Slimer #1

I started this book over a month ago. I had gone to a local comic book store to stock up on some reads for my annual family vacation, which is where I came across this book. I was really excited to get it because I had seen it advertised on FB the week prior and was convinced that it was going to be sold before I got there. But it was my lucky day. 

Anyways I read the first half of the comic and then went on my vacation the next day and we'll, wouldn't you know it's the end of July before I remembered that I still had half of the book left to read. The comic, a spinoff of The Real Ghostbusters starred everyone's favorite ghost, Slimer. Published in 1989, the book had 2 stories, both written by Hilarie Staton. 

First, Slimer accidentally frees a ghost from a containment unit and the ghost could not be any more of a brat. Trying to get Slimer to embrace the mischief that comes with being a ghost, the new spook ends up continuously getting the green ghostie into trouble he didn't ask for. Then while seeking out a really large cake, Slimer unknowingly causes trouble for a hotel full of attendees of a plumbers convention.

In both stories, Slimer can speak full sentences. When did this happen? All I remember as a kid from the animated Ghostbusters cartoon was that Slimer mostly spoke gobbledygook with maybe a 2 year old's vocabulary.  So having him speak so eloquent in this book was a bit of a shock. 

At the beginning of this book, the editing team pat themselves on the back for finally earning the CCA stamp. Sadly, it's really too little, too late for NOW Comics as they'll be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in just a another year or so and both Ghostbusters comics will be cancelled! I understand that obtaining the stamp was done in order to make NOW Comics more marketable nationwide. But I would have appreciated it more if the folks at NOW would have spent all that time and effort instead on making the artwork look better. Okay. The artwork was spot on. But the coloring was atrocious. It looked like something my mom could have colored with her beloved markers instead of by a seasoned professional

Despite earning the stamp, I was very surprised of the content of the second story because the giant cake Slimer wants to eat will eventually contain a stripper, who shows up to the plumbers convention wearing nothing but a bikini and F-Me pumps. To be fair, the girl is never called a stripper and she never gets into the cake. But man, the Comic Code Authority really let just about anything pass during their waning years it seems.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

I really enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife. But I think I am more of a fan of the newest film in the series, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. For one thing, there is way more presence of the original Ghostbusters in this 2024 film. Sure, the ghost of Egon was a major character in Afterlife. But his spectral form was executed by body doubles, special effects tricks and CGI. In Afterlife, when it came to the still living cast of Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson, you saw them on screen 4 to 5 minutes tops. With much expanded roles in this film, it really felt like a Ghostbuster movie. I just hope it's not the last one in the series.

Egon's daughter and grandchildren have been given the reins on the Ghostbuster empire by their benefactor, Winston Zeddmore. Along with Oklahoman science teacher Gary Grooberson, the Spenglers live in the old firehouse, chasing ghosts in the Ecto-1 with the same old aging equipment. Facing major backlash from former EPA inspector Walter Peck who is now the mayor of New York, young Phoebe Spengler must stop busting spirits until she turns 18 or the whole endeavor will be shut down.

Meanwhile, a young man clearing out his grandmother's apartment brings what he thinks is some old junk from her home country of India over to Ray's Occult Books. Hoping to make a few dollars, the man, played by Kumail Nanjiani, sells to Ray Stantz an orb made of brass that secretly imprisons a demigod from ancient times long before the birth of Christ.

For centuries, the orb had been housed safely away from the sounds of human voices. Now out in the open, the vibrations of the outside world are awakening the powerful god, who grows stronger with every sound the orb encounters. As this monster arises, the ghosts of the Big Apple are stirring, which causes the Ghostbusters original containment unit to start malfunctioning. The last time the unit shut down was in 1984 and it almost destroyed in entire city what with Gozer, people turning into demonic dogs and a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man terrorizing Manhattan. Only now, add to it a kingdom of ice that threatens to chill every last man, woman and child down to their very souls!

The weakest character in the movie was the precocious Phoebe played by McKenna Grace. Grace shined in the last movie. However, by putting her on the sidelines from active Ghostbusting, we get this typical teen angst trope that makes just about everything she does predictable. 

