Jump to content
Hondo's Bar

Ghostbusters


The NZA

Recommended Posts

Here's to hopin this one's cool tho! Just for 2T, Newsarama...

 

MAKING THE CALL: CLAVET & DABB ON GHOSTBUSTERS

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

 

There is definitely something weird in the neighborhood. Who ya gonna call? There’s something strange and it don’t look good. Who ya gonna call? Are you afraid of ghosts? Well, fear not as the real boys in grey return with their proton packs and ghost traps in an all-new adventure in February’s Ghostbusters, a four-issue limited series entitled ‘Legion’ from 88MPH Studios.

 

Written by Andrew Dabb with art by Steve Kurth, the new Ghostbusters comic in 2004 marks the 20th anniversary of the popular original box-office hit movie. Newsarama got in touch with sole owner of 88MPH Studios and project manager-art director-editor-president-coffee maker Sebastien Clavet and writer Dabb for more on this revival.

 

“Who else would you call?,” Clavet asked.

 

“Obviously I am a hard core GB fan, so for me it’s very important that we produce a book that reflects the flavor and feeling of the first movie. Not that I dislike the second or the cartoon series, but the first had something very special about it that we’ll try to duplicate in comic book form. These aren’t superheroes, they’re basically paranormal janitors who have a job to do. A hard, dirty, slimy job.”

 

“’Legion’, the initial four-issue mini-series, picks up six months after the end of the first movie,” Dabb explained. “Peter, Egon, Ray and Winston are the stars. Ray is the focus of ‘Legion’, but the other guys get their own little subplots. We’ve really tried to give everyone screen time – er, page time? - and take them a few steps beyond where they were in the first movie; Ray isn’t always happy go lucky, Egon shows signs of actually having emotions, Peter gets serious and Winston has a sense of humor. We’re not making any dramatic changes yet, but we didn’t want to tread the exact same ground as previous incarnations of the property have either.”

 

“Those characters are the core of the book. They’re so lovable and so well developed that it would have been a bad idea for us not to use them. Of course there are a few new additions to the cast, but those four are our focus,” Clavet said.

 

So, what is the four-parter about then? Some say things lose their shine after a period of time and it’s no different with the Ghostbusters.

 

“The fame the Ghostbusters got for beating Gozer is fading and some people are starting to think that the whole thing was just a really elaborate - and marshmallowey - hoax,” Dabb said. “Even the people that believe in what the Ghostbusters are doing don’t really see them as anything more than glorified exterminators. Which, obviously, isn’t what the guys wanted. They thought they were going to change the world and win the Nobel prize, instead they’ve become sort of a fad, and one that’s on the decline to boot. ‘Legion’ deals with what you do after you save the world? Where do you go from there? After all, most ghosts aren’t out to enslave the planet, they’re a lot more localized. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous, especially when they work together.”

 

The first movie debuted in June of 1984 and starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver. The success of the movie led to a sequel, a few animated series and comics based on these original and other characters created within the property. However, to most hard core GB fans, the first one is still the best. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the team involved make no secrets about banking on the first movie’s wave of success. Yes, even though it’s twenty years after.

 

So, what makes the Ghostbusters relevant to today’s generation?

 

“Guys with nuclear accelerators strapped to their backs are always relevant,” Dabb said.

 

“GB is a timeless concept, the first and only of its kind. Twenty years from now people will still know what a Ghostbuster is and they’ll remember it with a smile on their face,” Clavet added.

 

Perhaps a trip down memory lane and a reintroduction session would be good to the ‘80s child in some of us, as well as the present generation of readers. So, who are Peter, Egon, Ray and Winston?

 

“Peter is by far the least serious of the Ghostbusters,” Dabb explained. “He’s not in it for the science, so much as to get on camera and make a lot of money. He’s the one that will enjoy the fame the most and get jealous when it’s gone (or passes to someone else). Peter cracks a lot of jokes and pretends to be shallower than he really is, but when things get tough he can get tough too.

 

“Egon is—well—Egon is the exact opposite of Peter. He couldn’t care less about fame or money, he just wants to learn and test his theories. But Egon’s not a clichéd science nerd by any means, in a lot of ways he’s the leader of the group, or at least the decision-maker. Egon may be detached from the world a bit, as a lot of geniuses tend to be, but when something (or someone) he loves is threatened he’ll do anything to protect it. He also has a really offbeat sense of humor that is a lot of fun to write.

 

“Ray is the core of the Ghostbusters, he’s the engine that keeps them running. He’s a skilled scientist and engineer, but he also has an almost childlike sense of wonder about the things they’re doing and seeing. In other places he’s come off as almost naïve, but to me Ray is the only one of the four that really understands the magnitude of what they’re doing. He can see the big picture and, unfortunately, that picture isn’t always good. The great things they’re doing thrill him, but when they fail - and they do fail - he feels it the most.

 

“Winston is the realist. He doesn’t get caught up in the metaphysical ramifications of what they’re doing, he just wants to do his job and go home. Winston’s a blast first, ask questions later kind of guy. He knows that, at the end of the day, talk and theories are cheap, what matters is action, and he is very much a man of action. But at the same time, Winston is the only one of the three that doesn’t see things in strictly scientific terms. He comes at what they’re doing from a much more spiritual place, which has been touched upon before, but never really explored. We plan to remedy that.”

 

In short, according to the self-proclaimed hard core GB fan, Clavet summed up each of the team members as “Peter “The Smile” Venkman, Egon “The Brain” Spengler, Ray “The Heart” Stantz and Winston “The Backbone“ Zeddemore.”

