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Ghost Hog
A new graphic novel from the Eisner Award-nominated creator of MERMIN that deftly navigates loss, vengeance, and acceptance!
Truff is the ghost of a young boar, fueled by fury towards the hunter who shot her down. She has a lot to learn about her new afterlife, and thankfully the forest spirits Claude and Stanley are there to guide her!
However, they soon find that her parents, along with their fellow animal villagers, have been kidnapped by the malicious mountain demon Mava! Truff wants to help, but… the hunter is finally within her grasp, and if she lets him go, she may never get her revenge!
Is vengeance all that being a ghost is good for? Or is there something stronger keeping this little pig tethered to the living world?
Truff is the ghost of a young boar, fueled by fury towards the hunter who shot her down. She has a lot to learn about her new afterlife, and thankfully the forest spirits Claude and Stanley are there to guide her!
However, they soon find that her parents, along with their fellow animal villagers, have been kidnapped by the malicious mountain demon Mava! Truff wants to help, but… the hunter is finally within her grasp, and if she lets him go, she may never get her revenge!
Is vengeance all that being a ghost is good for? Or is there something stronger keeping this little pig tethered to the living world?
168 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2019
11 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Joey Weiser
36 books20 followersJoey Weiser is the Eisner Award-nominated author of DRAGON RACER, GHOST HOG, and the MERMIN graphic novel series from Oni Press. His comics work ranges from writing and drawing for SPONGEBOB COMICS to coloring the JEDI ACADEMY: A NEW CLASS series. His first graphic novel, THE RIDE HOME, was published in 2007 by AdHouse Books. He is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design and currently lives in Athens, Georgia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 1, 2019
This was mega meh. Fine but nothing special.
March 15, 2021
This was an OK comic for children. It's about a hog haunting a plum tree looking for the Hunter who killed her. Some forest spirits try to convince her to give up her quest for vengeance. If the story had stuck to that it would have been much better. Another plot comes through a bit into the story about a giant demon trying to escape his cave beneath the mountain. That's where the story goes completely off-course. It felt totally out of place. I did like most of the character designs.
February 7, 2019
This was a pretty cute children's comic book about a little hog named Truff who haunts a plum tree while waiting for The Hunter so that she can get her revenge. Two forest spirits try to get her to move on and focus her energy on finding her family instead of The Hunter. Meanwhile, Truff's parents are looking for her and somehow end up in the clutches of a mountain demon.
Pros:
I thought the graphics were really cute, although I feel like Truff looks more like a young moose than a hog (seeing as moose is my favourite animal, I'm going to let that slide). I also really like the two forest spirits, especially Claude, who looks like an adorable tiny bundle of leaves. Finally, I really like how the story starts and ends with humans sharing scary stories about the legendary Ghost Hog.
Cons:
To be honest, I found the story to be too simple and juvenile - which I guess should be expected, seeing as it's a children's book. Even so, I felt like the key message (of moving on?) in this book was glossed over - Truff overcame her desire for revenge way too easily ...
ARC provided by Oni Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
*** #36 of my 2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A ghost story ***
Pros:
I thought the graphics were really cute, although I feel like Truff looks more like a young moose than a hog (seeing as moose is my favourite animal, I'm going to let that slide). I also really like the two forest spirits, especially Claude, who looks like an adorable tiny bundle of leaves. Finally, I really like how the story starts and ends with humans sharing scary stories about the legendary Ghost Hog.
Cons:
To be honest, I found the story to be too simple and juvenile - which I guess should be expected, seeing as it's a children's book. Even so, I felt like the key message (of moving on?) in this book was glossed over - Truff overcame her desire for revenge way too easily ...
ARC provided by Oni Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
*** #36 of my 2019 Popsugar Reading Challenge - A ghost story ***
May 8, 2019
Ghost Hog is an epic fantasy adventure / ghost story that children will love.
Truff is the ghost of a boar that is looking for revenge against the hunter that killed her. She’s full of rage and dreams of vengance, but some friendly forest spirits are trying to help her move past her grief, anger and pain, into a place of healing and acceptance. Meanwhile, an evil demon is enslaving animals and trying to escape from his prison...