I was pleasantly surprised by Nanjiani. I usually can't stand him because every time I see him, he's got this disgusted look on his face like he just smelt a fart. However, he's got this loopiness that has been missing from the franchise since Rick Moranis' retirement from acting as the lovable loser Louis. Sigourney Weaver is also absent from this movie. But we get a big dose of Annie Potts' Jeanine this time around. Sadly, even though she finally dressed up as a Ghostbuster and even wears a modified blaster gauntlet, we never get to see her use the down thing. 

The last scene kinda sets up a 6th film. Fans have been talking about a proposed 'Ghostbusters International' film or cartoon series for a very long time. If what Winston hints at at the end of Frozen Empire is any hint, we might finally get to see what it's like taking down ghosts in places like Japan, England and maybe even Antarctica! Even if we don't get that premise, you can at least delight in a film that is probably about as close to a live-action version of Extreme Ghostbusters as we'll ever get. Only instead of Egon as the leader of the next gen of busters, it's Winston. And yet, it feels right. 

One More Movie! One More Movie! One More Movie!

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Ghostbusters: Past, Present and Future #1

One of the richest men in the world is annually tormented by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Unwilling to change his wicked ways (because he loves being filthy stinkin' rich), the modern day Scrooge hires the Ghostbusters for their most lucrative bust ever! With a chance to net $4 million dollars, Ray, Peter, Egon and Winston will work Christmas Eve to capture these iconic ghosts. However, none of the Ghostbusters have clue just how dangerous these holiday spirits truly are!

I really enjoyed this take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I don't think I can have enough of that holiday trope. It's just so fun getting to see how characters celebrated Christmas in the past and I like seeing what the holidays could be like. But I do feel that writer Rob Williams (Project Superpowers) and artist Diego Jourdan (Astro Boy The Movie: Official Movie Prequel) missed a big opportunity for some fun Easter eggs.

Bill Murray, who played the ever so snarky Peter Venkman in the Ghostbuster films, also played Frank Cross in the 1988 Richard Donner holiday classic Scrooged. So peppering in some cameos from one of two of the characters from that movie would have been hysterically brilliant. Sadly, it just doesn't happen.

Alas, I feel like IDW wasn't allowed to utilize the likenesses of the actors in the films. There's one panel that occurs in the Christmas future where an older Venkman looked like an elderly Bill Murray. Other than that, you really can't tell the difference between Ray and Peter as the both look alike. This makes me wonder if that's why Egon wears these weird goggles that allow him to look at things on the ghost spectrum throughout this entire book. Without that differentiating eye wear, maybe readers would have had real trouble figuring out which plain looking white guy Ghsotbuster is which. 

There's a bit of a mystery here. As I was reading this book, my mind kinda touched on a solution to that mystery, but I dismissed it. So when the twist pops up, I was quite surprised. And maybe kicking myself a little for being so close and yet so far... At least the answer to the mystery wasn't Gozer!

A very festive story. A great use of a very common holiday plotline. Some missing chances to pay tribute to other holiday classics. The artwork of the 3 main Caucasian characters was bland and kinda cookie-cutter. But the amazing writing and the great representations of the spooks saved the day here!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Ghostbusters: Ghost Busted (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

Manga.

Comics and graphic novels that originate from Japan. Often printed in black & white for either economic reasons, aesthetic purposes; or both! Based on Japanese scrolls from the 19th Century, most manga is read from right to left. The artwork is highly stylized and sometimes a characters emotions or a scenes overall theme might result in the characters looking totally different for a panel or two. While a majority of manga is based on popular Japanese franchises or an all-new idea, a manga set to a licensed property from the West has become a growing trend in the past 50 years. Batman, Star Wars, Star Trek (Original Series and Next Gen.) and the Marvel Universe have all received the manga treatment. 

Ghostbusters.