 

Fans of the movies would remember supporting characters Dana Barrett, Janine and Slimer. As mentioned, ‘Legion’ takes place between the first and second movies, so Oscar (Dana’s son) would not appear.

 

However, according to Dabb, “Dana will appear, though and her relationship with Peter is one of the subplots of ’Legion’, how it, like every relationship, is both good and bad for both of them. Janine is around, of course, in the first movie she had sort of a thing for Egon and we plan to develop that (though not like most people expect). Slimer will make a brief cameo, he will not speak. Louis Tully, Dana’s neighbor, also plays a role in “Legion” and I think readers are going to like what we’ve done with him. Most people seem to remember only the goofy side of the character in the first movie, but he was also something of a schemer (though, not a very good one) and I want to do more with that.”

 

“The supporting characters will be more like they were in the first movie than in the cartoons or other incarnations of the property,” Clavet added.

 

What about ghosts? “A few ghosts from the first movie will appear, but we’re saving the Marshmallow Man,” Dabb said.

 

“Ghostheads will be happy, there are going to be quite a few familiar faces floating around - literally. As for who and where, you’ll have to read and see,” Clavet added.

 

As for the creative team, Dabb is probably best known for his Vertigo two-parter Happydale: Devils in the Desert but has also done a number of webcomics, such as Slices, which ran at http://www.opi8.com/]Opi8.com[/url] for a year. “He can handle the humor the book requires, and he adds a somewhat darker edge to the stories that works very well,” Clavet said.

 

“Steve Kurth previously worked on GI Joe and Micronauts for Devil’s Due and he just keeps getting better, he truly is fantastic. People are really going to be impressed with his stuff here, the ghost designs he’s done look like they’re taken straight from someone’s nightmare. Serge LaPointe, who has done a bunch of stuff at DC and for some independent publishers, is inking and Blond, whose worked for Arcade Comics and on the He-Man comics, will be coloring. None of these guys are household names, but, top to bottom, we have an extremely talented team. I think a lot of people will be surprised at just how good this series is going to be. These guys are putting their all into the book and it shows.”

 

Ghosbusters #1 of #4 will be available for pre-order in December’s Previews catalog and be on the stands in February. The first issue will be available with three different covers, one by series penciler Steve Kurth, a variant by Dan Brereton (who will be doing a portrait of a different Ghostbuster for each issue, and an Ultraviolet-ink incentive cover.

 

“If things go well, we plan to launch a monthly ongoing series after ‘Legion’ concludes. We have a lot of ideas and hope to do the book for a long, long time,” Clavet said.

 

Literally taking a page from Previews, an order form for Ghosbusters #1 is available on 88MPH official website to print out and take to comic shops. However, fans should take note that for the time being, the comic would only be available in North America and not other parts of the world.

 

GB1_cov.jpg

 

SLIMER.jpg

 

staypuft.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Finally got to read this one...did what it could to stay in the vein of the movie, with its own story - good, but anti-climactic, and I love Venkman so his cheesier lines were a shame, but an enjoyable book.

 

I think they got a regular series goin past the mini i read, ill try to find it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 10 years later...

I'm not seeing any other thread for Ghostbuster comics - I'm assuming this be it...

 

With all this GB buzz - I ended up binging on Real Ghostbusters episodes...in which, a late-night discovery lead me to revisit the IDW Ghostbusters crossover w/ the RGB cartoon - and in turn, brought me here to share my find!

 

SUPER SPOILERS / REVIEW

 

 

 

When I first read the IDW / RGB crossover, I was disappointed as hell that the main antagonist wasn't pulled from the GB's rogue's gallery. I thought it was lame they went w/ an original creation - a giant missed opportunity.

 

Theeen, I just caught the Season 2 episode - 'Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster' (not the episode where she wears her pink outfit. Janine actually donned the standard uniform several times in the series before she ended up wearing the pink one.)

 

In this episode, I recognized the antagonist as the IDW crossover antagonist - Proteus! He appears at the end for a whole 30 seconds...

 

As a GB nut, I was shocked that he had gone over my head! He didn't ring any bells when I first read the crossover. I pulled the TPB out and was further shocked when I noticed that the entire crossover-event was actually set during this same Season 2 episode! WHAAA?!

 

In my revisit - I noticed the story assumes a familiarity w/ the episode...'cuz there are some 'did I miss something?' moments. It is greatly enhanced in having seen this episode.

 

In the cartoon episode, the city is experiencing a spike in supernatural activity - Janine complains about her apartment being haunted. As the boys are just too busy, she suits up n' busts the ghosts herself...w/ Slimer as an aid.

 

Meanwhile, the GB encounter a possessed Atlas statue at Rockefeller Plaza and it zaps them - making them inexplicably disappear. Janine and Slimer find out about the 'missing GB' on the news and they work together to find 'em. They learn through the 'ghost-vine' (a trip through the containment unit) the location of the GB (in a building - on the hidden 13th floor, trapped in a mirror).

 

Janine shows up and the big-bad reveals himself momentarily before Janine simply breaks the mirror, both setting the GB free and causing Proteus to self-destruct. The End.

 

In the comic, it opens during that same episode and the GB encounter w/ the possessed Atlas statue where they are zapped away. The crossover-event essentially explains what happened to the RGB when they disappeared during the episode. At the end of the crossover event, the GB end up trapped in the same mirror, w/ Janine on the other side - picking up and ending exactly how the cartoon episode ended.

 

I thought I was hardcore - that crossover-comic ended up being a much bigger nod to the cartoon than I initially got. Whoa. Needless to say, if you get this comic or got it - check out the companion piece, 'Janine Melnitz - Ghostbuster'.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...