What I remember:
I loved The Ghostbusters as a little kid and still do to this day. It’s still my favorite movie of all time much to the chagrin of my college Cinema Studies teacher.
My first introduction to the franchise was actually through the cartoon show, The Real Ghostbusters that I would religiously every Saturday morning. I would sit and watch the show while playing with my firehouse play-set. I was obsessed.
This book differs from the current Ghostbusters books published today from IDW in that the characters likenesses are based off of the cartoon show not the movies. Which is why it's called The Real Ghostbusters and not just Ghostbusters.
Vital Stats:
The Real Ghostbusters #2
Writer: Jim Van Hise
Penciler: John Tobias
Inker: Brian Thomas
Letterer: Jim Massara
Colorist: Rich Powers
Cover: Ken Steacy
Publisher: Now Comics
Publication Date: Sept 1988
Cover Price: $1.75
Re-Collection Price: Surviving original copy
What Happens:
The story begins with the Ghostbusters, scattered into different dimensions by four criminals from the future who came back to capture the ghost of Captain Nemo. (yes, THE Captain Nemo.) Winston is the first to return back to the firehouse and is met by Sl’g who informs him that he’s an alien and offers to help Winston to return his friends.
Wasted art space with the logo
One by one Winston and the slug return to the Ghostbusters to proper dimension. Egon is back from an abandoned New York, Peter from a world populated by werewolves but Ray remains on a spaceship in the future.
Anyone else think that the leader looks like Joey Ramone.
The time travelers are holed up in an apartment attempting to decipher the Slug's blueprints for a weapon. Their plan is to disrupt progress in the present before returning (Back!) to the future and rule as their superiors. The only thing is they need more power and decide the only way to get it is through Nemo's ship, the Nautilus.
20,000 leagues above the sea!
After communicating with Nemo while held captive in the Ghostbusters trap, the ship is found buried in Southern California, where our group from the future meet a group of people awaiting the arrival of aliens from another planet. They resurrect the ship and begin their plans to flood the Earth.
Eventually as the quartet from the future begin to fire a ray to pull the moon closer to the Earth, causing the planet to flood. Ray’s ship arrives in the dimension shorting out the Ray and allowing the Ghostbusters to save the day.
A literal Deus ex Machina.
Continued after Ad:
Anyone know anything about Ralph Snart? It looks interesting.
Bonus Pin-up!
Worth Re-Collecting:
This book was confusing as all hell for me to read. It tries to take the things that make the cartoon show popular the melding of fantasy, science fiction and ghost stories but I don’t think succeeds as well as the cartoon did. (I own season one of the show on DVD, it holds up surprisingly well for an 80's cartoon) A lot of concepts were introduced, but I don’t feel were totally explained, like Captain Nemo’s ghost, the book was a little heavy on the telling and not enough showing. As a five-year old, I didn't care if I thought the plot made sense, I just wanted Ghostbusters action.
I enjoyed a few of the 80’s pop culture references and classic SNL and even nods to the movie.
Dave did love his kooks.
The lady waiting for the aliens says that she was on David Letterman, there’s a ghost that appears in a doorway, looking like a shark and yelling Candygram and Peter says that Ray has been taken by the Coneheads.
If she doesn't get this, she's too young for you.
These are nice nods for parents reading the comics to children, that has become a fixture in modern kids’ programming.
The art style was very minimalist and kinda flat looking, nothing to write home about. The best pieces of art are the cover and the pin-up centerfold featuring what looks like a three-headed version of genie from Aladdin (years before Aladdin was released)
Next Week:
Modern Cover, classic comic!
We look at Spider-Man Classics #10 and take a look at the origin of Electro! It’s a re-collected reprint of the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s classic and an important book in my collection because it caused me to fall in love with ole' Webhead. See you next week!
Back Cover:
Go, Speed Racer Go!