A doomed labor of love from Dan Aykroyd to create a project to help keep best friend John Belushi out of trouble, resulted in the birth of a comedy horror franchise. In 1984, the world was introduced to the Ghostbusters. Ray, Peter, Winston and Egon. These four heroes work to free New York City from the threat of the demonic Gozer and it's army of ghosts and demons. After a not-as-good sequel, an amazing ABC Saturday cartoon series and toy line and a handful of video games ranging from god-awful (Sega) to epic, the Ghostbusters were turned into a manga in 2008.

Ghost Busted is set a couple of years after the events of Ghostbusters II. Reinstated by the mayor of New York, the guys set about ridding the world of spectral threats. But instead of just blasting every ghost they run across, the Ghostbusters have also gotten into the medium business. 

Realizing that many spirits are just the deceased trying to right some wrongs before heading over to the other side, the fellas now try to solve the Big Apple's ghost problem peacefully. However, should things get out of hand, the Ghostbusters are not afraid to use their nuclear powered proton packs. 

While the Ghostbusters continue to investigate the paranormal to great success, a character from the team's past hasn't had it so good. A plan of revenge is brewing. Allies are being recruited. Soon, a new team of busters will wall the city streets. A team of the undead. Meet the Ghostbuster-busters!

This Manga might not be all that traditional. The publisher, Tokyopop isn't Japanese. It's an L.A. based company whose Manga division was based in Germany. Up until 2011, Tokyo pop published German translations of Japanese comics as well as original English language Manga for American markets. The company now focuses strictly on Japanese properties. 

Also, this book reads left to right like a traditional English language text. The panels also rotate clock-wise instead of counter. But the artwork is definitely traditional manga. When a character gets emotional, they become angelic chibis or hyper-sensitive emojis. 

So Ghostbusters: Ghost Busted wasn't very true to the manga genre. However, I'm not your average manga reader. The number of manga I've read compared to traditional comics and graphic novels looks like the electoral college numbers between Reagan and Mondale. With exception of the cat-centric What's Michael?, I don't think I've read anything manga that wasn't based on an American property. 

Plus, I love Ghostbusters. I didn't realize how much I needed them until COVID. With being lockdown and then bogged down, I counted down the days to the true sequel of the franchise Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Even after being pleasantly surprised with that 2021 film, my hunger for Ghostbusters continues to gnaw. Consider my appetite sated. But I'll be hungry for another round of my favorite ghost hunters soon! Because CRUD! No Slimer!!!

Though I might have cheated reading an Americanized manga published in Germany, I enjoyed this read. The 2022 reading challenge is supposed to take me out of my comfort zone. I argue that I did venture out a bit. I just didn't swim out into the deep end of the manga pool

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #41 (Manga Work) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Slimer #10

I took a break yesterday from doing reviews. Don't fret! Family Comic Friday will be back next week.

Yesterday was family Thanksgiving time and by the time I got home, I was just too tired and sore to feel like typing up a review. But I still had 1 more Thanksgiving read to post about. True to my word, here it is!

I choose Slimer #10 for Thanksgiving Day because it was the day I was going to see Ghostbusters: Afterlife in theaters with my wife after she got off work. I thought it was fitting with a theme, I guess. There's 2 stories in this issue. The first is Thanksgiving themed. The second is not. But both involve ghosts!

In the opening tale, Jeanine puts Slimer on a diet just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Telling the green ghoulie that he can on have 1 of everything, Slimer makes giant morsels of everything. They still count as one, right? Having overeaten, Slimer has a fitful sleep and dreams that he's one of the balloons he witnessed at the Thanksgiving parade.  

In the second tale, Slimer plays Ghostbuster when he discovers that the NYPD's stable of police horses are being terrorized by a trio of phantom wolves. The only problem is that Slimer can't activate the ghost traps without making himself a member of this spectral wolfpack. Whose Slimer gonna call when he's without his Ghostbuster pals?!

This issue of Slimer was a great trip back in time to the late 80s when I was obsessed with The Real Ghostbusters. the artwork for this comic looked just like the cartoon series did. But the coloring was just too drab. But I think that was the publisher's fault as the ads seemed pretty drab too. Or it could be the aging of the book. This book is over 30 years in age!

Another issue I had was Slimer's dialogue. On the cartoon, Slimer, voiced by Frank Welker (Transformers), spoke a type of pigeon English. You couldn't understand what he said. But you did get the gist of what Slimer was trying to convey. Here, Slimer speaks in complete sentences with zero perceived flaws. I guess it's not easy to make a comic series based on a character that readers can't decipher. But it's still a shock when that's not how you expect Slimer to 'sound.'

(Note- the reason Slimer can speak really well is actually due to the cartoon! In 1988, the series was expanded to an hour as Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. The Slimer toons gave Slimer an extended vocabulary. I wasn't aware of this as by that time, I had moved on to Ninja Turtles. Based on this comics 1990 publication date, this series is clearly an adaptation of the later seasons I didn't watch.)

When I read a old comic, I pour over the ads. There's a page or two in this comic that lists all of NOW Comics series that were going on at the start of the 90s. There's some really interesting stuff here based on TV shows and movies I was a fan of. I haven't really given NOW Comics must notice. But I think I'm going have to start adding some series to my wish list!

A fun issue that's partially Thanksgiving but 100% full of ghosts and the subsequent busting of!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

I waited like 2 years plus almost a whole week after it dropped in theaters to see this movie!

Ghostbusters: Afterlife completes the trilogy for the original Ghostbusters while opening the door for a new generation of Ghostbusters films. 

Egon Spangler has died in seclusion on his small dirt farm in Oklahoma. Inheriting the family plot is Egon's estranged daughter and two grandchildren. While rummaging around the house, granddaughter Phoebe uncovers one of Egon's old ghost traps. Not knowing what it was, Phoebe brings the trap to school in which her new science teacher accidentally unleashes something menacing.

Now after nearly 30 years without a ghost sighting, strange things are afoot in the small Midwestern town. It's up to Phoebe, her brother and their new friends to take up the mantle of Ghostbusters and save not only their new hometown but the entire world from a threat long forgotten- Gozer the Gozerian!

I loved this movie. Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, co-wrote and directed what could only be the perfect Ghostbusters film without the late Harold Ramis. Afterlife did a fantastic job addressing the loss of Egon with just a fair bit of movie magic. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of the original surviving Ghostbusters for my taste. But mark my words- despite the lack of Ray, Winston and Peter being on screen, this is a Ghostbusters movie!

Aside from getting to see the actors who we all wanted to see from the first two films,  Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a great balance of classic and modern franchise.  (And yes- I realize that this is really 'Ghostbusters 4', but the all-girl team is not even a blip on the radar in this movie.)

I'm not sure how the movie is doing in theaters. Basically, with  COVID, it's a crap shoot based on spikes and mandates. But I feel like if things worked out how they should, a 4th original franchise based film should be on the horizon. Which if we're talking Ghostbusters movies could be anywhere from another 5-30 years away. If Columbia Pictures and the powers that be were smart, they'd make a new animated series to continue the narrative because I really think there's a ton more of story left wanting to be told.

Oh and be sure to stay through the entire run of credits. There's an extra scene that only my wife and I got to see because everyone else left wayyyyyyy too soon!

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 8

If you have been keeping track of this year's advent, then you'll know that I don't have very good luck picking great toys for my Christmas wish lists. Today's featured toy is proof that I tend to put my support behind the wrong franchises as we look at the Sega Master System.

In 1986-87, my uncle got married. With the new aunt came a couple of new cousins. At this time, I became introduced to the Nintendo. My cousins had one and I played it some. I also had a friend in my neighborhood name Alex who had a Nintendo. Again, I would play Zelda and Super Mario Bros. But I just wasn't impressed with it. 

So in 1988, when it came time to make my Christmas wish list, I decided to ask for a completely different gaming system. One of which I had no prior experience with. But I wanted to be different from everyone else. So I asked Santa for a Sega!

