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PostPosted: October 6th, 2009, 8:24 pm 
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*whistles while standing to give Nikki a standing ovation*

Thank you Nikki and Fritz! I mean I'll go out on my limb by myself but its always nice to not be alone out there when the wind blows.

Nikki you gotta post more often, you just said all the things I couldn't put into words for the last few days! Way to go. :D

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PostPosted: October 6th, 2009, 9:33 pm 
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I've started to see a couple of other comments about the matter elsewhere.

Maybe it is time to start rattling some cages in places IDW will see it, like their own blogs/message boards.

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PostPosted: October 7th, 2009, 2:30 pm 
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Thanks, ghostdiva! :D I'd post here a hell of a lot more often if I had the time. Believe me, you ain't the only one who is pissed off about this!

Fritz, you've got a great point. It's about time these idiots realised what they are doing. Why the hell are they clamouring around looking for romance storylines when they've got a perfect one right in front of their eyes that they either blatantly ignore or choose to overlook for some unspecified reason time and time again? When they've got the perfect opportunity to use this kind of romance angle in this series, you'd think that maybe they'd at least try to get it right instead of making Janine look like a complete imbecile (as if she didn't already in GB2). 

Instead of learning from one of the biggest mistakes of GB2, they go straight ahead and make it ten times worse. Yeah. Well done. Golf claps for you, morons. The teaser has not exactly succeeded in making me feel desperate to go out and buy the next issue. As if I'd ever be on tenterhooks to find out whether Janine really is someone who doesn't give a shit about the guy she's had a mad crush on for years, or not. Frankly, if these people have even the slightest awareness of the GB fandom community, it makes it even more blindingly stupid to have done this, if that is possible. 

When even the once-emotionless Spock in Star Trek (who is often used in emotional comparison to Egon, by the way) can get a genuine canonical romance now, I just find it absolutely astounding that according to GB canon we are still on page 1 of the Egon/Janine story. Why is it that only fanfic writers have the courage to take it any further? I simply don't understand it. It's not like it's an unpopular pairing; in fact sometimes it seems it is more popular than Peter/Dana, so what's the damn problem? Is there some clause in the property rights which prevents any writer in an official capacity from going down that path, or what?
 
Besides, I really hate to say it but however the story in this comic eventually ends up, this little teaser is the kind of shit which helps to create Mary-Sue fanfic by the truckload.  I can just imagine some Egon fangirl getting 'inspiration' from this and writing some crap about how she nursed Egon's broken heart because the 'slut' Janine dumped him for some pirate. As if these people need any more encouragement, FFS!

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PostPosted: October 10th, 2009, 2:44 pm 
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Fritz Babbles About Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #2

Well, another solid chapter. I guess we've already found the weakness, such as it is, of the story format, though: Chapter One was all about Venkman and Rachel. Chapter Two has Venkman, Rachel, and Ray Stantz. We'll add Egon next issue, and by the time we get to issue 4 Winston's "spotlight" will be pretty crowded out by the other Ghostbusters...oh, yeah, and having to defeat that Koza'Rai character to boot.

(The next paragraph is familiar to you guys here on the Ectozone, but it's more for the appearance of this same post on other boards)

And that's not even mentioning the upcoming Janine short in #4, the previews of which have been drawing some mixed reactions from Janine fans. I think it's the implication that she'd be off shagging some pirate when she's lost in time; we had our fill of Slut!Janine in GB2, thank you, so please, just stop it.

Sigh...just because I've gotten used to Winston and Janine being crapped on, doesn't mean I'll ever like it.

Anyway, back to GBDA#2

Venkman and Rachel land in the Sixth Century, and find themselves accosted by King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot. Fortunately, when they drop Ray's name Artie's demeanor changes completely--Ray's become a great friend and ally of the kingdom.

When Venkman finds Ray, it's a nice touch that Ray's first suspicion is that he's some sort of wraith posing as Venkman--I guess Pete should have stuck with his real uniform instead of this one Rachel gave him, right? Anyway, Artie convinces Ray that Venkman is the real deal, and what happens next is probably the most intriguing scene in the book:

Remember how we thought Rachel's story had some holes? Ray realizes the same thing...then Rachel pull some sort of Jedi mind trick, resets the scene, and Ray has no questions about her authenticity. All of a sudden, Miss Mary Sue is a lot more ominous--and interesting.

