
14 likes · like · see review
Garth and his mother are having a rough time. Not only has Garth’s father disserted them, but Garth has an incurable disease and he’ll die, when, we’re not exactly sure, but he doesn’t have all that long. His mother hasn’t given up on finding help as she takes him from doctor to doctor trying to get a different answer to the same question. In the meantime, Frank Gallows, an apathetic ghost hunter, ends up sending Garth to the afterlife before his time and needs to get him back.
Joined to a skelet...more
Joined to a skelet...more
Apr 23, 2012
Beth Nieman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
middle grades and up
Having read Mr. TenNapel's previous book, "Bad Island," I was expecting an original story with interesting characters, and I was not disappointed.
Garth is a boy who accidentally gets sent to the afterlife (before his time). While agents from Supernatural Immigration are on the way to rescue him, he meets up with Frank Gallows, the man responsible for sending him to the other side in the first place. Several different kingdoms co-exist in the afterlife, under the thumb of Vaugner, a mysterious a...more
Garth is a boy who accidentally gets sent to the afterlife (before his time). While agents from Supernatural Immigration are on the way to rescue him, he meets up with Frank Gallows, the man responsible for sending him to the other side in the first place. Several different kingdoms co-exist in the afterlife, under the thumb of Vaugner, a mysterious a...more
The genre of the book Ghostopolis, by Doug TenNapel, is graphic novel. I think that graphic novels are kind of easy to read because you do not really have to imagine what is going on, since there is a picture right there in front of you. Ghostopolis is about a kid named Garth who is still alive but accidentally gets sent to Ghostopolis, the place your ghost goes when you die, and he needs to find a way back into the real world. Some things that I like about how Doug TenNapel wrote Ghostopolis, i...more
My genre du jour book is Ghostopolis. This book is a graphic novel, and it is very different to read than another type of genre. The comics make it different from other novels. This book is about a living boy who gets sucked into the afterlife and has to find a way to return to the living world. Meanwhile, the person who sucked him into the afterlife is trying to get him back to the real world. Apparently, his entry into the afterlife was a mistake. In addition, he finds out that the afterlife i...more
I picked this book up at the library on a whim and I am so glad I did. This was a wonderful story with some great illustrations. The story is meaningful, fun, and quirky all at the same time.
Garth is a kid with problems, he has a life-threatening condition that no doctor can solve. Imagine his surprise when he is accidentally zapped into the Ghost world by an accident prone ghost hunter. While there Garth learns he has fantastic powers and ends up facing off against Ghostopolis's evil ruler. Gar...more
Garth is a kid with problems, he has a life-threatening condition that no doctor can solve. Imagine his surprise when he is accidentally zapped into the Ghost world by an accident prone ghost hunter. While there Garth learns he has fantastic powers and ends up facing off against Ghostopolis's evil ruler. Gar...more
Once I overcame my initial reluctance to delve into the world of graphic novels (see review of The Stonekeeper, Amulet series bk. 1), I knew I had to dive into Ghostopolis because it's one of the most popular books among the boys in my 6th grade classroom. It was brand-new last year, and it's already dog-eared and coming apart at the seams. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. Doug TenNapel has written a story that I've never read before. A young boy, Garth Hale, gets sucked into the afterlif...more
Aug 27, 2011
Andrew Shuping
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novel
Frank Gallows is a washed up ghost hunter going about his daily job sending ghosts back to the ghost world. Garth is your average kid. Likes playing, like hanging out with skeletal horses...and oh yeah he's slowly dying of an incurable disease. And then the two worlds collide and Frank accidentally sends Garth into the ghost world. Garth must navigate the ghost world with the help of his grandfather Cecil's ghost until he can figure out his way back home. Frank teams up with his ex-fiance Claire...more
Imagine God.
Now Imagine God as a 12 foot tall Tuskeegee Airman named Joe.
Now Imagine God, the Tuskeegee Airman named Joe, creating a place for all ghosts to dwell in six days.
Because of course on the seventh day, he rests.
The place he's built is called Ghostopolis, and all the types of the dead (live) there: Specters, Wisps, Bony Skeletons, Mummies and more. They reside in somewhat perfect harmony until a stranger named Vaughn appears and stirs up rumors and trouble between all the groups only t...more
Now Imagine God as a 12 foot tall Tuskeegee Airman named Joe.
Now Imagine God, the Tuskeegee Airman named Joe, creating a place for all ghosts to dwell in six days.
Because of course on the seventh day, he rests.
The place he's built is called Ghostopolis, and all the types of the dead (live) there: Specters, Wisps, Bony Skeletons, Mummies and more. They reside in somewhat perfect harmony until a stranger named Vaughn appears and stirs up rumors and trouble between all the groups only t...more
Jul 06, 2011
furious
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
kids
Recommended to furious by:
Jordan
somewhere between a 3 & 4 star book, i think. Doug TenNapel is an artist. amazing storyteller with brilliant comic timing. reading this really felt like watching a cartoon. part of that was the color, which is beautiful. Scholastic puts together a nice looking comic book.
in truth, this is an excellent book. it appeals to, & is appropriate for, a wide age range. it's fun, has lots of action, it's silly, it's scary (okay, it's not ever really that scary, and sometimes it's INCREDIBLY sill...more
in truth, this is an excellent book. it appeals to, & is appropriate for, a wide age range. it's fun, has lots of action, it's silly, it's scary (okay, it's not ever really that scary, and sometimes it's INCREDIBLY sill...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Garth is terminally ill, but not dead yet. So it's not such a good thing when Frank Gallows accidentally send Garth to the afterlife along with a skeletal horse. Gallows now has to rekindle some old relationships in order to get Garth back and save his own job. While they're in the afterlife though, the new ruler Vaugner decides that Garth is a threat and what's to kill him. Garth has met up with his grandfather, who is Garth's age when they start their journey, and he tells Garth that the best...more
Garth had just gotten home and was relaxing on his bed. Little did he know that he would not be home for long, let alone in this world.
