The second volume of Ghostbusters International was released last month, collecting issues 6-11 of the series. The cast incorporates the original Ghostbusters as well as characters based on those from the Extreme Ghostbusters cartoon, plus members of an organization created to liaise with the Ghostbusters on behalf of local and federal government led by Walter “This Man Has No D*ck” Peck.

While part of this volume is devoted to individual cases with subsets of the New York branch of Ghostbusters, the overarching plot begun in the first volume takes center stage for the last half of Volume Two. Writer Erik Burnham does a great job of making this climactic story arc both accessible to readers who may be starting partway through the series, as well as tying in elements from each previous adventure. His portrayal of characters like Kylie, Janine, and Egon are also really fun- they exemplify the characteristics that made them memorable in the original material, and also make them come to life in a different media. This is less true for characters that were really remarkable for the way they were performed onscreen, like Venkman and Peck. That’s not to say those characters are completely uninteresting or even unenjoyable, they just don’t translate as well.

Most of the artwork was done by Dan Schoening. Compared to the other artists in this volume, Rachael Stott and Erik Evensen, his character design is much more cartoonish, but this really works not only to make the action scenes more energized, but lends itself well to the dialogue pacing, both for dramatic and comedic moments. Scott and Evensen’s designs are more realistic, but are still expressive and distinctive without attempting to mirror specific actors (which can backfire and result in rubbery, stoic looking characters). All of the artists do really well with the ghost designs, bringing the creative, outrageous feel of the original films and from the cartoon, which is what really might make or break a Ghostbusters story.

Instead of leaving which elements of other media are canon to the comic, we get confirmation by the inclusion of things like mood slime, a dimensional gateway that can link them up to the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, and even Egon pondering the idea of going back to teaching someday. Some of the best things about this volume were the easter eggs randomly snuck in that referenced other completely unrelated 80s movies. The Thor-loving little girl from Adventures in Babysitting has a quick chat with the big bad guy in Central Park, for example, and if you read the mission reports at the end of the volume, the Vegas incident apparently included a ghost with “crazy hair wearing a black and white suit” promising he would be back soon to “shake things up”.

Ghostbusters in pretty much any form are good fun for anyone who isn’t Walter Peck. Ghostbusters International is no different, and is friendly for long-time readers and newbies alike. Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance!

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