When Christmas 1988 rolled around, I got my Sega. I was thrilled. I got several games and compared to the Nintendo- the graphics were amazing. But Sega's games had some serious bugs. 

For example, the game I looked forward to the most was Ghostbusters. The game stated with a map in which you had to drive the Ecto-1 through a map of New York to bust a ghost. However, I never could get past the map! My dad tried! My mom tried! We even bought a magazine that offered tips! We just never could get past that stupid map!

And then were the numerous times that you'd get near the end of an important level and the damn game would freeze. Or the entire gaming platform would reset itself. There were some major glitches in the first Sega systems. 

By 1990. the Sega Master System was defeated by the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Sega company stopped making new games in exchange for the much improved Sega Genesis. But by that point, I had moved on to the NES- which was now considerably cheaper than the Genesis system. 

This sort of process would be the first of many interactions with new technology as I am the guy who waits until prices drop steeply before I jump on board. What can I say? I've got bad instincts with this stuff and I'm old school. 

So for today's Advent, I wanted to present you with just how bad the Ghostbusters video game was. If you remember the horror that was Atari's E.T. video game, you'll experience flashbacks here. The video is about 20 minutes long but I wouldn't blame you for giving up on this after about the 90 second mark.

Enjoy!

Classic Toys from a Madman's Youth: Advent 2019 Day 2

Let's just get it out in the open from the start. When it came to choosing toys to be a fan of as a kid, I didn't have a very good track record. Yes, I loved Star Wars and He-Man and GI Joe. But as an oft-bullied, always overweight youth, I would follow my own path sometimes. Sadly, some of my choices were in favor of franchises that failed to become instant classics.

Today's featuring toy is a prime example of going the against the grain. Here is the complicated history of the Ghost Busters!

In 1975, Filmation, the company behind animated classics such as Fat Albert and She-Ra, put out a live-action sitcom called The Ghost Busters. It was about a pair of bumbling paranormal detectives who solve mysteries involving ghosts with their gorilla Tracy. The show was popular, running for 15 episodes. But the expense of Filmation's other live-action venue, The Shazam/Isis Hour, lead to it's early cancellation. 

Jump to 1984-85. Columbia Pictures released to theaters a live-action vehicle called Ghostbusters. It starred Saturday Night Live alums Bill Murray and Dan Ackroyd and Caddyshack's Harold Ramis as a trio of scientists who go into the paranormal investigation business. 

I really wanted to see the movie in theaters. But my parents made me wait until it came out on video to watch it. Unlike today when movies can be found for household release merely days after debuting on screens nationwide, in the 80s you might have to wait a year or more for a movie to come out at your local video rental store. So in 1985, ever-so-anxious to get to watch Ghostbusters, I was treated with a different version of spirit hunters when the local TV station out of Fayetteville, NC WKFT 40 started airing the episodes of Ghost Busters. 

Having not seen the Murray/Ackroyd picture, I didn't know really what I missing out on with the Filmation show. I did however, know that Slimer the Ghost was in the movie and thought it was weird that the series had a man in a gorilla suit instead of a green spook. But none-the-less, I feel in love with the TV show. So imagine my excitement when in 1986, Filmation revived the 1975 show as a cartoon called Filmation's Ghostbusters.

In the cartoon, it's the sons of the original busters who take over the business. Along with Tracy, these new guys had a talking car called the Ghost Buggy and were assisted by a Ghost Buster from the future called Futura. They constantly battled a ghastly wizard called Prime Evil who would summon monsters such as werewolves, Dracula and my favorite, Scared Stiff, a robotic skeleton who could fall apart and be put back together in weird positions. There was an entire toy line and I wanted it all!

At the exact time, Columbia Pictures worked with DIC and Coca-Cola to come out with their own animated series. To avoid the confusion of the reboot, Columbia called their show The Real Ghostbusters. The Real Ghostbusters also had their own toy line and I wanted it all!

So when Christmas of '86 rolled by, I wanted all of the Ghostbusters. But my parents told me that Santa would only give me one version. So I had to pick. Naturally, I picked the wrong ones. 

