COMIC REVIEW: FTN reviews IDW’s Ghostbusters Get Real

Ghostbusters Get Real #1
Written by: Erik Burnham
Art by: Dan Schoening
Published: IDW
Out now.

What a mixed bag of emotions IDW’s Ghostbusters books have been, eh?

Most of their books pre-2011 were pretty poor as they wrestled with just what Ghostbusters should be, but it all changed when Burnham and Schoening took over scripting and art.

The ongoing series was a delight, with every issue perfectly capturing the tone and humour of the movies that we at FTN love so very much. Then last year, the news came that the series was being cancelled but that we shouldn’t despair because the boys – and now girls – in grey would return.

And return they did with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover series which, sorry Erik, started off a little shaky but by the finale was brilliant – we expected no less. The Turtles didn’t belong in this dimension and a fish-out-of-water tale ensued as they befriended the GBs and adapted to a world so very familiar but different too – this totally contradicted the X-Files crossover event a few months earlier but we’ll say nothing.

And then it was gone. And Ghostbusters felt lost again. Briefly. Until it was announced that the Ghostbusters (movie and comic characters) were going to meet The Real Ghostbusters (animated series and (different) comic characters).

And finally the first issue is here.

And it’s wonderful.

There are several things that made this fan squee during the first issue – I’m not too proud when it comes to GB. Firstly was Dan Schoening’s art which is an absolute delight (check out the panels below if you’re not convinced).

Starting off in the world of the Real Ghostbusters, he captures perfectly the animation look and feel of the TV show and it just feels right as he infuses his own Ghostbusters art style into it… the perfect blend of two worlds. And, I’ll not tell you how or why, when the two teams meet? One frame that took 30 years to arrive… and I didn’t even know how much I wanted, nay, needed to see it.

And it’s clever too, with Burnham writing technical and paranormal stuff that Dan Aykroyd would be proud of.

Oh, and the fact that the tech from the TMNT crossover is still there means that, while undoubtedly it will tie into this story at some stage, a vast universe is out there, brimming over with potential… and these are without doubt the the men to do it.

While many have lost faith in the Ghostbusters movie franchise given recent events, it’s great to know that the IDW Team Ghostbusters have nothing at heart but the love of true fans and total respect for the characters and history.

A great first issue full of ideas that fans won’t even realise how badly they need it until they have it in their hands. I may be gushing but in all my fandom, nothing does that to me like Ghostbusters done right.

You know that feeling you have when 31 years of fandom and the worlds within it collide in a glorious explosion? No? Well, you will when you pick this book up…

5 out of 5 Nerds