IDW Ghostbusters On-Going (Volume 2) Issue 17 Review

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Fritz Baugh continues his reviews of the IDW Ghostbusters on-going series for Still Playing with Toys, here's Fritz with the latest - spoilers are abound, so you've been warned...

It seems a bit pyrrhic now, with the news that #20 (#36 in the total on-going series) will be the last issue of the series. But with #17, we reach a double milestone of endurance.  In addition to finally getting a #17, something that hasn't happened to an American Ghostbusters comic since 1989, the total issues of IDW's ongoing series now beat the number of issues of NOW Comics' ongoing series.  16+17=33.  28+4=32.  Sure, I could add in the 3-D Special (which was effectively Now's V2#0), the Annual, and the 3-D Annual, but that still means IDW will beat them with #20.

I think that's a big part of why this commentary is so late-- knowing I'll only be doing it three more times after this makes me want to hold onto it just a little bit.  Like I'm prolonging it somehow.  But I'm really not so here we go:

As "Mass Hysteria" begins it's second half, we're with Ray, Venkman, and Winston on the ECTO-8, where Ray is having another dream sequence with a ghost that looks suspiciously like John Belushi... but then it turns, just before Venkman slaps him awake, into Slavitza Jovan.  This... doesn't seem like an auspicious sign, does it?

Now awake, we see that in addition to the three regulars are Mel, Whatzisface, Ron, and Ron's three former fellow Ghostsmashers, now sporting flight suits in the Ghostbuster style, but with the Ghostsmasher logo and the nametags in Ghostsmasher purple.  Why are they there?  Oh, you know, Vigo's escaped from the painting (which they never explained how he popped back into in the first place) and he's apparently on Hart Island.  

Egon and Kylie, meanwhile, are studying Dana and Louis, and Dana makes small talk by asking Egon about Janine.  Egon dodges, and Dana mentions Janine dodges those questions too.  Hah-- Dana's only really been in the loop twice over the last 10 years, and even she notices.

God damn it, I hope we get some resolution in the next three issues.

Anyway, back at Hart, Ray is having another narcoleptic episode, and this time he sees Pee Wee Herman, and then the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  If it's not Gozer trying to talk to him, it's certainly something trying to convince him it is Gozer. 

GBHQ:  Egon and Kylie realize that Vuul and Zinz Clortho are still hiding inside Dana and Louis.

Hart Island:  Vigo shows up, and he's brought the Scoleri Brothers.  This is really mystifying--we saw those two assholes get sucked into ghost traps, and presumably taken downstairs and flushed into the Containment Unit.  Ray certainly thinks they should still be there.  It's enough to make one wonder... anyway, Vigo the Butch is especially mad at Venkman, probably for trying to paint that fluffy white kitten into the painting near the castle.  We know you miss Snowball, Vigo, but don't take it out on our heroes!

... Especially after Ray gets into another conversation with Pee-Wee Gozer, and images of Zuul, Vinz Clortho, and Idulnas appear.  Idulnas... you know, last we saw of that guy, he was being dragged off by the Peoplebusters/Collectors... while the Ghostbusters were the first beings to escape them, it doesn't mean they're the last.

GBHQ:  Kylie sprays Dana and Louis with mood slime in hopes of driving out Vuul and Zinz Clortho... but it doesn't work.  It not only doesn't work, it allows the servants of Tiamat to re-dominate the pair, turn them back into giant bird-things, and go on the attack!

This... is really not good.

Another solid issue.

(sigh) And only three more to go.

Bringing Batgirl Back

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Barbara's got a brand new bag... and a good looking costume. (Courtesy MTV.com)

Dammit, I love Gail Simone. Her run on Wonder Woman was incredible, she helped open my eyes to Birds of Prey, her Deadpool books were admittedly the first that I'd read that introduced me to the character, and yes - though people all have their gripes about how Babs came back with the New 52 reboot, I actually have been enjoying her run on Batgirl.

But starting this October with issue 35, MTV broke news that Gail Simone is stepping down from Batgirl and being replaced by a new creative team of Cameron Stewart and Brent Fletcher (with art fittingly by Babs Tarr). The character is getting a complete redesign from the ground up and the book promises to infuse a whole new look and feel to the Batgirl ongoing series.

And I think this is a great move.

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A look at the new Batgirl revamp from top to bottom thanks to MTV. Note the more sensible take on a few things? (Courtesy MTV)

Based on the design and the interview at MTV with Stewart and Fletcher, it sounds like DC is taking note of what has made Captain Marvel such an impactful character over at Marvel. Make her fun, make her strong, make her identifiable to men, women, boys and girls. Infuse some of the spirit that made the character popular in the first place by giving her a sense of adventure. And it sounds like they're going to make the character a bit of an antithesis to the dark and brooding Bat-books, which will be a breath of fresh air in the New 52 line.

What do you guys think about the new Barbara Gordon? Sound off in the comments, eh?

The Bittersweet Announcement of IDW Ghostbusters' Cancellation

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Dogs and cats have nothing on this event, as IDW closes out its Mass Hysteria run and the Ghostbusters ongoing series. (Courtesy GhostbustersNews.com)

Sad news for Ghostbusters fans this week as IDW Comics has announced that Issue #20 of the on-going series, now in its second volume, will be its last. The conclusion of the highly entertaining "Mass Hysteria" storyline will bring the on-going series to a close and after 36 issues and 700 pages (according to colorist Luis Antonio Delgado), the doors to the firehouse are closing.

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Editor Tom Waltz confirms that the on-going will in fact, not be going on via Facebook.

While this certainly means the end of the on-going series on a monthly basis, one can imagine that this absolutely doesn't mean the end of IDW Ghostbusters comics in the slightest. The franchise continues to gain momentum (in fact, I just saw a Google Play advertisement last night that boasts its service features Ghostbusters as a selling point). And considering how dormant the franchise has been over the past several years, we were lucky to be getting a monthly book from IDW for as long as we have. The mini-series approach might be the best route for the stories to go forward at least until a time that the momentum gains a fever pitch with a new movie or some other catalyst to be determined in the future.

Not knowing that this announcement was going to come, I actually re-read the on-going series from Issue 1, Volume 1 during a recent trip overseas. Much like an amazing run on a television series, this book plays so well when you "binge read" it in a sitting or two and benefits from reading issues back to back when you can identify the nuance and the detail that has gone into each and every issue. And what's staggering from issue to issue is just how great the quality has consistently been, without any dips and without any fillers. If this creative team would have been putting out this book back in the heyday of Ghostbusters in the late 1980s, it'd be among the top ten sellers on a monthly basis. Both kids and adults alike can enjoy this book and that was the beauty of the original films.

I'm sure more Ghostbusters goodness is in the future for IDW (and hopefully this same creative team), I just wanted to thank Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, Luis Delgado, Tristan Jones and their editorial staff at IDW for putting out one of the best damn Ghostbusters series that fans could have asked for. I've seen them taking a lot of the usual Ghosthead heat via Facebook and Twitter (ie. "How dare you?!? On the 30th Anniversary? This is a slap in the face! Blah blah blah!") all of which is completely unmerited. They've put in extreme amounts of time, effort, and one can imagine sleepless nights to put out a book of incredible quality for over three years now. And if "Mass Hysteria" ends with the big bang that I think it will (either literally or figuratively), it will be a fitting close for an amazing run.

IDW Ghostbusters On-Going (Volume 2) Issue 16 Review

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The Gatekeeper and Keymaster are about to relive a really bad sequence of events thanks to one of Gozer's relatives. (Courtesy IDW Comics)

Fritz Baugh has been kind enough to continue providing his reviews for the excellent Ghostbusters on-going series from IDW for SPT. I've been loving this series from issue one and their "Mass Hysteria" storyline hasn't disappointed. This issue features fun nods to Ghostbusters' past for us die-hard fans as always without distracting from the narrative. The creative team behind this book has truly harnessed the spirit (no pun intended, I swear) of the Ghostbusters franchise and it's going to be sad to see it come to an end. More on that in an article later today. In the meantime, here's Fritz...

SPOILERS AHEAD - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED, JR. GHOSTBUSTERS!

No real dilemma on the cover this time-- a Tristan Jones Real Ghostbusters cover without having to get rooked on the "retail incentive" price?  And no Louis on it?  And I'm a subscriber at the comic shop I buy at?  Sign me up.

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As the story starts, every Ghostbuster original, new, and others, have to take the stairs up Dana’s apartment building because Tiamat's shut down the elevators (editor's note: Tiamat being the big bad introduced at the beginning of the run, Gozer's mischievous sister). This seems familiar, and it won't be the last time this issue. They're stopped by the ghost of Judge Valkenheiser, but Winston files a "Motion to Dismiss" in the form of a ghost trap.  

