Graphic Novel Review – Ghostopolis by Doug Tennapel (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Fantasy
Size: 272 pages
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Release Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0545210287
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars

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. Garth learns a lot about his family’s past and about himself while he is there. Now Garth needs to figure out how to get back.

I loved the idea behind this story. How cool that Garth gets zapped into a ghost world and finds out that he has super hero like abilities there? I also loved Garth’s faithful skeleton horse, that horse was awesome and added a lot of fun to the story.

The story is suprisingly complex and creative. I was drawn into it right away and had to read the whole thing in one sitting because I just could not put it down. This is one of those graphic novels that will appeal to a broad range of ages. Depending on the age of the reader different messages can be taken from the book. At the most basic level it is a fun and engaging story about the adventure of a boy in a ghost world; on a more complex level is explores questions behind death and what happens after life.

The drawings were very well done. I never had trouble following them or figuring out what was going on. The characters were drawn very expressively…even the horse made out of bones had a ton of personality. So, I just really enjoyed it.

Overall this was an absolutely fantastic graphic novel. The idea is creative, the characters very engaging, and the story complex and interesting. It is one of those books that will appeal to a large age group. Young kids will love the adventure aspects of the story, older kids and adults will be drawn in by the whole “mystery of death” sub-theme. If you love fantasy graphic novels or paranormal graphic novels definitely give this one a read…it is exceedingly well done.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100+ Reading Challenge
– Graphic Novels Challenge List