What I loved about Ghost Hog:
* The artwork is GORGEOUS
* It’s a profound and moving but also funny and simple story.
* There’s a valuable lesson to treasure
* A satisfying ending (but open enough to have some great sequels)
What I didn’t love that much:
* I know it’s a children’s book, but some of the conflicts were solved way too easily.
* I’m not sure about the choice of having some meat-eating humans (that are not the villains) in a story about sentient talking animals. I mean, I can totally understand the why and even appreciate it, but it’s complicated to be okay with a person eating the cast of characters from a book without making him or her a villain.
That being said, I appreciate and understand the choices made, and they definitely work for the story, so I still enjoyed the book a lot and it was almost a 5 star read. I highly recommend it! It’s one of the best graphic novels I have read this year.
***I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Truff is the ghost of a boar that is looking for revenge against the hunter that killed her. She’s full of rage and dreams of vengance, but some friendly forest spirits are trying to help her move past her grief, anger and pain, into a place of healing and acceptance. Meanwhile, an evil demon is enslaving animals and trying to escape from his prison...
What I loved about Ghost Hog:
* The artwork is GORGEOUS
* It’s a profound and moving but also funny and simple story.
* There’s a valuable lesson to treasure
* A satisfying ending (but open enough to have some great sequels)
What I didn’t love that much:
* I know it’s a children’s book, but some of the conflicts were solved way too easily.
* I’m not sure about the choice of having some meat-eating humans (that are not the villains) in a story about sentient talking animals. I mean, I can totally understand the why and even appreciate it, but it’s complicated to be okay with a person eating the cast of characters from a book without making him or her a villain.
That being said, I appreciate and understand the choices made, and they definitely work for the story, so I still enjoyed the book a lot and it was almost a 5 star read. I highly recommend it! It’s one of the best graphic novels I have read this year.
***I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
February 6, 2019
An all-ages fantasy that actually works better than it sounds. So there's a bear who's a ghost, and is intent on haunting the area it's died in, in particular to rid it of a certain human hunter. It gets dissuaded and taken on an adventure by a walking cabbage/apple hybrid thing and a sort-of-ectoplasmic figure a bit like those dancing balloon men atop fans outside car showrooms. It's then that the bear finds its parents have been employed by a huge rock demon, who has a whole slave army trying to free him from imprisonment under the hill upon which the whole story is playing out… In truth, then, it would have to be better than it sounds, which is clearly not difficult, and it is much better. The only hiccup is that the artwork, the whole sensibility and everything, never really got across proof of the bear being female. It seemed like such a typical juvenile male I never felt at ease with the opposite being the case. I think the back cover blurb and quotes layer on the idea of this as having a moral a bit too thickly, but I certainly enjoyed it for its entertainment values. Some very basic artwork could have been better here and there, but was not to its detriment. On the whole it's a great one for the kids, and you could file is as a gateway book to the great Bone epic.
August 1, 2019
I really liked this graphic novel! At first, I thought the illustrations were weird but then it became clear pretty quickly that the illustrations perfectly match the quirkiness of the story itself! A ghost hog must overcome her need to get revenge on the hunter that killed her in order to save her parents and village from the encaged magma demon who is using forced labor to plan his escape from the mountain. Such a strange and fun and exciting tale.
February 10, 2019
Not good, not funny and not entertaining in any way! Very childish in every aspect, maybe a younger reader would have a different opinion, but for me this was just a lot of non sense «adventure». Sorry... but I really didn't like this one!
January 2, 2020
There are so many great graphic novels for kids out there with depth and a clear narrative. This was a great premise that didn’t deliver on storied morals, characterization, or dialogue. It wanted to be too many things and address too many tropes, so it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. Cute illustrations that kids can enjoy, but there’s nothing memorable about it.
June 6, 2019
A quick lesson on not letting hatred consume you. The ghost business was confusing tho.
December 10, 2019
Not a bad little story with a great moral, but it felt a little thin all around.