Just next door was Frank Gallows, someone who works for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force and is responsible for tracking down ghosts and sending them back to the afterlife.
By accident when sending back one of the spirits Frank was tracking, Garth was also sent back.
Garth went to the afterlife with the spirit that was sent back, which is a skeleton horse...more
Just next door was Frank Gallows, someone who works for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force and is responsible for tracking down ghosts and sending them back to the afterlife.
By accident when sending back one of the spirits Frank was tracking, Garth was also sent back.
Garth went to the afterlife with the spirit that was sent back, which is a skeleton horse...more
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 adventur...more
A young boy with an incurable disease is accidentally sent to the afterlife by a ghost hunter named Gallows. Understandably upset, his mother demands the Supernatural Immigration Task Force to make matters right. Gallows is fired and a rescue team is dispatched. Teller, in an effort to save his job, tracks down a former girlfriend with the ability to transport him to the afterlife to save the boy. In the meantime, the boy, Garth, is wandering about the afterlife, learning the history of Ghostopo...more
I love Doug TeNapel's work, and was excited to see a full color book by him. Ghostopolis is a fairy tale of sorts. An officer in charge of sending ghosts back to the afterlife loses his badge when he accidentally sends a boy, who has a disease with no cure, into the ghost world, a place of spirits, skeletons and mummies and other creatures, which has been taken over by a shadowy figure.
In order to get the boy back, he enlists the help of his ex girlfriend, also a ghost. Meanwhile, the boy befri...more
In order to get the boy back, he enlists the help of his ex girlfriend, also a ghost. Meanwhile, the boy befri...more
TenNapel's latest graphic novel provides an interesting look at death and ghosthunting. Garth Hale is a young teen dealing with the fact tha the has a terminal illness. His mother has brought him to a number of doctors, but none of them have been able to offer him anything more than the usual diagnosis. Things really starts to get interesting when he has a run in with Frank Gallows, a ghosthunter for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force.
Gallows is initially on the hunt to capture Benedict Arn...more
Gallows is initially on the hunt to capture Benedict Arn...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Reason for Reading: I'm always intrigued by stories that take place in the "afterlife".
Frank Gallows is a ghost wrangler. He hunts down ghosts who've escaped the afterlife and sends them back but after 30 years on the job he's losing his touch, bored and plain grumpy with life. Sent to track down a night mare, the skeletal horse is on the run. As she goes through a wall, Frank shackles her and hit's the send button. Problem: on the other side of the wall the skeletal mare had en-caged a human bo...more
Frank Gallows is a ghost wrangler. He hunts down ghosts who've escaped the afterlife and sends them back but after 30 years on the job he's losing his touch, bored and plain grumpy with life. Sent to track down a night mare, the skeletal horse is on the run. As she goes through a wall, Frank shackles her and hit's the send button. Problem: on the other side of the wall the skeletal mare had en-caged a human bo...more
Sep 11, 2010
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
trt-posted-reviews
Reviewed by Steph for TeensReadToo.com
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 Gar...more
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 Gar...more
I was totally love this book until I got to the end and then it was completely ruined. I felt like the book should have been twice as long but the author got tired and just gave up.
First off I was totally in love with the Christian overtones that were arising with the creation of the afterlife and the character Joe representing God/Jesus, it was unexpecting and refreshing but then it was never mentioned again. It was the most interesting plot point and it was just left unfinished and forgotten....more
First off I was totally in love with the Christian overtones that were arising with the creation of the afterlife and the character Joe representing God/Jesus, it was unexpecting and refreshing but then it was never mentioned again. It was the most interesting plot point and it was just left unfinished and forgotten....more
The line dividing the supernatural world from the living world is constantly under pressure from those desiring to live on the side where they don't belong. Garth happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Frank, a supernatural ghost hunter, sends an unwanted ghost home. Garth ends up stranded in Ghostopolis with no way to get home unless Frank and his ex-fiancee, a ghost named Claire, can rescue him.
As if this wasn't bad enough, Ghostopolis is currently under the control of a dict...more
As if this wasn't bad enough, Ghostopolis is currently under the control of a dict...more
I had to wait a little while to review this one because I had to let it sink in. I loved the story on so many levels. Yes it's often silly and there are more than one or two fart jokes but it's also deep and strangely moving. It's about life, death, pain, fear, and understanding.
Garth has a terminal illness, though we never find out what it is, and he isn't given much more time on this earth. Frank Gallows is a washed up investigator who is supposed to send ghosts back to the afterlife. As he i...more
Garth has a terminal illness, though we never find out what it is, and he isn't given much more time on this earth. Frank Gallows is a washed up investigator who is supposed to send ghosts back to the afterlife. As he i...more
Some stuff that happened was just a little too convenient without any real explanation or closure to many of the questions presented by the novel. However, it's a graphic novel and a great way to get reluctant readers going!
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What ever happened to Joe? | 1 | 12 | Aug 01, 2012 01:14pm |
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“I know a lot of things about you, Garth...And I'm rooting for you anyways.”
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5 people liked it
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updated Dec 11, 2012 10:27am