Line #4 ComicBook/Ghostopolis


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10	[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ghostcover_7845.jpg]]
11	[[caption-width-right:215:I don't think we're in [[InJoke Turlock]] anymore, Skinny.]]
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13	''Ghostopolis'' is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Creator/DougTenNapel. Clocking in at 272 pages, it ties with ''Earthboy Jacobus'' for being his longest book. Unlike most of his comics, this one is published by Scholastic's Graphix imprint rather than by Creator/{{Image}}. Along with ''ComicBook/{{Gear}}'' and ''Solomon Fix'', it's one of his few comics that's been printed in color and the first one that was not initially published in black and white.
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15	Basically, it tells the story of a young, terminally-ill boy named Garth Hale, a cynical paranormal investigator named Frank Gallows, and the fateful day their lives intertwined... and the madcap adventure that resulted.
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17	Apparently, Creator/HughJackman is either a fan of [=TenNapel's=] or got an advanced copy because, before the book was even released, it was reported that he'll be producing and starring in a feature-length adaptation. [[SarcasmMode If this is true, he'll almost certainly be playing Garth]].
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19	Despite the similar title, it should not -- in any way -- be confused with ''ComicBook/GhostWorld'', nor should it be confused with the tropes GhostTown or GhostCity.
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21	----
22	!!This work contains examples of:
23	%% * TheAlcoholic: Cecil
24	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Vaugner's anthropomorphic insects, which he summoned from the underworld to be his minions.
25	* TheAntichrist: Vaugner, the charismatic and sinister leader who promised the ghost world unity under his rule and also serves as the BigBad of the story.
26	%% * TheAtoner:
27	%% ** Cecil
28	%% ** [[spoiler:Frank's boss]]
29	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:Claire]] becomes the new ruler of the afterlife (or rather, the interim version of the afterlife that comes between Earth and Heaven).
30	* BerserkButton: Claire's werewolf uncle is very proud of his tea. When Frank refuses the tea and says he likes coffee better, Claire's uncle flies into a rage and threatens to eat him. He only calms down after Frank relents and drinks the tea.
31	* BigBad: Vaugner, the corrupt leader of Ghostopolis who manipulated his way to the top and now seeks to capture Garth.
32	* BigCreepyCrawlies: Vaugner has an army of anthropomorphic, human-sized insects. He also has an ''enormous'' firefly which provides electric power for Ghostopolis.
33	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:In his gigantic form and with the help of Frank, Garth defeats the giant Vaugner, but at the cost of Frank's own life, making him a ghost. However, now Frank can stick around with his ghost girlfriend, Claire, who takes over the late Bone King's role as the new Lord of the Afterlife. Also, it turns out Garth will be cured of his incurable disease, according to his future son, which means that he will be reunited with his mother back home]].
34	* BlackMarket: A very unique one is mentioned that trades information on the living world
35	* BreakHerHeartToSaveHer: According to her uncle, this is why Frank left Claire; he was afraid his bosses would find out and banish her back to Ghostopolis.
36	%% * CharacterDevelopment: Cecil and Frank.
37	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Three major characters use magic throughout the story. Each one has a unique color for almost all of their spells, and their colors symbolize something about their personality or role in the story:
38	** Garth: Yellow, symbolizing his childish innocence.
39	** Frank: Light blue, symbolizing his [[BlueIsHeroic heroism]]. Notably, the nicer and less self-centered he becomes throughout the story, the more he uses his powers.
40	** Vaugner: Lime green, symbolizing his [[SicklyGreenGlow sinister and duplicitous nature]].
41	%% * ConstructedWorld
42	* CreatorThumbprint: Like many [=TenNapel=] yarns, this one's got monsters, Christian undertones, a speechless, heavily silhouetted final page and the obligatory scene with a cat.
43	* CreepyCockroach: Lockjaw, TheDragon, is an anthropomorphic, human-sized cockroach.
