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 Post subject: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: August 18th, 2011, 9:54 am 
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Six preview pages up now at Proton Charging:

http://protoncharging.com/gb/2011/08/17 ... s-monthly/

Without being too spoilery for people who don't want to look, just like the Halloween special there's a couple of characters in the background familiar to fans of the cartoon. I guess being the first issue, a call-back to the first movie is understandable, but man, is it getting old to me.

Best of all, Dan Schoening draws a damn sexy Janine.

Scheduled release date is September 21.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: August 18th, 2011, 9:18 pm 
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Yeah, I'm totally ready for the 15th coming of Gozer , :roll:
There were about 5 things in these pages that really disappointed me. I hope it picks up from there or I'm afraid I won't be on board very long.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: August 19th, 2011, 2:36 am 
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well the 16th Gozer comes ans steels the guys mail and keeps rining the door bell.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: August 19th, 2011, 9:55 am 
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ghostdiva wrote:
Yeah, I'm totally ready for the 15th coming of Gozer , :roll:


I honestly hope that isn't what they're leading up to. The Video Game just did a Gozer return. I understand the first movie was the basis of the entire franchise, but it's been proven time and time again that you don't have to keep going back to the Gozer till. You can get away with it maybe once (the Video Game in Movie Purist continuity, or GBOT's Chronicles of Gozer) but with all of mythology to draw on for inspiration, basically limiting yourself to the villains from the two movies is lazy and uninspired. There's a reason JMS decreed "Forget Gozer. He's history" and I made sure to blow Gozer up so good he won't be back for three million years if at all. The closest the cartoon ever got was Mr. Stay Puft's occasional appearances, and was all the better for it.

Quote:
There were about 5 things in these pages that really disappointed me. I hope it picks up from there or I'm afraid I won't be on board very long.


I can see a thing or two that made me roll my eyes, but all but the last page were a dream sequence, so I don't take it all too seriously. I'm not gonna say they couldn't blow this and make me drop it from my pull list, but the first six pages aren't putting me anywhere near that point.

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well the 16th Gozer comes ans steels the guys mail and keeps rining the door bell.


Then Thunderclese blows him up, but Gozer still has your mail.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 13th, 2011, 10:43 am 
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I assumed "The Third" referred to the coming of a new villain or another giant ghost outbreak, as in Gozer and Vigo were the 1st and the 2nd. It never even occurred to me that it might mean "third coming of Gozer".

After how thoroughly the character was verbally defanged by Shandor at the end of the video game, what would be the point of going down that road again? Why use a villain who no one sees as threatening?

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 13th, 2011, 10:20 pm 
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After how thoroughly the character was verbally defanged by Shandor at the end of the video game, what would be the point of going down that road again? Why use a villain who no one sees as threatening?
Well, that was my point :)

Quote:
I assumed "The Third" referred to the coming of a new villain or another giant ghost outbreak, as in Gozer and Vigo were the 1st and the 2nd. It never even occurred to me that it might mean "third coming of Gozer".


I can see that. I guess I just took that quarter page of Gozer screaming all out of proportion...

I'm looking forward to seeing what they do. It was more what was said in the introductions of the characters that I didn't like.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 22nd, 2011, 6:21 am 
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It looks pretty good, but man I'm like everyone else though it's getting a little old with Gozer. Still it looks like it will be another good one.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 28th, 2011, 7:15 pm 
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So I picked up my 45 bucks worth of GB#1 ( I got the glow int he dark cover,yeah!)

I'm not sure how I feel about the implied time frame (maybe 1993 already).

There were some character issues I didn't like, ie Janine, but I hope it's part of the plot.

Other than that it was just a nice set up for a nice long plot. We have an interesting new character, I like him... Reminds me of a current GB3 rumor...


Spoilers



I noticed that on the RI covers Janine's eyes are red. I thought it was a printing problem, but they are clearly blue in the story, might be a nod for things to come?