By the next year, the Filmation series was cancelled and the toys disappeared. The Real Ghostbusters was a hit for ABC running for many years. Their toy line went on to spawn several waves of action figures and playsets. Anything with Egon, Ray, and Slimer is worth big bucks. The Ghostbusters I put my support behind. Well, you could go online and buy the entire set of 18 figures for a total of about $70. Oh well...

Unfortunately, my version never made a Christmas episode. But they did make a Christmas issue of their short-lived comic book series from First Publishing! (See the cover above!)
Again while my Ghostbusters didn't get festive on TV, you can be sure that the more popular version did. Thus, as my Advent present for you, I present you with a holiday haunt starring the Real Ghostbusters and some ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. 

Just Follow the Link and ENJOY!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 2 #5

The combined forces of the Ninja Turtles and the Ghostbusters are ready to fight off the Collectors, a group of ethereal demon bounty hunters. Only the Collectors are now one with the spirit of the man who ordered the Turtles killed- Darius Dun. And Darius Dun is now one with the Collectors and their combine mights are stronger than ever before. 

But before the climatic battle, the Ninja Turtles have a reunion with their mom?!

This fifth and final issue of this crossover wasn't quite as great as the last issue. But I felt that it was a marked improvement over the first couple of issues which were comprised of some real college level physics, um, stuff. 

I leave this miniseries satisfied. While there's a teaser for a third and final crossover between the two franchises, I'm not counting down the days to when it will happen. If I come across more IDW stuff involving either properties for an amazing price, I will consider purchasing. But it's not necessarily stuff that I'm going to be adding to my wish list for any time soon either.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 2 #4

In this penultimate chapter, events are conspiring to either tear the teams apart or bring everybody together to stop the combined might of the Collectors; a sort of ectoplasmic gang of bounty hunters. 

Raphael's spirit is still stuck in Ray's body on the Scandinavian netherworld while Michelangelo and Peter  are prisoner's of the Ghostbusturtles of Zoo Amsterdam. Meanwhile back on the Ghostbusters earth, Donatello and Egon have their weapons to fight the Collectors tested and ready for final battle. But it may be too late as Donatello and Winston find themselves face-to-face with their hunters on a barren wasteland.

After a couple of very rough chapters, this miniseries from IDW Publishing keeps getting better and better. I really had zero qualms with this issue. It took a while but writer Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz were finally able to capture in a bottle. I only hope that next issue, which is the last, continues to amaze and is one heck of a finale!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 2 #3

The inter-dimensional caper between the Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters continues in this thrilling third chapter!

Venkman and Michelangelo are stranded in Zoo Amsterdam, an anthropomorphic version of earth. There, Peter has just been mistaken for a demon and has been captured by the Ghostbusturtles!

Meanwhile on a Scandinavian plain, Ray and Raphael awake to find their bodies doing battle. Turns out, they have both been dispossessed and cannot escape to another earth without their corporeal forms. 

My biggest complaint of this series is that it's kinda complex in it's presentation of techno-babble. But with the action level ramped up, this was the most enjoyable issue. 

The artwork, which varies from earth to earth is quite awesome. I love the little TMNT and Ghostbusting Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the multiverse as well. However, if every one of IDW Publishing's miniseries and series of these two properties are as full of advanced physics and philosophy as this crossover is, I do not think that I am going to be adding any of them to my comic book wish list any time soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/ Ghostbusters 2 #2

The Turtles have run afoul of the ghost of a crime lord that Master Splinter ordered assassinated. As the sins of the father come back to hunt the ninjas, they are hunted by a group of bounty hunting ghosts known as the Collectors. With the help of the Ghostbusters, who have dealt with the Collectors before, each Ninja Turtle pairs with a buddy. 

Armed with trans-dimensional tech, each team will jump from dimension to dimension in order to stay ahead of the Collectors. Ray and Raphael leap to a frozen world filled with menacing pink spirits that might be vikings... Leonardo and Winston are stuck on a battle world filled with robot assassins... Mickey and Peter are on an anthropomorphic variant of the Big Apple where they just happen to run into that world's version of Ghostbusters! 

