Ghosts and ghoulies! The dead are everywhere!
Lock your doors! Bar the windows! Make sure nobody can get
inside…
…so nothing can distract you from reading
Heroes of Thantopolis, a cute lil’
comic about ghosts and friendship.
The Rating
This comic tries so hard. Its
gentleness and kid-friendly nature make it endearing enough that I can’t truly dislike it, but there are still some notable flaws.
The Raves
The long and short of Thantopolis is this; Cyrus, a living
human being, finds himself in the city of the dead, Thantopolis. He can’t
remember his family or who he was. Upon meeting Helene, Goddess and Queen of
the city, Cyrus is recruited as her champion and given a weapon. And so
proceeds the story.
If there’s one thing I really like about this comic, it’s
how vibrant and colorful the art is. The color choices are pleasing
to the eye. There’s a big emphasis on curves and soft forms in the comic,
giving the art a whimsical feel. Given that Thantopolis is intended to
be kid-friendly, these are fantastic artistic choices to make.
The kid-friendly nature of the comic is itself also a
praiseworthy trait. It’s relatively uncommon to find a good long-form webcomic
that remains firmly in the realm of the G-rating. It’s even more uncommon to
see such a comic that deals with topics of death, identity, and personal
conflict. Although some aspects of the comic are lacking in development, the
younger ends of the target audience would probably find this to be an enjoyable
read. No doubt adults can and do enjoy it as well, but it holds up a little better
for a younger crowd.
The relationships are probably the strongest part of the
writing. There’s a huge emphasis on friendship, camaraderie, and mutual
understanding. The relationship between main character Cyrus and Xisea, a friendly little spider ghost, is so
unrelentingly sweet that I honestly
felt a little happier just seeing them talk to each other about their problems. It's by far my favorite aspect of the writing. Not every relationship in the comic is written quite so well, but when the creator
nails it, they nail it.
The Razzes
Let’s start with the art. While I like the color
choices, I’ve got some beefs with the character design. There’s nothing
wrong with having a simple art style, but this one is sometimes simple to a fault. It reminds
me a bit of the Cartoon Network style. You know…
…that style. And
if you’re a fan of that style, you’ll like this art. The real problem here is the main
character looks so forgettable and generic, while most of the others look nothing
like whatever they’re supposed to be. For example, this character…
…is a rat, but looks more like a cat. And it only gets worse
from here.
This is a spider.
This is a crow.
This is a hunting hound.
This is Sagittarius.
I think she’s supposed to be a horse? I can only assume that
since Sagittarius is typically depicted as a centaur. I’ll admit the art is
cute, but it starts to get a little stale when almost everybody just looks like
an
indistinct blob.
Now onto the writing. Oy, the writing. Let’s start with
character interactions.
Admittedly, I like how sweet the main character is
and the relationship he has with Xisea is endearing to no end. Those two have
probably the most likeable personalities in the comic. I also admire some of
Trickster’s quirkiness, though sometimes his ‘90s Bro persona can wear a little thin. Cyrus, Xisea, Trickster, and later Sagittarius become a core group of mutual friends through the course of this comic and there are some very nice moments between all four of them. What really annoys me, though, is Helene. By all rights, she is the major cause
of most of the main character’s problems and the comic doesn’t pretend she isn’t
a master manipulator.
So why is she presented like some kind of mother figure to Cyrus, whom she treats as her personal pawn 24/7? I’m tempted to think the comic is intentionally mixing its signals so that it’s hard to pin her down. Only time will tell. But in the meantime, her arrogance, dishonesty, and callousness really get on my nerves. Every time the comic gives her a “nice” moment, it feels forced, rather than earned.
The plot also has some big flaws. The setup and summary
lead you to think that Cyrus’ journey will culminate in him confronting
Aquarius. He’s being groomed to fight her, given a weapon, and a small team of
friends who seem like they will help him. I was actually excited when it seemed
like the climax was nearing, albeit puzzled because the archives showed I was
only halfway through the comic.
Surely, the confrontation with Aquarius, which was played up
as a major event and Helene’s reason for recruiting Cyrus, would have some kind
of complication and the plot will go on from there. Well, as it turns
out, the real Aquarius has been held captive by an impostor. This should make
for an exciting battle, right?
Nope. Cyrus “defeats” her by talking her down and convincing
her that what she’s doing is wrong.
As with Helene’s “nice” moments, I feel like this is yet
another instance where the moment just feels unearned. While I respect the
message of using words and kindness to reach out to a villain, it all happened
much too fast. With a few “words of wisdom” from our hero, she has a complete change
of heart that takes all of
two
pages. On the whole, the
entire climax of this arc just seemed cheap.
Since then, the plot has shifted gears to focus more on
Cyrus trying to remember who he was, and the progression of that story has been
a lot more believable, but the pacing of the comic mostly meanders and
struggles to find a focus. Cyrus has a goal, but thanks to Helene’s
obstruction, that goal is
constantly pushed off to the side. But to what end? There seems to be no other
particular aim and I can’t help wondering why Helene even keeps him around.
Y’know, aside from not wanting to part with her pawn.
The Revue
If there is one thing that this comic has a lot of, it’s
heart. I can see that the creator has put so much earnest care and effort into
this comic, even if the results are flawed. Regardless, if you’re looking for
something colorful, kid-friendly, and generally pleasant, this isn't a bad story to check out.