February 3, 2019
Very cute illustrations and fun humor. Certainly some important messages. But... I admit I’m a little skeeved that the hunter killed a child animal that walks on two legs and wears clothes. Presumably he fed her to his children. And the whole thing with her being dead was rather glossed over at a key point. I know I’m probably overthinking this sweet story about a little pig ghost.
March 29, 2019
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing a review copy.
When Truff is killed by a hunter, all the young boar can think about is getting her revenge-- but can she manage to protect those she loves, too?
The plot of this book is fine, but doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. Children's books about ghosts have a fine line to walk, and whether they veer silly or scary or melancholy they still need to acknowledge death. This book spends very little time on Truff's death, so there's no chance of grisly scenes. Instead, the forest sprites introduce the idea of hunting to sustain a family, and cool Truff's anger at humans in general. (There's no mention, within this complicated idea of hunting, about how the forest animals are all bipedal and often clothed. I'm not sure how that fits into the idea of hunting for food, when your prey is walking and talking with you in the forest.) The plot shifts quickly to Truff becoming a protector, with a few satisfying fight scenes against a mountain troll and his minions, and sidesteps any grief from her family about Truff's death by having her stay on as a guardian. The idea of Truff disappearing hadn't really been addressed until this point, though, so there hadn't been any risk of losing her.
The artwork is bold and cartoony, with large panels and not too much text. That will certainly appeal to a young audience. But while readers at my library will try pretty much anything on the graphic novels shelf, I don't think there's enough story here to keep them coming back for more.
When Truff is killed by a hunter, all the young boar can think about is getting her revenge-- but can she manage to protect those she loves, too?
The plot of this book is fine, but doesn't really hold up to scrutiny. Children's books about ghosts have a fine line to walk, and whether they veer silly or scary or melancholy they still need to acknowledge death. This book spends very little time on Truff's death, so there's no chance of grisly scenes. Instead, the forest sprites introduce the idea of hunting to sustain a family, and cool Truff's anger at humans in general. (There's no mention, within this complicated idea of hunting, about how the forest animals are all bipedal and often clothed. I'm not sure how that fits into the idea of hunting for food, when your prey is walking and talking with you in the forest.) The plot shifts quickly to Truff becoming a protector, with a few satisfying fight scenes against a mountain troll and his minions, and sidesteps any grief from her family about Truff's death by having her stay on as a guardian. The idea of Truff disappearing hadn't really been addressed until this point, though, so there hadn't been any risk of losing her.
The artwork is bold and cartoony, with large panels and not too much text. That will certainly appeal to a young audience. But while readers at my library will try pretty much anything on the graphic novels shelf, I don't think there's enough story here to keep them coming back for more.
July 15, 2020
Super cute creative graphic novel! This reminded me a lot of folktales in the way it was told. Great messages about controlling anger as well as determining what you value most in life. The artwork is delightful with great use of color, darling characters and clear world building too. I love that this is a complete story. Look forward to seeing more from Joey Weiser.
Also, I would totally buy a cute Truff stuffed animal... just saying : )
Thank you to Oni Press for the ARC received during ALA Midwinter
Also, I would totally buy a cute Truff stuffed animal... just saying : )
Thank you to Oni Press for the ARC received during ALA Midwinter
July 24, 2019
Sometimes, books intended for children have wider-reaching audiences, where adults can enjoy the work, even if they aren't the intended audience. This is not the case with Ghost Hog. It's a cute enough story, and I could see children getting a lot of enjoyment from it, but it doesn't "age up" enormously well. The art style is simplistic, the plot is straightforward and, at times, a little dull. Overall, I didn't find this one to be much fun.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 21, 2023
'Ghost Hog' with story and art by Joey Weiser is a graphic novel about the ghost of a boar who is out for revenge.
Truff haunts the forest scaring humans off. Claude and Stanley are forest spirits out to help, but they discover that Truff's parents have been kidnapped by mountain demon Mava. Maybe Truff's outbursts of anger can come in handy if Truff can get them under control.
I enjoyed this one as I have the other books by this author and artist. The story is illustrated well and should appeal to younger readers.