There's some sloppy editing here, with mention of "proto-packs". More than once. What next? The Ghostbusters' mascot constantly being called "Slimmer"?

No appearance, believe it or not, by Merlin. Maybe he was too busy putting Sir Bruce Sans Pite into that tapestry.

Ray is sporting a beard and mustache, which anyone familiar with my own work will know I can't complain about; Vaguely-But-Not-Close-Enough-To-Aykroyd-To-Get-Sued Ray with the beard and mustache looks more like Kevin Smith than Dan. He also gets to sport one of those new flight suits with the red seams.

Oh, heck, I did my own little tribute to it:
http://ectozone.deviantart.com/art/Ray- ... -139822846

Anyway, the Ghostbusters, Rachel, and Artie go off to fight dragons and Morgan Le Fay, Artie's half sister. They freeze the dragons using a trick "foreshadowing" the video game that still doesn't make any frickin' sense to me, and Venkman beats Morgan by pretending to turn; he sweet talks her and somehow traps her with his "proto-pack" when she'd distracted.

No. It didn't really make any sense to me, either. If there'd been a ghost trap on the ground or something, or attached to the pack like in the cartoons, I'd get it, but it looks like she somehow gets sucked into the pack itself when Venkman "overloads" it. This isn't from the game, is it? I thought for sure they still used ghost traps.

Anyway, that weak spot aside, the two Ghostbusters and mysterious ally say their goodbyes to Artie and leave in the ECTO-10. Next stop, the future.

Another fun read, with some good jokes and bits. Looking forward to #3.
:)

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PostPosted: October 13th, 2009, 5:09 am 
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Fritz wrote:
They freeze the dragons using a trick "foreshadowing" the video game that still doesn't make any frickin' sense to me


To be fair, that's NOT how it works in the game. It's not a freeze ray like in the comic at all.

The Stasis Beam covers the ghost in dark matter that bonds its particles together, hardening the ectoplasm into a shell that can't move.

It makes scientific sense. Y'know, in a fictional "ectoplasm and dark matter are real and this is what they behave like" way.

And no, they still use plain old ghost traps the whole game, the "proto-pack" overload bit is an original idea. I'm not convinced that's a typo, either. These could be packs from the future, like the "Ecto-10" and blue flightsuits.

"Viggo the Carpathian" is definitely a typo, though.

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PostPosted: October 13th, 2009, 9:43 am 
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I'm not convinced that's a typo, either. These could be packs from the future, like the "Ecto-10" and blue flightsuits.


Except Ray uses the term even before he's met Rachel and gotten his hands on any of that future tech. It's at the very least a typo there.

I guess I'll "get" some of this stuff better if I ever get the game. A copy of the PS2 version is becoming a distinct possibility.

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PostPosted: October 13th, 2009, 2:10 pm 
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Per haps he is talking about the pack he is making in the past . The one that just runs off of potions . I guess it could mean that all experimental pack are referred to as prototypes in till it is brought into the mane design .

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PostPosted: October 23rd, 2009, 6:46 pm 
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So, do we think that Rachel is somehow responsible for the Janine panel rather than Janine doing things of her own accord?

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Peter: "Huh. Guess we're not welcome."
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PostPosted: October 24th, 2009, 12:40 am 
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Hummmm thats a question.

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PostPosted: October 24th, 2009, 10:14 pm 
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I hope so. I don't have a problem w/Janine getting some loving...if Venkman can score so can our girl...just not that way.

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PostPosted: November 6th, 2009, 12:32 pm 
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Fritz Babbles About Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #3

Spoilers Ahoy...

Venkman, Ray, and Rachel reach Mars in the year 2060..and after Ray's initial geekgasm, they quickly discover things aren't so rosey. The place is attacked by a swarm of demonic spirits, but the swarm is stopped by a force dome over the city, a dome erected by the mysterious "Great Defender"

After being arrested for demonstrating "insufficient reverence", our two heroes and one wild card (we still don't know what she's really up to yet, after all) are dragged before the Great Defender himself. Or, as we usually know him, Dr. Egon Spengler.

