Ghostbusters Displaced Aggression
How many of y’all read IDW‘s Ghostbuster’s: The Other Side? Well, you should! IDW is the comics industry king of licensed material, re-invisioning classics like GI Joe, Transformers and the immortal Star Trek. If these fantastic series weren’t enough, IDW has turned to the cult-classic Ghostbusters, taking up where the movies left off.
Left hanging at the end of The Other Side, I was excited to get my hands on a pre-release copy of Ghostbusters: Displaced Aggression #1, and I was not disappointed. Separated and cast into various places in history by the entity Korzar’Rai (father of the iconic Gozer), the Ghostbusters are in real trouble.
Writer Scott Lobdell opens his tale with Peter Venkman in the old west, having a proton-powered shootout with ectoplasmic train-robbing bandits. In the best Clint Eastwood and John Wayne tradition, Peter Venkman is alone, armed only with his trusty particle accelerator, mad ghostbusting skills, and his wits as he tries to save the day, save the girl, and find his way back home.
To be honest, I expected IDW’s Ghostbusters to follow the episodic cheeseball format of the movies, but Lobdell surprised me by adding a truly epic feel to the story while losing none of the irreverant and sometimes ribald humor the franchise is known for, writing the comic Dr. Venkman with real flair and style, while portraying him as surprisingly multi-dimensional and resourceful. You can almost hear Bill Murray delivering Venkman’s dialogue as he fights his way through the spooks of the old west and meets up with an unexpected and unexpectedly beautiful new ally!
Artist Illias Kyriazis brings Lobdell’s story to life with vibrant colors and art that’s very true to the feel of the movies. Each panel is a smorgasbord of action and a riot of detail.
Any Ghostbusters fan should pick up this series and invest in the Other Side trade, because IDW’s creative team is taking the potential of the Ghostbusters and running with it – though even I have no idea where they’re going to take us next.