Truff haunts the forest scaring humans off. Claude and Stanley are forest spirits out to help, but they discover that Truff's parents have been kidnapped by mountain demon Mava. Maybe Truff's outbursts of anger can come in handy if Truff can get them under control.
I enjoyed this one as I have the other books by this author and artist. The story is illustrated well and should appeal to younger readers.
May 11, 2019
A cute all-ages book about, well, a ghost hog, who is in danger of being consumed by his desire to haunt. He is mentored by some forest spirits, and ends up on a quest to save his parents from a mountain demon.
It's a cool premise. I imagine kids will be entertained by the protagonist's quick temper, and the adorable drawings.
I would recommend this for kids under ten, the underer probably the betterer they'll enjoy it.
It's a cool premise. I imagine kids will be entertained by the protagonist's quick temper, and the adorable drawings.
I would recommend this for kids under ten, the underer probably the betterer they'll enjoy it.
August 20, 2019
Very twee! An not so ghostly Truff is guided by two forest spirits to turn from plans of revenge against the hunter who killed her to love for her family. Good low text for struggling readers/ELL, but too moralizing for my taste. A lil wacky and I’m sure will be popular with precocious readers in 1-3rd grades.
August 21, 2021
The character design is fun but the story is directionless. No one seems to know why anyone is doing anything. If the moral is focus on what makes you happy and not mad that doesn't completely come across.... But if I was a kid reading this I'd love the ghost hog and Claude the clump, and would read more adventures.
October 25, 2023
A graphic novel about a hog who is trapped as a ghost because she wants revenge on the hunter who killed her. With her new spirit friends, Ghost Hog starts to realize that she had a life, family and friends before. Will Ghost Hog decide to continue seeking revenge or save her parents from the evil demon trapped in the mountain?
September 17, 2024
Kids found this middle grade graphic novel entertaining, but I thought it was just ok. Little ghost hog is set on vengeance against the hunter who killed her, but is turned to a better path via some helpful mountain spirits. That would have been a decent plot on its own, but then there was a weird plotline about a volcano demon enslaving the forest animals.
March 7, 2019
*I could read this book thanks to NetGalley and the publisher of the comic*
Very cute story about little hog, who became a ghost. Now, she's trying to get back to her normal self. Two friendly forest spirits are helping her and I guess we get a happy end :)
Very cute story about little hog, who became a ghost. Now, she's trying to get back to her normal self. Two friendly forest spirits are helping her and I guess we get a happy end :)
April 22, 2019
Super cute comic. Definitely aimed at younger readers, but would be a great introduction for them into the wonderful world of comic books.
Recommended for readers who enjoy Richie Rich, Duck Tales or Scooby Doo.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
Recommended for readers who enjoy Richie Rich, Duck Tales or Scooby Doo.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
August 26, 2019
An adorable tale about a young ghost named "Truff" who learns to forsake her thirst for vengeance with the help of her forest sprite friends. Joey Weiser is a consummate storyteller who spins a positive yarn that deals with life and death and underground demon kings. Very cute and very fun.
December 17, 2024
The ghost of an anthropomorphized boar is helped by two forest spirits to work on her anger and rescue her parents from a lava creature looking to rise up out of a mountain. It's a little all over the place.
February 23, 2019
What a cute comic ! Following Truff's quest as she is torn between revenge and protecting the ones she loves was so entertaining and the art style is really pretty.
April 3, 2019
I really enjoyed this one! It showed, rather than told, the emotional journey of this dead hog. Would recommend.
June 21, 2019
3.5 stars
Adorable, very lively drawings, and a weird forest ball that I picture sounding like Phil from Hercules.
Adorable, very lively drawings, and a weird forest ball that I picture sounding like Phil from Hercules.
August 5, 2019
I rarely abandon books, but this one just did not do it for me.
August 16, 2019
My 3rd grader will like this book.
August 19, 2019
This was super funny. Loved cheering for Truff and Stanely and Claude. A really fun adventure tale for the Babymouse and Squish crowd.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews