Broken Frontier

An entire generation has passed since the inaugural Ghostbusters movie, as the “Twenty Five Years of Paranormal Activities” stamp on the cover of Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future attests. And despite decades worth of sequels, comics, cartoons, and toy paraphernalia, this issue of IDW's Ghostbusters comic is my first encounter with them since the original movie. In this one-shot tale, Peter, Ray, Egon, and Winston are hired by Woodrow Wainwright Fraser III, a fantastically wealthy man in the mold of Ebeneezer Scrooge before his Christmas transformation. It seems Mr. Fraser is haunted by the same three spirits that accosted Mr. Scrooge, but with this irascible rich man, they have had far less success. For several years, they have played the Ghosts of Christmas passion play, and Fraser is finally tired of it all. So he calls the Ghostbusters.

Rob Williams' story is charming, funny and surprisingly complex, with a nice twist ending and good character interaction. I especially liked his take on the shallow Peter Venkman, and the subplot over the millions they were to be paid. It may not have been entirely true to the relationship of the Ghostbusters, but it was funny nonetheless. I would have liked to have seen Janine play a larger role, as she was my favorite character, but you can't have everything.

Artistically, the book suffers a little bit. Diego Jourdan has some flashes of brilliance, but for the most part, the caricatures are a little off. It is no small task to capture facial expressions for real actors, in a book with much more realistic art than the cartoon versions of Ghostbusters. Aside from the faces, the gestures tend to be a little stiff in places. It is by no means bad artwork, but definitely the weaker part of the issue. IDW continues to produce comics with very high production values and this is no exception. And as you can see, the cover by Nick Runge is a fantastic montage.

For a little holiday fun, with familiar characters, a familiar story archetype, and a few surprises, Ghostbusters: Past, Present, and Future is an ideal choice. Now where is that DVD of Ghostbusters? It's been 25 years.