44	* CrystalDragonJesus: Joe, a mysterious Tuskagee pilot rumored to have built Ghostopolis. He constructed everything, including the apparent natural features like mountains and forests along with the city, has stigmata wounds, can heal the sick and is also about twelve feet tall.
45	%% * CuteGhostGirl: Claire
46	%% * DarkAndTroubledPast:
47	%% ** Cecil
48	%% ** Garth's mother
49	%% ** Vaugner, and it turns out [[spoiler:to have been far worse than his problems with Clair]].
50	* DeadAllAlong: Inverted. [[spoiler:Vaugner appear to have died but he was '''alive''' all along.]]
51	* DeaderThanDead: It's possible for a ghost to be disintegrated by immense energy or the rayguns Vaunger's forces use. This is treated like a second death.
52	* DemotedToExtra: [[spoiler:Skinny starts out as Garth's sole companion, but then gets pushed to the sidelines until the end of the story]]
53	* DisappearedDad: Garth's dad ran away. He started another family in Florida, but Garth believes he left them as well.
54	* TheDragon: Lockjaw is Vaugner's top enforcer and seemingly the most intelligent of Vaugner's bug minions.
55	* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:It turns out that Garth will be cured of his incurable disease and will raise a son in the future.]]
56	* EldritchAbomination: Any still-living person who winds up in Ghostopolis has the potential to be this, not that they all do, though.
57	%%* FallenHero: [[spoiler:Vaugner claims to have once been a well-intentioned young boy like Garth]]
58	%%* {{Foreshadowing}}: Lots of it, spread very subtly throughout.
59	* FreudianExcuse: Vaugner accidentally [[spoiler: ended up a living person in the afterlife as a child, away from all his family. After mastering his powers, he set himself up as sole ruler of Ghostopolis, never really growing up in the process.]]
60	* GentleGiant: Joe, the Tuskagee Airman who built Ghostopolis, is much larger than any person and is said to be twelve feet tall.
61	* HealthyInHeaven: Ghosts can retain their physical impairments in the afterlife, but before being shepherded to what's heavily implied to be Heaven, all travelers are healed before entering.
62	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Benedict Arnold first appears as an antagonistic ghost that Frank must catch. He later helps the heroes by pretending to lead Vaugner and his army to Garth, only to lead them away. But Benedict later comes back and betrays the heroes' location to Vaugner for real. Benedict claims it's "in his nature" to be a traitor.
63	%%* HeroicBystander: Defied. The Mummy Boy wanted to be one, but his dad wouldn't let him.
64	%%* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Frank. Also, Claire was willing to make one to save Garth, but he ended up saving himself.]]
65	%% * HiddenDepths:
66	%% ** Frank's boss
67	%% ** Cecil
68	%% ** The Bone King
69	%% ** [[spoiler:Vaugner]]
70	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Benedict Arnold is a recurring character in the story, though his personality is exaggerated to give him a ChronicBackstabbingDisorder.
71	%%* HistoricalInJoke: Pretty much every thing Benedict does.
72	* HumongousMecha: Garth transforms into a giant robot during the final battle.
73	%%* IHatePastMe: Cecil.
74	* IChooseToStay: Happens to [[spoiler:Frank Gallows, as he is now a ghost after his HeroicSacrifice, so that he can be forever with his ghost girlfriend Claire.]]
75	* KidHero: Garth looks to be around 10 or 11.
76	* LeanAndMean: Vaugner, the BigBad, is an unnaturally tall and skinny man.
77	* LittlestCancerPatient: Garth is a young boy who is dying of an unspecified terminal illness.[[spoiler: Fortunately it turns out that a cure will be discovered before it kills him, and he'll go on to start a family.]]
78	%% * MagicalGirlfriend
79	* MeaningfulName: Frank ''Gallows'' is a ghost hunter. [[spoiler:He later dies and becomes a ghost himself]].
80	* MessianicArchetype: The architect of Ghostopolis, Joe, is implied to be Jesus Christ, what with his carpentry skills to construct the entirety of Ghostopolis, his stigmata wounds and [[spoiler:healing infirmed souls before shepherding them into what's implied to be Heaven.]]
81	* MonochromaticEyes: Vaugner and Joe both have pupil-less white eyes.
82	%% * MrExposition:
83	%% ** Cecil
84	%% ** Clair.
85	%% * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Twice!
86	%% * OccultDetective: A whole agency of them.
87	* OlderThanTheyLook: Cecil looks approximately 10 years old, despite being the ghost of a 60-to-70-year old man. He gradually realizes his true age over the course of the story.
88	* OneWingedAngel: In the climax, Vaugner [[spoiler:assimilates the buildings of Ghostopolis into the form of a giant version of himself. Garth does the same to fight back.]]
89	* OneWordTitle: "Ghostopolis"
90	%% * OurGhostsAreDifferent
91	%% * OurMonstersAreDifferent: This is Doug [=TenNapel=] we're talking about.
92	* ThePlace: The book is named after the titular city.
93	* ThePowerOfHate: [[spoiler:The source of Vaugner's immense strength during his fight against Garth.]]
94	%% * PsychicPowers
95	* PsychoPoodle: PlayedForLaughs. When Frank breaks into a house to catch a ghost, he is attacked by a rather large poodle with the temperament of an AngryGuardDog. It bites him on the nose.
96	%% * PunnyName: Clair Voyant.
97	%% * RedRightHand: Vaugner.
98	%% * RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Frank]]
99	* ResidualSelfImage: Ghosts can appear whatever age they want, literally only as old as they feel. Garth meets his grandfather who initially takes the form of a child, but after meeting him undergoes RapidAging until realizing his true age in the end.
100	* TheReveal
101	** [[spoiler:It starts as if Vaugner is dead. He isn't dead]]
102	** A minor one occurs near the beginning. When [[spoiler:she first appears]], it isn't immediately clear that [[spoiler:Claire is actually a ghost...until she suddenly starts floating]].
103	* {{Revenge}}: Vaugner wants to kill Garth, regardless of whether-or-not he's an actual threat, because that's the best way he knows of to hurt Claire for "betraying" him by breaking up with him.
104	* SatelliteLoveInterest: Not much is ever revealed about Claire's personality other than that she has conflicting feelings for Frank.
105	%% * SheCleansUpNicely: Claire.
106	%% * SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Frank and Claire.
107	* SicklyGreenGlow: Vaugner, the BigBad, is frequently associated with the color lime green. It's the color of his magic, as well as the energy at his power plant.
108	%% * SophisticatedAsHell: Vaugner.
109	%% * ShoutOut: To ''Film/TheMatrix''. Specifically, the video game version of Neo's final fight with Agent Smith.
110	%% * SlapSlapKiss
111	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Aside from the government having the technology to make round-trip expeditions into the afterlife, Garth and Frank's world really isn't anymore different or advanced than our own.
112	%% * TwoLinesNoWaiting
113	* UncertainDoom: Lockjaw is last seen getting transported to Earth, with the Plasmapod that brought him there crashing onto a golfer's cart in California. It's unclear what happened to him after this, but considering that he's a human-sized cockroach, it's unlikely that people are going to react too kindly to him.
114	* WonderfulWerewolf: Claire's uncle is a werewolf who works as a fortune teller in Ghostopolis. While he does briefly threaten violence when Frank presses his BerserkButton, he never actually harms anyone. Instead, he's just a nice old man who cares about his niece.
115	* WrenchWench: Claire haunts a garage and built her own Plasmapod.
116	* YourDaysAreNumbered: The story opens with [[DownerBeginning Garth's mom visiting a fifth doctor to be told his condition is terminal.]]
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Context ComicBook / Ghostopolis