 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2018) |
| Ghostopolis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | July 1, 2010 |
| Page count | 272 pages |
| Publisher | GRAPHIX |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | Doug TenNapel |
| Artists | Doug TenNapel |
| Pencillers | Doug TenNapel |
| Colourists | Ethan Nicolle |
Ghostopolis is a graphic novel, written and penciled by Doug TenNapel, colored by Ethan Nicolle and published by GRAPHIX, a Scholastic Inc. imprint.
The story revolves around two main characters: Garth Hale, a young teenage boy, and Frank Gallows, a middle-aged agent of the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, a government partition dedicated to locating ghosts amiss in the physical world and transporting them back to the afterlife (here known as the title Ghostopolis).
Garth is suffering from an unidentified "incurable disease". It is mentioned that the relationship between Garth's mother and deceased grandfather was strained, Garth's mother referring to him as a "drunk".
Frank uses devices known as "plasmacuffs" to apprehend wayward ghosts. On a routine call to remove a Nightmare (a skeletal horse of the afterlife), Frank accidentally ports Garth to Ghostopolis along with the spectre.
In Ghostopolis, Garth unintentionally tames and befriends the Nightmare, nicknaming him "Skinny" due to the horse's incorporeal appearance. Before long, the hostile nature of Ghostopolis is revealed by local fauna that attacks Garth and Skinny. Narrowly escaping an attack by several Velociraptor skeletons, Garth determines that his best course of action is to venture into the main city.
Meanwhile, Frank is fired from his position on the Task Force for his grievous mistake and instead enlists his ghost ex-fiancée, Claire Voyant, to assist him in traveling to Ghostopolis and retrieving Garth.
Dazed and confused by the netherworld around him, Garth eventually happens upon his own grandfather, Cecil. Cecil is younger than Garth in appearance. As explained by Cecil, "There's no physics-based time here in the afterlife ... we get put back to our internal age. It gives us a chance to take care of unfinished business." It is mentioned that an argument about earrings was the source of friction between Cecil and Garth's mother, though he now looks down on it as petty. As Garth's time in Ghostopolis extends, and the closer Cecil comes to reconciling for his transgressions against his daughter (Garth's mother), the "older" Cecil becomes.
Along the way, Cecil explains to Garth the origins of Ghostopolis itself.
It was all built by one man ... a mysterious Tuskegee airman named Joe. He made every mountain you see, laying one chunk of sand at a time. He stacked every brick in Ghostopolis so that ghosts would have a place to live. Some say that it took him six days to build everything. Others say that it took him a billion years ... It's hard to say how long it took since time is all jumbled up in Ghostopolis.
— Cecil Hale, Ghostopolis, pp. 83-85
Now, however, a malevolent character named Vaugner currently rules over Ghostopolis and its inhabitants. Cecil insists that Garth's best bet for getting back home is to find Joe. It becomes clear, however, that Vaugner and his henchmen wish to capture Garth due to his anomalous status in Ghostopolis. Garth has also displayed numerous supernatural powers when in the realm of the afterlife, piquing Vaugner's interest.
In the city center of Ghostopolis, Vaugner addresses the masses alongside the lords of Ghostopolis's various divisions. The Specter King from the South, The Will-o-the-Wisp Queen, the Mummy Pharaoh, the Duke of Goblin, the Bone King, the Zombie Lord, and the King of Boogeymen all hold territory and command citizens in Ghostopolis, although ultimately under Vaugner's reign. When Garth and Cecil arrive at the city center, Cecil recounts the tale of how Vaugner came to be ruler of Ghostopolis.
... The provinces were manipulated into war with one another by Vaugner. He played one side against the other, weakening each kingdom along the way ... Then Vaugner came and presented himself as a great peacemaker. He promised them unity. Under Vaugner's one state of Ghostopolis, of course. Everything was fine ... until he started conjuring up insects from the underworld to do his bidding. Now Ghostopolis is a dump full of crime and bugs. All good ghosts dream of escaping to Earth.
— Cecil Hale, Ghostopolis, pp. 118-121
In the city, Frank and Claire meet up with Garth and Cecil. When they are ambushed by Vaugner's henchmen, Cecil is accidentally sent back to the physical world mid-skirmish, simultaneously expending Frank and Claire's ride back home. The remaining trio is secured by the Bone King, who, as it turns out, is in league with Joe himself. Unbeknownst to Vaugner, Joe is trafficking people from the corrupt Ghostopolis to a more perfect afterlife through a crack in the very wall of Ghostopolis. Garth attempts to leave through the crack, but is told by Joe that it will take Garth "home, but not to Earth".
Having exhausted what they thought to be their last option, Garth, Frank and Claire are escorted by the Bone King to the Firefly power plant, Ghostopolis's main source of energy, in hopes of recharging the set of plasmacuffs that initially transported Garth and Skinny to Ghostopolis. Recharging them would provide enough power to reverse the effect and send the trio back to Earth.
Vaugner ambushes the group and the Firefly is destroyed, yet again extinguishing hopes of returning to Earth. Suddenly, a Supernatural Immigration Task Force extraction team from Earth appears and attempts to collect Garth. Vaugner returns, apparently unharmed, and sends the team's ship back to Earth without Frank, Garth, and Claire. Frank's boss is also left stranded in Ghostopolis.
It is revealed that Vaugner (now known as Dean Vaugner) survived the explosion because he is actually human, accidentally ported to Ghostopolis by Frank's boss, Lieutenant Brock, about 20 years ago, much in the same manner as was Garth by Frank. The situation becomes Vaugner's vengeance scheme, and he and Garth soon break into combat. In the midst of battle, Frank is killed assisting Garth in Vaugner's defeat.
After Vaugner's overthrow, Claire is unanimously elected Lord of the Afterlife. Frank appears, having died and passed to Ghostopolis, and rekindles his relationship with Claire.
In the midst of the celebration, Garth meets his anachronistically-aged son — this is attributed to the numerous time inconsistencies in the realm of Ghostopolis. This also implies (and is also explicitly stated by Garth's son) that Garth's "incurable disease" is, in fact, curable at some point in the near Earthly future. Garth's son informs him that all he must do to return to Earth is imagine that he can do so. Returning home with Frank's stranded boss in tote, Garth is reunited with his mother.
The graphic novel ends with Cecil, now an aged ghost in the physical realm, flying into the nighttime sky, having apparently made peace with his daughter.
The book was published in both paperback ( ISBN 0545210283) and hardback format ( ISBN 0545210275).
In 2009 a film adaptation was announced, with Hugh Jackman attached to star and produce under his own company Seed Productions, with both the Gotham Group and Disney. [1]
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike forms. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism as a séance. Other terms associated with it are apparition, haunt, phantom, poltergeist, shade, specter or spectre, spirit, spook, wraith, demon, and ghoul.
Dormammu is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Strange Tales #126, and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
Mephisto is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in The Silver Surfer #3, created by Stan Lee and John Buscema and based on Mephistopheles – a demon character from the Faust legend, who has sometimes been referred to as Mephisto. Introduced as a recurring adversary of the Silver Surfer and Johnny Blaze, the second incarnation of Ghost Rider, Mephisto has also endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent adversaries, being responsible for Harry and Norman Osborn's respective transformations into the Green Goblin and Kindred; and for the superhero's loss of his marriage with Mary-Jane Watson, considering their future daughter Spider-Girl his archenemy. Mephisto has often come into conflict with Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, and other heroes of the Marvel Universe, being responsible both for the creation of the Cosmic Ghost Rider, and descent of Phil Coulson and Otto Octavius into villainy.
Blackheart is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary to the superhero Ghost Rider. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist John Romita Jr., Blackheart first appeared in Daredevil #270.
Raymond Stantz, PhD, is a fictional character from the Ghostbusters franchise. He appears in the films Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Casper and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters, and the video games Beeline's Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009). He was portrayed by Dan Aykroyd in all four live action films, and voiced by Frank Welker in the animated series. He is a member of the Ghostbusters and one of the three Columbia University professors of parapsychology, along with Dr. Peter Venkman and Dr. Egon Spengler.
Ghosts Can't Do It is a 1989 American romantic crime fantasy comedy film written and directed by John Derek, and starring Bo Derek and Anthony Quinn.
A Christmas Carol is a 1999 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol that was first televised December 5, 1999, on TNT. It was directed by David Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit. The film was produced after Patrick Stewart performed a series of successful one-man shows of A Christmas Carol on Broadway and in London.
Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw is a 1988 American animated musical adventure film based on the Tonka toy line and the Hanna-Barbera television series of the same name, which aired around the same time. It was directed by Pierre DeCelles, and stars the voices of Brennan Howard, B.J. Ward and Tony Longo. This was the only animated feature film produced by Carolco Pictures as well as the first animated film distributed by TriStar Pictures.
Frigga is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character appears in particular in those featuring the superhero Thor, who is Frigga's son. Based on both Frigg and Freyja of Norse mythology, she was created by writers Stan Lee and Robert Bernstein and artist Joe Sinnott, and first appeared in Journey into Mystery #92.
The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper is an animated television spin-off and a sequel of the feature film Casper, which, in turn, was based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
The Scream Team is a 2002 American television film directed by Stuart Gillard from a story by Robert Short and Dan Berendsen, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Mark Rendall, Kat Dennings, Robert Bockstael, Eric Idle, Tommy Davidson, and Kathy Najimy and premiered on October 4, 2002, on Disney Channel as part of the network's series of original movies.
Jekyll is a British television drama serial produced by Hartswood Films and Stagescreen Productions for BBC One. The series also received funding from BBC America. Steven Moffat wrote all six episodes, with Douglas Mackinnon and Matt Lipsey each directing three episodes.
Unconquered is a 1947 American historical epic adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard. The supporting cast features Boris Karloff, Cecil Kellaway, Ward Bond, Howard Da Silva, Katherine DeMille, C. Aubrey Smith and Mike Mazurki. Released by Paramount Pictures, the film depicts the violent struggles between American colonists and Native Americans on the western frontier in the mid-18th century during the 1763 Pontiac's Rebellion, primarily around Fort Pitt. The film is characterized by DeMille's lavish style, including colourful costumes and sets, thousands of extras, violence, and sensationalism.
Hell is a common setting found in art, literature, and popular culture.
The Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 American fantasy film directed by S. Sylvan Simon and starring Frank Morgan, Keenan Wynn, and Cecil Kellaway. The film was based on the play But Not Goodbye by George Seaton. The film is about a ghost who, with the help of his father, stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless.
Chinese folklore features a rich variety of ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural creatures. According to traditional beliefs a ghost is the spirit form of a person who has died. Ghosts are typically malevolent and will cause harm to the living if provoked. Many Chinese folk beliefs about ghosts have been adopted into the mythologies and folklore of neighboring East Asian cultures, notably Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Beliefs about ghosts are closely associated with Chinese ancestor worship, where much have been incorporated into Buddhism and in turn influenced and created uniquely Chinese Buddhist beliefs about the supernatural.
Roberto "Robbie" Reyes is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the fifth Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, after Carter Slade, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch and Alejandra Jones.
Cosmic Ghost Rider is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His physical appearance and origin are an amalgam of Punisher, Ghost Rider, and Silver Surfer.