Meanwhile, Donatello and Egon are back on the home world of the Ghostbusters trying to devise a trap for the Collectors. But time is running out and the pair have zero time to waste. But that might be a problem as a short in the trap's system may have merged Don's brain with that of one of the Ghostbusters!

A great second act. It's still filled with a lot of eye-glossing techobabble. But the artwork did exactly what I wanted to happen in the first issue. While Dan Schoening is on main art detail, a number of additional artists are drawing each team of Turtle and Ghostbuster on their separate worlds in a different style of art. (Why, there might even be a Saturday morning Easter egg or two floating about. But I'll never tell!)

Some key details about why the crime lord Darius Dun hates the Turtles as well as why Splinter had him killed are finally revealed. So, if you are like me and not up to date on your IDW Turtles history, that's a-okay! Writers Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz have got you covered!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters 2 #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Story by Erik Burnham & Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Schoening
Published by IDW

It's the end of another work week and that means it's time for another Family Comic Friday. Today, I choose a team-up comic book. For those of you unfamiliar to the term, a team-up is when two or more superheroes and/or teams combine for an adventure. This type of story is also known as a crossover. Though, I feel that a crossover is more when entities from two different publishing companies join together. For example, Wolverine from Marvel Comics may try to save the President from zombies with the help of DC's Green Arrow. However, with so many publishers owning the rights to different projects these days, both team-up and crossover had kinda been muddled together.

Choosing Teams 

In this premiere issue from IDW, the Ninja Turtles have been imprisoned in a ghost dimension between their universe and the Ghostbuster's version of reality. A trio of ghostly bounty hunters called the Collectors have been hired by the ghost of former New York gang leader Darius Dun to trap the Turtles in hopes of enacting revenge on their father and sensei Splinter.

The Ghostbusters become aware of this and devise a sort of cloaking device to free the Turtles from their ethereal prison. But it will only be a matter of time before the Collectors become aware of the deception. As these spirits can only travel as a group of three, the plan is for each Ninja Turtle to pair up with a Ghostbuster and flee to another dimension in hopes that it will buy time for  Egon and Donatello to find a way out of this mess.

Let's Get Technical

This opening chapter by Erik Burnham (Super Secret Crisis War!) and Tom Waltz (KISS Kids) was very intriguing. But man, is it really heavy on complex technical jargon! I understand what Egon and Donatello are trying to do. But couldn't they explain it at a 8th grade level? Sorry, but I never took college level physics!

I really think that the vocabulary is the main thing that might prevent young readers under the age of 12 from enjoying this book. The artwork by original miniseries artist Dan Schoening isn't scary. The ghosts (and Ghostbusters) look like they did back in the 80s on the Real Ghostbusters cartoon for the most part. With the Turtles, the look very similar to the Michael Bay versions of the team. But the art isn't very consistent.

There's a scene where the pairs are arriving in their different dimensions and the art changes. Both Peter and Ray look like their human counterparts of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. You might think that Schoening is trying to pay homage to the actors who originated the role. But Michelangelo looks like his 1980s animated self while in another panel Raphael appears to be drawn like his Nicktoons counterpart. I would like it if each team looked different in each reality they enter in. Yet at this stage of the story, it's not heavily implied that this is the direction that the artist is trying to go in. Maybe we'll find out more in issue #2.

Fans of All Ages

Both Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have fans that range from ages 1-99. This opening chapter to the 2014 miniseries of the same name doesn't have any swears or overly scary or violent scenes. However, some source material gets deep and I am not just talking about science. A good 3 pages discusses the conception of purgatory: a netherworld place for souls awaiting to crossover to either Heaven or Hell. That concept might be a little too complex for some younger readers. Parents and guardians, if you are planning on reading this book with the young reader in your life- arm yourself with an array of technical manuals. I have a feeling you're going to need it.

I recommend this book for readers 12 and up, if reading alone. If with an older reader to help with questions, then 10 years of age is appropriate.