The ghost hunting shenanigans of the four paranormal detectives known as GHOSTBUSTERS perfectly melded humor and horror into an iconic film still popular today as it was almost 30 years ago. It's little wonder, then that the Ghostbusters has had such a huge marketing appeal, ranging anywhere from toys to cartoons, and leaving a very permanent mark on the comic market. The franchise has spent years floating from company to company (even making a pit stop at Tokyopop for a manga do-over), but it has recently planted its feet with industry bad boy IDW. THE NEW GHOSTBUSTERS picks up right where the IDW GHOSTBUSTERS left off, this time sending our boys in gray jumpsuits into a strange world possessed by the unknown.

THE NEW GHOSTBUSTERS focuses on the trials and tribulations of a new group of busters after the original crew is kidnapped by ghosts that mysteriously look very similar to each of the kidnapees. As they are hauled off onto a floating world made of chunks of rock and stardust, their mantle is taken up by an alternate crew. Enter the four new replacements: Janine Melnitz, the ever graceful secretary, Kylie Griffin, a young woman in charge of Dr. Ray Stantz’s occult collection, Melanie Ortiz, an FBI agent desperately in love with Peter Venkman, and Ron Alexander, a techno genius who once created a rival ghost busting company. With these four combined, they switch between hunting down ghosts in the city and searching for the missing men. They also learn that being a ghostbuster is not all doughboys and green slime, but also police communication and mayoral red tape, especially now that New York City finally admits to maybe having a ghost problem.

This series is an interesting addition to the GHOSTBUSTERS universe. It's one of the first comics to really take the story away from the classic four guys and give some of the side characters (most that were made for the IDW series) a spot to shine. It’s advised to start with THE GHOSTBUSTERS before delving into the NEW GHOSTBUSTERS, but the latest series does a decent job of providing backgrounds for its characters. Writer Erik Burnham carries over to THE NEW GHOSTBUSTERS, where the pacing is perfect, maintaining all the bitter humor of the movies coated in a fine sheen of ghost ooze. The same goes for artist Dan Schoening, who also worked on both series, and continues his solid, albeit a bit cartoony style.

IDW also has collected the 1988 series THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS (NOW comics) which is available for purchase.

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