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Peter: "Huh. Guess we're not welcome."
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--Ghostbusters the video game


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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 30th, 2011, 7:06 pm 
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Can't wait for it. But can anyone tell me where I might be able to get it. I live in a small town so any help is welcome.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: September 30th, 2011, 8:40 pm 
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Exley K. Spengler wrote:
Can't wait for it. But can anyone tell me where I might be able to get it. I live in a small town so any help is welcome.


I was about to recommend gbfans.com, but it's showing as "Out of Stock". Try this:
http://www.grahamcrackers.com/products/ ... ing_1_.htm

So...Ghostbusters #1

It's been twenty years since a Ghostbusters ongoing series has appeared on the shores of North America; September 2011, of course, sees the debut of the third first issue of monthly Ghostbuster adventure, and what a start we get.

Spoilers Ahoy...

The Good?

Erik Burnham and Dan Schoening return as the regular creative team. Burnham wrote the recent Ghostbusters: Infestation mini-series which was well received by fans, and continues to show a good handle on the characters. Dan Schoening, of last years Ghostbusters: What The Sam Hain Just Happened? and “Guess What’s Coming To Dinner?” (from the Haunted Holidays trade paperback) is somewhat polarizing with fans; some love his animated, stylized take on the Ghostbusters, others hate it and wish for an artist with a more realistic style. Personally, while I'm not as enthused as some, I'd be sort of a hypocrite if I didn't enjoy Ghostbuster art with a cartoony style, wouldn't it? I'd rather see the cartoon likenesses than this "Try to look as close to the actors as you can without getting us sued" stuff we've had to put up with for the last seven years, and if you go to Dan's Deviantart (http://traditionaldanimatio.deviantart.com) you can see a couple of pictures that make me weep for what might have been. But he still stuff in lots of injokes and cameos (Dib Devlin, Buster the Ghost, Shanna O'Callahan, and a couple of other extras I'm suspicious of appear in Ray's dream sequence; a picture of Sir Bruce Sans Pite is hanging above Fearsome Flush as a guy I'm gonna call Marty Tillis gets sucked away by the ghosts; an imp figurine is on Janine's desk--real ones only appear on her days off; I saw a toy "Megazoid" flying when Venkman shot at Slimer for the first time; there's probably more I missed) which helps appeal to us cartoon fans who are otherwise kind of left in the cold continuity-wise.

The plot is off to a good start. Ray has a nightmare with some troubling implications even before a "guardian angel" or somesuch with a suspicious resemblance to Jon Belushi appears to warn Ray that "The Third" is coming.

Oh crap...an anime crossover? Already?

Lol..no, of course not.

Then later, somebody who apparently works for Stay Puft Marshmallows (thus my reference to Marty Tillis from "Sticky Business") get sucked into a mirror by a ghost. You can bet this is not a Good Thing.

Egon is my favorite Ghostbuster, but he doesn't appear much in this issue, which is just fine with me. What's less fine is...well, wait, I'll get to that later. Ray dominates the first part of the book, then Winston takes over most of the motivational role--this is great. Ironically, Dan Schoening's first story (the aforementioned Halloween special) had Winston on vacation, so this is appropriate.

Janine looks awesome, a lot better than ever before in an IDW book; even Schoening's last story, in which her appearance leaned on her GB2 haircut, recalling a movie which a great many of her fans consider the nadir of her characterization. The redesign is mostly the JMS era, with a bit of Annie Potts in GB1 mixed back in; she even wears her classic RGB outfit. On the other hand...well, we'll get to that later...

A young man named Alan Crendall, nephew of none other than Dr. Janosz Poha (the mincing Vigo stooge in the second movie), has a ghost problem; Winston decides that it needs to be checked out. Venkman mentioned that Winston has taken a kid as a client "again". Heh. Subtle reference to "The Boogeyman Cometh" maybe, where Winston went out of his way to protect Megan and Kenny Carter?

Alan Crendall has a promising future ahead of him, too--he appears as a new Ghostbuster recruit in the Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime video game scripted by IDW editor Tom Waltz. This is a nice bit of continuity, especially as...well, okay, something else I'll save for later.