Everyone who's read more than about three of my stories know I'm a big Egon fan; in fact, I've gotten criticized for it a time or two. So I loved this--who else but Egon could apparently so quickly assimilate technologies from a century after he was born and use it to his, and the Martians' advantage?

Well, okay, there's the fact that he's become a megalomaniac who doesn't even recognize Ray and Venkman (if this was a cartoon, I'd have Maurice LaMarche switch to his Brain voice while The Great Defender); certainly the "chronological dysplasia" factored into it, but I also suspect something else: the loss of his memory, specifically the loss of the memories of his friends, can't have helped.

I apologize for comparing this story to some of my own fan writings, but if you're familiar with the "Nodus" arc, you could see a great deal of similarities: in an alternate universe, Egon never reconnects with Janine or the other Ghostbusters (per the EGB backstory). He embraces "perfect logic", becomes a sort of God of Knowledge, and the results are disasterous--this alternate Egon becomes a madman who attempts to literally rewrite history to his own specifications.

His friendships with Ray, Venkman, and Winston, and his relationship with Janine, ground him. They keeps him human. He loses those to "chronological dsyplasia" or "perfect logic", and beings like the Great Defender and Nodus are the result.

Well done, Mr. Lobdell. Well done.

And perhaps anticipating the fact that his "spotlight" will be diminished by a Janine short, finding out what the deal is with Rachel, and the throwdown with Koza'Rai, we get a few pages of Winston this issue. Winston appears to be back in a cracked version of the present, under Koza'Rai's rule. We do find one little interesting tidbit: he's already run into Rachel, and took a "leap of faith" on her somehow. Whether that was because she mind tricked him or not remains to be seen, of course.

And at the very end, the others arrive back in the "present", to find a bombed out firehouse and wrecked ECTO-1 nearby. Egon seems to be back to normal (Venkman from "Slimer Is That You": "Normal being a fairly relative term in his case"). If the next thing Egon says after seeing the wrecked firehouse isn't/wasn't "Where's Janine?" Mr. Lobdell loses some of the cool points he earned this issue. (lol) ("You don't understand, Peter. She could be off being raped by pirates for all we know...")

It's also interesting, based on what little we know of #4, that it now looks like Koza'Rai didn't throw Winston through time but apparently did get rid of Janine. Hm.

Three down, one to go, and this is looking awesome so far.

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PostPosted: December 20th, 2009, 7:00 pm 
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Not the review for GBDA#4 (though it should be coming soon), but something to amuse you until then:

http://ectozone.deviantart.com/art/The- ... -147429207

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PostPosted: December 20th, 2009, 8:59 pm 
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About #4:
Well Fritz, I think the fact that you haven't said anything yet says volumes. And I agree with you!

I won't comment on the book other to say that it will take quite a bit to get me interested enough to buy another comic from this run from IDW.

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Peter: "Huh. Guess we're not welcome."
Winston: "Not welcome, there's a first. We should all get nametags that say, 'Hello, I'm not welcome'. Or maybe Tshirts or mugs or something."
--Ghostbusters the video game


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PostPosted: December 22nd, 2009, 3:26 pm 
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Fritz Babbles About Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #4

Spoilers Ahoy...

I wish I could say that the conclusion of Displaced Aggression was the bestest thing ever, but I can't. The art was stunning, the plot was suitably dark and intense, and the ending made sense (something that couldn't be said of the previous miniseries' literal Deus Ex Machina). I guess I just couldn't get over three little problems.

1. It wasn't a surprise that, with the neccessity of dealing with Koza'Rai, the three other Ghostbusters being back together, and the Janine backup strip (more on this in a minute, as you can imagine), it was still a little disappointing to see Winston crowded out of "his" spotlight issue.

That being said, at least he played a very important part: he got to save the other Ghostbusters butts. They would have been up shit creek without a paddle if Winston hadn't been left behind--this arguably turns out to be Koza'Rai's biggest underestimation.

2. You know, when I write stuff like this, from my review of GBDA#1...

Quote:
And now a new villain...just happens to be Gozer's father.

I guess next they'll bring back Gozo, Son of Gozer, and Horg the Gozarian, Gozer's Scottish redneck uncle from the Marvel UK books. All they need then is a skanky Mary Sue Cousin (since Gozer already has two dogs) to complete the set.

Oh crap, did I just guess Rachel's real origin? (lol)


...I mean it as a joke at the expense of the silly stuff that Marvel UK put out back in the day, and at Dan DiDio's fetish for bringing back even the stupidest crap from the Silver Age.

I DIDN'T THINK I'D BE RIGHT!!!

Well, okay, she's not Gozer's skanky cousin. She's it's half-sister, and half-human. But still...the pantheon of unneccessary Gozarian family members grows.

That being said, I found myself surprisingly touched by her final fate. She did seem to have some genuine feeling for Venkman, and disgust at the rest of the Gozarians' ways; granted, heroically sacrificing yourself at the end is a very Mary Sueish twist, but it's handled well.

3. >sigh<

I so wanted to enjoy the backup feature.

Janine's one of my favorite characters, when handled well. Aykroyd and Ramis in GB1, JMS, Richard Mueller, James Van Hise, Andrew Dabb. When written well, she's a strong, capable, ascerbic, delightfully eccentric woman who holds her own in a world of ghosts, demons, and four guys with their own eccentricities and, in some cases, massive egos.

When written badly (Len Jansen and Chuck Menville after JMS left; Aykroyd and Ramis, sadly, in GB2) she's either a chipper milquetoast or a blase ho-bag. I think I saw a little too much of the bad Janine here.

The concept was fine--she gets zapped away by Koza'Rai, and forms her own Ghostbusters team in pre-Revolution France (She speaks French?). The fact that she didn't fold up and wilt, and took charge of her own bad situation with just as much resolve as any of the male cast members had previously, was very much applauded by me. And I liked the art, personally--it brought a bit of a Mad Magazine, satirical tone to it all. It's not a story meant to be taken too seriously.

But it still fell a bit flat to me. I know the absolute nadir was the panel of Janine and the guy with the skeevy handlebar mustache, implying they'd just finished something that the French might call La Amour or Flagrante Delecto or something like that. After the trauma of watching the character be basically whored out to Louis Tully in GB2, just to give Rick Moranis some more scenes and justify his presence in the movie, I just can't find Ho!Janine very funny (even with the small silver lining that Monseur Pirate is comparing his alleged prowess to Egon, and not Louis)

Now for some good news:

I actually liked Koza'Rai as a villain. He was big, scary-looking, dangerous...and he talked funny. His broken, mangled English was a nice, surreal touch; this is Ghostbusters, after all, and every villain needs something to laugh at, if only for a second. Gozer, after all, appeared in the form of a silly cartoon character. Vigo had a mincing henchman and split ends. Koza'Rai's chatspeak fit into those traditions.

And I admit, Egon's simple, honest greeting to Janine at the end did warm my heart, and almost made up for some of the previous pages. Good grief, he's even sorta smiling...

In the final analysis, Displaced Aggression still comes out several levels ahead of The Other Side It wasn't perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.

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PostPosted: April 5th, 2018, 8:49 pm 
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Fritz wrote:
Fritz Babbles About Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #4
I just can't find Ho!Janine very funny (even with the small silver lining that Monseur Pirate is comparing his alleged prowess to Egon, and not Louis)


I may have a mind in the gutter a little bit here, but when I read that part, the first thought I had was that she'd screamed the wrong name during...you know... :? and pirate dude just kinda let it pass for the moment but then brought it up, which would also explain Janine's embarrassment. While I resent this thing GB II and some of the other material has with making Janine all about who she sleeps with, I get that the point might probably be how she's TRYING to get over Egon but never quite manages to...as I assume is the point of dressing Louis in Egon's suit in GB II, 'cause otherwise that doesn't make one lick of sense. It's still pretty shifty, but much less upsetting that straight up 'She can't keep her clothes on'

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