As they continue to climb the stairs, Venkman starts talking to himself. But not in the way you expect: standing in the way are aged versions of the original Ghostbusters, all decked out in the Fright Features uniforms familiar from the Real Ghostbusters Kenner action figure line, spouting all sorts of cryptic dialog and warnings. Ray tries to be optimistic and says, "Well, this proves we survive!" while Fright Feature Ray counters that they, "could just be temporal anomalies."

Fright Feature Egon, who has put on a little weight (Venkman later implores Egon to "knock off the Twinkies" to not end up like that), tells them Tiamat is more powerful that Gozer, but she's addicted to chaos, which is apparently some kind of clue. I normally roll my eyes when a Ghostbusters writer tries to one-up Gozer, but I make exceptions when a figure of real myth is involved (or HP Lovecraft). It makes Tiamat seem pretty frightening, which makes some of what happens later… well, I'm getting ahead of myself. I kept sorta hoping Janine would point out to Egon, "And why in the world does your older self have the same haircut I saw pictures of Roger sporting back in the 1980's?" Because Fright Feature Egon doesn't just have the white and red outfit (similar colors to Janine's uniform in "Mister Sandman Dream Me A Dream" interestingly enough) but even the Real Ghostbusters Egon swirl and rat tail.

Fright Feature Winston tells his younger self that he's the one who's gonna pull them through, but of course doesn't give any more details other than, "You'll figure it out when the time is right".  After this, the Fright Feature Ghostbusters fade away.

The Ghostbusters mob reaches the top of the building and, lo and behold, it's a ziggarut. Dana and Louis, still possessed by Tiamat's goons (let's just call them "Vuul" and "Zinz Clortho") start trying to tease them, Louis/Zins first.

Ron: Can I shoot him?
Venkman: Yes
Janine: No.
Me: I'm with Ron and Venkman on this one.

And then Dana/Vuul starts trying to brain-screw Venkman, but just like with the Manitou a while back, he's having none of it. I almost wonder what it would be like if a monster starts threatening Venkman? Venkman thinks the monster is just pulling a trick or a brain-screw, and then the monster does exactly what it threatens some time.

So then Vuul and Zinz turn into bird-things instead of dogs, but still have Dana and Louis's faces, and the main event starts: Tiamat strides in. The Ghostbusters mob starts shooting her, but she shrugs if off and gets serious: she adopts a new form, the same kind of five-headed dragon Tiamat as seen in "I Am The City." But in Dan Schoening's artistic hands nevertheless ten-times more badass looking than in that somewhat spottily animated episode.

Unfortunately for our heroes, they don't have Marduk or Bahamut on speed dial.

Fortunately for our heroes, once dragon Tiamat appears… she doesn't really do anything. I start to wonder if M. Thunder, who has posted on the IDW message board criticizing Tiamat's lack of menace, has a point? I mean, I've seen the numbers on this one. Level 35 Solo Brute. 1610 HP.  AC 51. I realize we don't want our heroes fireballed, ice-blasted, poison-gassed, acid-burned, and electrocuted out of existence, but there comes a point where a villain starts to look like all roar and no bite. I mean, c'mon, we have a horde of Ghostbusters, surely we could have her vaporize (insert your two or three least favorite characters in the series here. For example:  Ron, the Rookie, and Louis) just to prove how badass she is while still leaving enough heroes to defeat her?  I mean, Geoff Johns does stuff like that all the time… oh, now I see why not, then.

And what happens next? After the Ghostbusters climb the building, see Dana and Louis turned into animals, and the villain changes from a female humanoid to a giant monster, guess what?  You won't believe it, they cross the streams!!!

Oh, why not?  It all works, Tiamat is defeated.  Dana and Louis are back to normal (well, except Louis still has Zinz's Freakazoid hair).  Candy and teddy bears fall from the sky.  

Except...

It's not candy and teddy bears.  It's blood.

It ain't over yet, kiddies.  In fact… it's only half time.  

Erik Burnham hasn't lead us wrong yet; the last four issues were Tiamat jerking everyone around. Why not pull the ultimate headfake by letting the Ghostbusters think they'd defeated her?

Next issue:  Since we hit #16, it must be time for Ghostbusters Vol. 3 #1.  Strange that they'd do this right in the middle of a story, but… wait, it will be #17?  Well all right then!