So Winston and Venkman go to check out the Crendalls' apartment. Another idea I like--one of the few criticisms I had of the cartoon is the way all four Ghostbusters would go on even the most routine of cases all the time. Granted, the "routine busts" often turned out to be demonic soul-sucking horrors which meant having all four at hand was a good thing, but it's principle of it. You don't send the entire police department to a burglary, after all.

And the apparent source of the problem here isn't a soul-sucking horror, just one with a bad habit of becoming a camwhore: Slimer. I actually don't mind having Slimer around as the pet and occasional nuisance to Venkman, though I can understand why the memories of Slimer saving the Ghostbusters' asses every week after "experts" ordered the show retooled around him have made some fans skittish about him appearing. With the sheer amount of goo around, though, I suspect Slimer isn't totally acting alone or of his own volition. Perhaps the soul-sucking horror really is closer than they think...

I loved the landlord character, by the way. I could just so hear Maurice La Marche doing his "Typical Brooklyn Tough Guy" voice for him.

Tristan Jones turns in a back-up story featuring Walter Peck. Jones has some very nice, moody art, and I like the idea of Peck being portrayed as a little more open minded after the experiences he's had over the years, what with being slimed by Gozer, blowing up Slimer in a cyclotron, and the whole Shandor/Selwyn/Mandala/Black Slime business he no longer thinks the Ghostbusters are frauds. He just thinks they're incompetent, and knowing what they do is real doesn't make him hate Venkman any less. Well played.

The Bad

Okay, I gotta nitpick here: some of the continuity is a bit of a mess.

On the one hand, Peck's appearance "Days ago", and the "reestablishment" of PCOC seems to indicate that this story takes place after the Video Game. All well and good. Except...

--Doesn't the Video Game establish that Winston has since earned a degree? I realize it's Ray's dream sequence that says he's "without a Doctorate or any formal scientific training", but surely Ray would be aware of Winston's continued education? It makes Ray look a little bit dickish if this is the case...though that could be an interesting peek into his less savory subconscious, wouldn't it?

--Just what's up with the car? It's pretty much drawn as the ECTO-1A from GB2 with the GB1 logo. The game featured a version of the ECTO-1 that took more bits and pieces from both movies' vehicles and gave it the name "ECTO-1B", (which I still find a dumb gimmick--did they buy a THIRD car? Or is it the same physical vehicle as ECTO-1A, which would be even dumber? They buy new license plates when they rearrange the junk on the roof?). Granted, we only see the license plate on the cover, but this just doesn't fit...well, anything.

--Winston doesn't know Slimer? Venkman sure seems to act like he hasn't seen the Spud since they caught him in the Hotel Sedgewick, and feels like he has to explain a little bit. Except...what about that fishtank they were keeping him in the Video Game? How could Winston not know Slimer? How could Venkman not know they were keeping the Spud in a fish tank and Winston knew all about it?

These are small things, but like I'm trying to communicate, it just doesn't add up. If you were ignoring the Video Game, the stuff with Winston's degrees and the ECTO-1A and Slimer would be fine. But if this is supposed to be after the Video Game, they don't make sense, at least at first glance.

Lastly...

Janine Melnitz has a number of fans. I'm one of them. You guys do know you're playing with fire with this whole "Roger" business, right? Not just fire, radioactive fire. During a hurricane. While frogs are falling from the sky. It's been my (admittedly anecdotal) experience that the vast majority of we Janine fans do not want to see her being romanced by tax lawyers, businessmen, random pirates, or "Rogers". The right man for for her already exists--he's a physicist who collects spores, molds, and fungus when he's not putting on a flight suit and blasting ghosts with a proton pack; I can point you to a movie and a number of cartoons that quite ably make this case. I hate the fact that this one panel left me sour for the whole issue, but it did. Just stop the Rogering--didn't the last twenty two years of fan hate heaped on the Janine/Louis debacle in GB2 teach anybody anything? The original idea has just not been improved upon. I don't think it can be. Of course, if we find out Egon's barely in this issue because he's been in his lab plotting to transplant Roger's brain with a chicken or send him to the Netherworld, or she's just doing it to be polite or fire up Egon (see: "The Crawler") all (or at least most) will be forgiven.

Those little bumps aside, the IDW Ghostbusters are off to a promising start. See you next month.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: October 1st, 2011, 1:06 am 
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Hey Fritz!

While I'm not Erik and can't necessarily speak for him, I do know that while I was writing the Peck material and going back over literally everything I had that was Ghostbusters related, we decided it would be best to pick and choose particular elements of the continuity that we felt worked best for what we wanted to achieve.

When IDW first approached me to work on Ghostbusters, it was to make the long-asked about Tobin's Spirit Guide I was working on. I'd been asked to pitch a couple of years ago and we'd almost had a sequel to the video game green lit (dealt with the Spiderwitch), but in both cases I did a pretty thorough examination of what worked and what didn't and what a lot of the conflicts were amongst fans and the like. At the end of the day, there are a number of ways you can take the continuity; you can have the movies with the cartoons as sequels (which doesn't even work properly when you break it apart), you can have the movies and the games, the movies and the comics, or you can just have the movies, cartoons or comics on their own as separately. These are, in my mind, the only solid continuities. However, what a lot of the fun in being a fan is is often seeing how many of these pieces fit together, much like the omnibus timeline, where you pick and choose and make compromises between the different continuities to make them gel, which I personally think is great.

The thing is you kind of need to be ruthless to really make things flow sometimes, and I think the sheer nature of the video game, and knowing how these things are put together, means that a lot of it is disposable. Particular details, such as plot devices and the like -- the heavier things -- are often needed and can't necessarily be ignored if you're going to take things from the games anyway. However, other elements, such as particular items of equipment, or minor ghosts, lines of dialogue that don't really have any major impact on the story line (things that can generally be considered as fan-service, or hat tips) can be overlooked without disrupting the overall flow of things storywise. There may be little bumps of inconsistency, as you mentioned, but I think you can generally overlook these things if what another story is presenting works better for the character. The video game never really did ANYTHING with Winston's doctorate line outside of just saying it.

Knowing Erik, I'm pretty certain not having the doctorate (yet) and him going to night school is going to pay off, and I can already come up with several much more interesting things to do with the character in the direction Erik's pushing him than I could with the way he was presented in the game. But that's just me. There are things coming down the pipeline that pretty firmly establish the comic as being its own entity alongside *mainly* the movies, but pinches bits and pieces from the other continuities (there's one in particular that I suggested to Erik and am really happy about in the next arc) and appropriates them so we can really tell some solid Ghostbusters stories, without being bogged down by continuity (I'm also kinda hoping I get a chance to tell my Grundel and Samhain stories somewhere down the road...). You gotta remember -- everyone can see the movies, but not everyone can play the video games, nor necessarily wants to.

I'll be honest, too, knowing how literally some fans take things in particular properties (I'm not just talking Ghostbusters, I'm talking TMNT and a slew of other things as well), I was a little concerned about some of the nods to RGB Dan was putting in being misinterpreted, but so far none of that has happened. The flip side of that coin also goes back to what I said a moment ago -- that people who didn't watch the cartoon show aren't going to pick up the references, and the sudden appearance of the Imp on Janine's desk could be similarly misinterpreted, but again, I haven't seen any of that taken the wrong way.

That's kind of my take on the whole continuity thing and the nature of the inconsistencies between the different takes on the property and there are certainly a slew of different possibilities in any number of directions, but these are the ones we've gone with and we're hoping people will go with it and see what we're doing.

I think I CAN speak for everyone when I say that your feedback is terrific and genuinely appreciated!


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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: October 1st, 2011, 1:22 am 
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Fritz wrote:
--Doesn't the Video Game establish that Winston has since earned a degree? I realize it's Ray's dream sequence that says he's "without a Doctorate or any formal scientific training", but surely Ray would be aware of Winston's continued education? It makes Ray look a little bit dickish if this is the case...though that could be an interesting peek into his less savory subconscious, wouldn't it?



I think that falls into them having to tell all the new audience whats going no. Kids to day have not groan up with the cartoon and may not know whats going on.
Granted i do hate it when one of the character do not know something that should


I like it better when someone lets say Egon may ask if that know something

then lets say Winston replies " yea isn't that { short answer .}

then Egon " yes but more to the point. { long answer.}


this way the audience get filed in but at the same time it shows that the others know what there talking a bout.

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: October 1st, 2011, 10:11 am 
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t-rex wrote:
Hey Fritz!

While I'm not Erik and can't necessarily speak for him, I do know that while I was writing the Peck material and going back over literally everything I had that was Ghostbusters related, we decided it would be best to pick and choose particular elements of the continuity that we felt worked best for what we wanted to achieve.


That makes a certain amount of sense. I've been writing amateur stories for years, and even when I started I had some issues about what to keep, what to downplay. It only got worse after the "revival" started to kick into gear and I had to either ignore official material or compromise stuff I'd written--or other people had written--in our own fanon. I'm not trying to say I'm on your guys' level (because I'm not), just trying to communicate sympathy for your point. I apologize if I come off nitpicky; I sometimes fear I'm as bad as those guys who count the rivets on the proton packs, but in different areas.

Quote:
When IDW first approached me to work on Ghostbusters, it was to make the long-asked about Tobin's Spirit Guide I was working on. I'd been asked to pitch a couple of years ago and we'd almost had a sequel to the video game green lit (dealt with the Spiderwitch), but in both cases I did a pretty thorough examination of what worked and what didn't and what a lot of the conflicts were amongst fans and the like. At the end of the day, there are a number of ways you can take the continuity; you can have the movies with the cartoons as sequels (which doesn't even work properly when you break it apart), you can have the movies and the games, the movies and the comics, or you can just have the movies, cartoons or comics on their own as separately. These are, in my mind, the only solid continuities. However, what a lot of the fun in being a fan is is often seeing how many of these pieces fit together, much like the omnibus timeline, where you pick and choose and make compromises between the different continuities to make them gel, which I personally think is great.


:oops:

Thanks. Granted, it was a lot easier in 1998, when I put down the first draft. Ghostbusters was a fairly dead property, and everything up to that point had more or less come out in a pseudo-real time order.

Quote:
The thing is you kind of need to be ruthless to really make things flow sometimes, and I think the sheer nature of the video game, and knowing how these things are put together, means that a lot of it is disposable. Particular details, such as plot devices and the like -- the heavier things -- are often needed and can't necessarily be ignored if you're going to take things from the games anyway. However, other elements, such as particular items of equipment, or minor ghosts, lines of dialogue that don't really have any major impact on the story line (things that can generally be considered as fan-service, or hat tips) can be overlooked without disrupting the overall flow of things storywise. There may be little bumps of inconsistency, as you mentioned, but I think you can generally overlook these things if what another story is presenting works better for the character. The video game never really did ANYTHING with Winston's doctorate line outside of just saying it.

Knowing Erik, I'm pretty certain not having the doctorate (yet) and him going to night school is going to pay off, and I can already come up with several much more interesting things to do with the character in the direction Erik's pushing him than I could with the way he was presented in the game. But that's just me. There are things coming down the pipeline that pretty firmly establish the comic as being its own entity alongside *mainly* the movies, but pinches bits and pieces from the other continuities (there's one in particular that I suggested to Erik and am really happy about in the next arc) and appropriates them so we can really tell some solid Ghostbusters stories, without being bogged down by continuity (I'm also kinda hoping I get a chance to tell my Grundel and Samhain stories somewhere down the road...). You gotta remember -- everyone can see the movies, but not everyone can play the video games, nor necessarily wants to.


I can't argue with that. I have a certain amount of sympathy with the idea of *this*, *that*, and *something else* were all established by an official product, but they don't really work all that well. I mean, good grief, look how much stuff from GB2 was pretty much swept under the rug by the licensees of the time (DiC, Kenner, and Now Comics).

And honestly, I kind of agree on the issue of Winston becoming a PhD; I thought it kind of robbed the character of his role as "everyman" a little bit. And if I wasn't clear enough, I enjoyed the take on him in GB#1 a great deal.

I do thank you loads for taking the time and posting on this dark corner of the internet to make it clearer, though.

Quote:
I'll be honest, too, knowing how literally some fans take things in particular properties (I'm not just talking Ghostbusters, I'm talking TMNT and a slew of other things as well), I was a little concerned about some of the nods to RGB Dan was putting in being misinterpreted, but so far none of that has happened. The flip side of that coin also goes back to what I said a moment ago -- that people who didn't watch the cartoon show aren't going to pick up the references, and the sudden appearance of the Imp on Janine's desk could be similarly misinterpreted, but again, I haven't seen any of that taken the wrong way.


I love those little nods, but am not taking it as anything more than little in-jokes. I love the cartoon, and it's what brought me to the dance; while I understand the reasons for not directly referencing it (licensor approval and familiarity of a twenty year old show to today's audience) I'll take what little crumbs I can get.

Quote:
That's kind of my take on the whole continuity thing and the nature of the inconsistencies between the different takes on the property and there are certainly a slew of different possibilities in any number of directions, but these are the ones we've gone with and we're hoping people will go with it and see what we're doing.

I think I CAN speak for everyone when I say that your feedback is terrific and genuinely appreciated!


And your coming on here to speak to my probably overly-nitpicky concerns is much appreciated. I planned to post versions of my commentary on the IDW board, but I planned to polish a few bits first.

All I can say is, one of the Now Comics editors once commented in the letter page about the thick envelopes I sent her, so I do have a little bit of a history to maintain. :lol:

:D

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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: October 2nd, 2011, 2:26 am 
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Figure I'd speak up....

Continuity hiccups are annoying, but, in this case... mostly intentional. Tristan nailed it.

I kept the first two movies, period. The game? I cherry-picked from it. I admit it! Assume that the events from the game happened... unless you see me contradict them (as is the obvious case with Slimer or Winston's doctorate.) I'm trying to please fans, straights, Sony, IDW, and myself... there will be hiccups, and with a complex timeline, probably mistakes too -- so I have to seize flexibility where I can find it.

Bear in mind also, there are some things I'm not allowed to do; I'm not allowed to use Dana or Louis, for example... so those kind of behind the scenes rulings (not all of which can be shared with the public) do affect what we do. I've been fortunate in that some things I've asked for have been approved for the ongoing that were turned down for other GB projects. (Can't say what, but you might be surprised if you knew!)

As to Egon and Janine -- several people have mentioned this to me now. Some, fans of the movie, some fans of the cartoon... there's a strong feeling there.

Now, I turned in an initial one year plan.

First arc? Fix what I did to Stay Puft in Infestation (and introduce a bad guy!) The second arc branches out of what I did in arc one. The third branches out of the first two arcs (getting tricky!) And in the fourth...

In the fourth arc are scenes (and I actually dialogued a lot of this part of the pitch) that directly look at a Janine/Egon relationship. Is it pro? Is it con?

I'm not going to spoil that. Just wanted to let you know where to look, and that I did consider this! (:

The important thing is I didn't want two major characters to start a relationship (or end one!) with each other off-panel.

Sorry to make E+J fans wait so long and twist amidst the uncertainty of a splash of dramatic/soapy subplots... but I do have a plan, and it was in the pitch all along.

I thank you for your indulgence and your patience. (:

-E


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 Post subject: Re: IDW Ghostbusters #1
PostPosted: October 2nd, 2011, 9:55 am 
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ErikBurnham wrote:
Figure I'd speak up....

Continuity hiccups are annoying, but, in this case... mostly intentional. Tristan nailed it.

I kept the first two movies, period. The game? I cherry-picked from it. I admit it! Assume that the events from the game happened... unless you see me contradict them (as is the obvious case with Slimer or Winston's doctorate.) I'm trying to please fans, straights, Sony, IDW, and myself... there will be hiccups, and with a complex timeline, probably mistakes too -- so I have to seize flexibility where I can find it.


Lol...and inevitably smartasses like me will no doubt remind you of the "mistakes".

Quote:
Bear in mind also, there are some things I'm not allowed to do; I'm not allowed to use Dana or Louis, for example... so those kind of behind the scenes rulings (not all of which can be shared with the public) do affect what we do. I've been fortunate in that some things I've asked for have been approved for the ongoing that were turned down for other GB projects. (Can't say what, but you might be surprised if you knew!)


One of my favorite sayings is "Intellectual properties lawyers are a low species of life"--it came from a book about Saturday Morning Cartoons I read while writing my Timelines, and it was specifically about the situation with Filmation and their "Ghost Busters". But it's amazing how often I get to cite it. Honestly, unlike a lot of fans, I'm not all that tore up about not seeing Louis Tully--he was a great character in the first movie, but he's just not a star player in the franchise. They got along just fine without him for most of the cartoon's run, and you guys and the Video Game have similarly done just fine. Dana I actually miss a little more, because of her emotional importance to Venkman...though I can see the standpoint of "Not having Dana around lets him comedically chase lots of women" even if I don't completely agree with it anymore.

Quote:
As to Egon and Janine -- several people have mentioned this to me now. Some, fans of the movie, some fans of the cartoon... there's a strong feeling there.

Now, I turned in an initial one year plan.

First arc? Fix what I did to Stay Puft in Infestation (and introduce a bad guy!) The second arc branches out of what I did in arc one. The third branches out of the first two arcs (getting tricky!) And in the fourth...

In the fourth arc are scenes (and I actually dialogued a lot of this part of the pitch) that directly look at a Janine/Egon relationship. Is it pro? Is it con?

I'm not going to spoil that. Just wanted to let you know where to look, and that I did consider this! (:

The important thing is I didn't want two major characters to start a relationship (or end one!) with each other off-panel.

Sorry to make E+J fans wait so long and twist amidst the uncertainty of a splash of dramatic/soapy subplots... but I do have a plan, and it was in the pitch all along.

I thank you for your indulgence and your patience. (:

-E


Nah...Let me be blunt, this is probably my #1 hot button issue with Ghostbusters. I was fifteen when the cartoon came out and basically promoted it to the #1 source of romantic tension in the GB universe (since, as mentioned, Dana wasn't in the cartoon); it was a great comfort to a fat nerdy kid who wasn't all that successful with the girls. If my comments came off a little snotty I apologize--I wrote the commentary right after reading the issue, and the old scab had just been picked (You should have seen me in 1989 after Annie Potts went on Arsenio Hall and said "Rick Moranis and I are an item in this one". I was ballistic for a week)

But in the draft of the comments I'm planning to post on the IDW board, I basically say "Erik Burhham knows this franchise well enough that I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. There's only one legitimate narrative reason to introduce something like this: to get a reaction out of Egon." It sounds like I was spot on about that.

I vote for the "pro" outcome, which should be blatantly obvious from my signature image. But even an "anti" or "Well, they just argue about it and then the status quo more or less reemerges" outcome can be justified with good writing. And at least you're dealing with it. I don't think GB2's Janine/Louis fling would have been hated quite as much if it had at least acknowledged and dealt with the "What the f*** happened with her and Egon?" issue just a bit more than her suspiciously selecting one of Egon's flight suits for Louis. Grife, Ramis and Potts don't even appear onscreen together in GB2 other than the commercial scene (though of course, JMS and James Van Hise used this as their loophole...)

And I agree that a slow buildup is the best approach: Ghostbusters is a comedy about guys catching ghosts. The relationship drama can be juicy, obviously, because they're not just a bunch of wisecracking robots, but it shouldn't be so overblown it drowns things out (at least not very often).

Thanks for taking the time to post on this dinky corner of the internet, Mister Burnham.

:)

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