Review of Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel

Here I am writing reviews of two horror books in a row, when I don’t usually like horror.  Well, this one is a graphic novel, so there’s more to appeal to me than with the usual horror story.  I found this book really charming.  The story begins with Frank Gallows, a sort of has-been ghost catcher who tracks down ghosts who have snuck back to earth from the afterlife, accidentally zapping Garth Hale into the ghost world when he was trying to capture a living dinosaur skeleton.  Frank zaps both of them, and Garth names the dinosaur “skinny” and rides him around the afterlife trying to escape other marauding dinosaurs, and eventually the evil Vaugner who has taken over the rule of the afterlife with the help of some giant bugs.  Ok, it sounds ridiculous, and the story is much too confusing to try to explain, but the artwork is great, there’s romance, suspense, lots of gory fights and killing…what more could you ask for in a graphic novel?  Review by Stacy Church