Ghostbusters (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters (franchise)
Ghostbusters is a supernatural comedy multi-media franchise created in 1984. Its inception was for the movie Ghostbusters, released on June 8, 1984 by Columbia Pictures. It centered around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate and capture ghosts for a living...

 have been featured in various comic books published by various comicbook companies through the years starting in 1988 and continuing to the present day. These series have ranged from being based on the The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...

 animated series, to more straight up themed series based on the characters from the 1984 film
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...

.

The Real Ghostbusters

The very first comic book series based on the franchise was The Real Ghostbusters. It was a comic series
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 based on the animated series
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...

 of the same name. NOW Comics
NOW Comics
NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comics books....

 and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 shared the comic book rights to the properity. NOW Comics had the rights for publication in North America, while Marvel had the rights in Europe. Marvel published the series in Europe through their Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...

 imprint. Some of the Marvel UK issues reprinted material from the NOW Comics series, and vice versa. Publication of the series began on March 28, 1988.

NOW Comics

NOW Comics
NOW Comics
NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comics books....

 began their series in August 1988. The series ran for two volumes, two annuals and one special. The first volume ran for 28 issues. The series was primarily written by James Van Hise, with the exceptions being issue 4 by La Morris Richmond and issue 21 which featured Marvel UK reprints due to production delays. John Tobias
John Tobias
John Tobias is an American comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer. Along with Ed Boon he is one of the creators of the groundbreaking Mortal Kombat fighting game series....

, Phillip Hester
Phil Hester (comics)
Phil Hester is an American comic book artist, penciller and writer.-Biography:This Eisner Award-nominated artist was born in eastern Iowa, where he went on to study at the University of Iowa...

, Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork...

 and Howard Bender were among the pencilers for the series.

The series was on hiatus for a time due to the publisher's financial difficulties, but was subsequently re-launched. The second volume ran for four issues, one special (The Real Ghostbusters Spectacular 3-D Special) and two annuals (one regular and one 3-D). The series had a main story that ran from the 3-D Special through issue 4, followed by back-up stories reprinted from the Marvel UK run. They also contained game pages and health tips for kids and parents. Several issues of volume 1 and the main issues of volume 2 used covers taken from the Marvel UK run.

NOW Comics also published a 3 issue miniseries in 1989 called Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II that was collected as a trade paperback.

A spinoff series based on the popular Ghostbusters character Slimer
Slimer
Slimer is a fictional green ghost featured in the 1984 supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters , whose popularity soared from the subsequent spinoff animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer later starred in his own Slimer! cartoons when The Real Ghostbusters was extended to a...

 was also published. NOW Comics
NOW Comics
NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comics books....

 published a series that ran 19 issues from 1989 through 1990, as well as spawning a one shot special called The Real Ghostbusters 3-D Slimer Special. Some of these issues were reprinted as a tradepaperback in 1991.

Marvel UK

Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...

 published a magazine-sized comic for 193 issues that also spawned 4 annuals and 10 specials. The series started its run on March 28, 1988, starting five months before the NOW Comics series. Each issue contained three to four comic stories, a prose story alternating from a regular tale to one narrated by Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore
Winston Zeddemore is a fictional character appearing in the Ghostbusters films, TV series, and video games. He was played by Ernie Hudson in both movies and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first two seasons of The Real Ghostbusters. Buster Jones provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons,...

, a prose entry of Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler
Egon Spengler is a fictional character appearing in the films Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, and in the animated television series The Real Ghostbusters and later Extreme Ghostbusters. He is a member of the Ghostbusters, and one of the three doctors of parapsychology on the team...

’s Spirit Guide
typically discussing the entities in the comic, a bio of a character or ghost that appeared in the series, and a short Slimer strip. The comics featured a rotating line-up of creators, including John Carnell
John Carnell
Edward John Carnell , known to his friends as either Ted or John, was a British science fiction editor known for editing New Worlds in 1946 then from 1949 to 1963. He also edited Science Fantasy from the 1950s...

, Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett
Dan Abnett is a British comic book writer and novelist. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, since the 1990s, including 2000 AD...

, Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning
Andy Lanning is a British comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett.-Career:Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker...

, Brian Williamson, Anthony Williams
Anthony Williams (comics)
Anthony Williams is a Welsh comic book artist.-Biography:He broke into comics at Marvel UK, drawing for the series Action Force, The Real Ghostbusters and Transformers, among others...

, Stuart Place, Richard Starkings
Richard Starkings
Richard Starkings is a British font designer and comic book letterer, editor and writer. He was one of the early pioneers of computer based comic book lettering and as a result is one of the most prolific creators in that industry.-Career:...

, and Helen Stone.

The series ran weekly and eventually began to feature reprints from the American comics as well as stories that appeared previously in the series. The American comics were often broken up into four to five parts, and incorporated the failed Slimer! series beginning with issue 121. The last original story ran in issue 171 with the remaining issues being reprint
Reprint
A reprint is a re-publishing of material that has already been previously published. The word reprint is used in many fields.-Academic publishing:...

s from the earlier comics and the American books.

Four annual comics were produced in a hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...

 format. Each book contained several comic strips, full-page Slimer strips, and prose stories. The books also included game and activity pages, and reprints of bios found in the regular books.

Some of these issues were collected by Titan Books
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

 into trade paperbacks
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

. These include:
  • A Hard Day's Fright (collects The Real Ghostbusters #1-7, 9, 11, 19, 50 and 99, 96 pages, October 2005, Titan Books
    Titan Books
    Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

    , ISBN 1-84576-140-5)
  • Who You Gonna Call? (collects The Real Ghostbusters #12, 16, 19, 24, 33, 48, 52 and 53, 1989 Annual, 1990 Annual, 1992 Annual, 96 pages, April 2006, Titan Books
    Titan Books
    Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

    , ISBN 1-84576-141-3)
  • Which Witch Is Which? (96 pages, July 2006, Titan Books
    Titan Books
    Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

    , ISBN 1-84576-142-1)
  • This Ghost Is Toast! (96 pages, November 2006, Titan Books
    Titan Books
    Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

    , ISBN 1-84576-143-X)


Marvel UK also reprinted NOW Comics' tradepaperback Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II in 1989 as well as reprinting various issues as a compendium called The Real Ghostbusters: The Giggling Ghoul and Other Stories also in 1989.

Outside of the ongoing title, the Ghostbusters were also featured in the 30 issue run of The Marvel Bumper Comic. An anthology style comic that was published by Marvel UK from 1988–1989, and that featured strips based on different characters and properties.

Like Now Comics, Marvel UK also published a 19 issue series based on Slimer
Slimer
Slimer is a fictional green ghost featured in the 1984 supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters , whose popularity soared from the subsequent spinoff animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer later starred in his own Slimer! cartoons when The Real Ghostbusters was extended to a...

.

Welsh Publishing Group

The publishing company Welsh Publishing Group Inc published The Real Ghostbusters Magazine. A 7 issue magazine that ran from 1989 to 1991 and reprinted a few of the issues from both the NOW Comics
NOW Comics
NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comics books....

 and Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...

 comic series.

88MPH Studios

Over ten years after the end of The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...

 comicbooks, the property returned to comics courtesy of the Quebec based comic company 88MPH Studios. 88MPH published a 4 issue mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

 titled Ghostbusters: Legion that ran from February through May 2004. It was written by Andrew Dabb with pencils by Steve Kurth and inks by Serge LaPointe. Unlike the previous comic series, this title (as well as future titles by other publishing companies) would be based on the characters the way they were portrayed in the original 1984 film
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...

, more serious themed and less cartoonish than The Real Ghostbusters series.

The storyline of Legion saw the return of the four Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...

 and the principal cast from the movie. Set six months on from the Gozer incident the series was designed to follow the Ghostbusters as their initial fame faded and they returned to the regular chore of busting ghosts on a daily basis. The series sees the team run ragged as a spate of supernatural crimes and other related occurrences plague the city.

Prior to its release, the miniseries featured 5 pieces of promotional artwork featuring all 4 Ghostbusters. Two other pieces of promotional artwork were also featured on the back of the comic books once the miniseries had begun. These featured a promo of a melting Stay Puft Marshmallow Man featuring the phrase "S'mores Anyone?" and a promo of Slimer
Slimer
Slimer is a fictional green ghost featured in the 1984 supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters , whose popularity soared from the subsequent spinoff animated television series The Real Ghostbusters. Slimer later starred in his own Slimer! cartoons when The Real Ghostbusters was extended to a...

 featuring the phrase "Vermin Problems?"

A special 'Christmas card' was created specially for the site, drawn by well-known Ghostbusters prop member Sean Bishop and coloured by one of the comic production staff.

Outside of the 4 issue series a "#0 issue" was planned. It was to have been released before the Legion mini-series, but was eventually released as a convention exclusive at the San Diego Comic Con stall operated by 88MPH Studios to help promote the comic.

Planned ongoing series

Originally planned for a June 2004 release to coincide with the 20th Anniversary of the movie, the ongoing series of the comic was to officially start in the Summer of 2004 with three known stories. The following synopses have been collected from the official site:
  • Ghostbusters Monthly #1 - In June 1984, GHOSTBUSTERS exploded into theaters and captivated a generation. Twenty years later, the boys are back in a brand new ONGOING comic book series. Now that they’ve saved the world twice, the Ghostbusters want to go global…but that’s easier said than done. Meanwhile, a dead man is wandering the streets of New York and something wicked stirs in the Central Park Zoo. Old foes, new enemies and trusty unlicensed nuclear accelerators, this exciting first issue has it all. Because even after two decades, you know who to call.

  • Ghostbusters Monthly #2 - Romance is in the air as Egon and Janine go out on their first official date, and with Peter playing the role of Cyrano things are bound to get interesting. Meanwhile, Winston goes solo, Louis gets an unwelcome visit from an old friend, and Ray takes a trip to a dark, dangerous place…the library.

  • Ghostbusters Monthly #3 - With the powerful ghost known as Ahriman making trouble and Vinz Clortho back for an encore, the Ghostbusters find themselves racing from one disaster to the next. And that’s before things get really bad. It turns out there's one thing worse than having two evil spirits rampaging through New York; when they get together.


Due to the varying problems with finance and publishing, Sebastien Clavet announced that the ongoing Ghostbusters series would be going into indefinite hiatus with three issues planned and three covers released.

Collected edition

In early 2005 Sebastien Clavet announced the official trade
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

 collection of the series which would include a coloured version of The Zeddemore Factor one shot, concept art, 'Ecto-Logs', a foreword by Ghostbusters creator Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...

 and a proposed afterword by an as yet unknown actor related to the film. The cut-off date for pre-orders was extended several times, while a firm release date had never been announced. This trade would have been a hardcover collection that was supposed to be released via a Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...

 "Previews" exclusive.

However, it would appear that financial problems have plagued this venture despite hundreds of paid pre-orders. Clavet has since closed his own company's message boards and removed contact information from 88MPH Studios website, leaving many disgruntled fans to level claims of fraud against Clavet. A post made on January 14, 2007 on the new 88MPH Studios website states that pre-orders placed with them and Graham crackers are guaranteed and that more information will be posted shortly. Posts entered onto the Weaver Hall forum on January 17 reference Clavet's intent to offer the hardcover to fans via the 88MPH Studios online store. But this never came to fruition.

Presently, a version of the Legion Trade in Soft Cover has been released for commercial purchase, however it lacks the foreword by Aykroyd and the concept art. The book is available in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and was published by Titan Books
Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...

.

Tokyopop

Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

published a one-shot black and white Manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 comic in 2008 called Ghostbusters: Ghost Busted. The comic comprised six mini-stories.

IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...

obtained the comic books rights to the Ghostbusters in 2008 and began publishing a series of one shots and miniseries based on the property. IDW then announced plans to publish an ongoing series starting in September 2011..

One shots and mini-series

  • Ghostbusters: The Other Side


A 4 issue miniseries that ran from October 2008 to January 2009. It was written by Keith C. Champagne with artwork by Tom Nguyen. It was collected as a trade paperback in May 2009.
  • Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression


Another 4 issue miniseries that ran from September 2009 to December 2009. It was written by Scott Lobdell and illustrated by Llias Kyriazis. It was then collected as a trade paperback in April 2010, and spawned a Hundred Penny Press edition in 2011.
  • Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future


A one-shot that was published in December 2009. It was written by Rob Williams with artwork by Diego Jourdan Pereira.
  • Ghostbusters: Tainted Love


A one-shot published in February 2010. Written by Dara Naraghi with artwork by Salgood Sam.
  • Ghostbusters: Con-Volution


A one-shot published in June 2010. It was written by Jim Beard and Keith Dallas and featured artwork by Josh Howard.
  • Ghostbusters: What in Samhain Just Happened?!


A one shot published in October 2010. It was written by Peter Allen David with artwork by Dan Schoening.
  • Ghostbusters: Haunted Holidays


A tradepaperback published in November 2010 that collects the various one-shots. These include Past, Present, and Future, Tainted Love, Con-Volution and What in Samhain Just Happened?!. It also includes a brand new bonus story called Guess What's Coming to Dinner?.
  • Infestation


A 2 issue series published from January to April 2011. It was preceded by an ashcan edition called Classified Secrets of Infestation that was published in November 2010. It also featured a sketchbook that was published in January 2011. This miniseries was part of a large zombie crossover storyline event that featured several of the IDW licensed properties such as G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...

, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

, Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...

and of course Ghostbusters. The entire series was collected as a hardcover in December 2011.
  • Ghostbusters: Infestation


A 2 issue miniseries published in March 2011, as part of the Infestation storyline. It was written by Erik Burnham with artwork by Kyle Hotz.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK