GHOSTBUSTERS: LEGION #2 REVIEW

[Brian Geers]

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/GB2_Reg.jpg" target="blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/GB2_Regt.jpg" align=left alt="Ghostbusters Legion #2 Regular Cover"></a> <a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/GB2_Var.jpg" target="blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/ind/GB2_Vart.jpg" align=left alt="Ghostbusters Legion #2 Variant Cover"></a>Reviewed by: Brian Geers, doctsunami@yahoo.com
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: Legion, Part 2

Pete has woman troubles! Ray finds out what’s in the “Secret Silly Sauce!” Egon has a bad hair day! Janine wastes $15! Oh yeah, and New York is in terrible danger from powerful supernatural forces, but who cares about that?

Writer: Andrew Dobb
Penciller: Steve Kurth
Inker: Serge LaPointe
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Sebastien Clavet


If the first issue of Ghostbusters: Legion had one flaw, it was that the story suffered from a case of “Introduction-itis”, which is to say that a large part of the issue was spent reintroducing the characters, their circumstances, and what happened to them since the end of the last movie. As such, the issue was a little short on actual action and plot development despite making up for it with humor, charm, and spot-on characterization.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, we tumble headlong into the actual plot that was merely hinted at in the previous issue. Amazingly, it does so without sacrificing any of the aforementioned humor, charm, or characterization. Andrew Dobb miraculously crams everything you could possibly ask for in a Ghostbusters comic book (except for “Slimer”, please don’t mention “Slimer”). We’ve got action. We’ve got humor. We’ve got the price of fame on a man’s love life. We have a genuinely interesting theory on why ghosts hang around in New York in the first place. There’s thrills, there’s chills, there’s crime, and (naturally) there’s slime. Find out which Ghostbuster used to work in the fast food industry and which is a closet “bozophobe.”

Steve Kurth’s art continues to be a perfect fit for the story that Dobb is telling. In this book, he treads a thin line between realism and absurdity that few comic artists seem able to master. The ghosts in this issue are as grotesque as their big-screen counterparts. The reader can easily see Venkman’s smarmy style, Ray’s naïve innocence, and Egon’s deadpan seriousness. Michael Draverhaven, the villain of this story arc, appears genuinely creepy and intimidating despite being small and frail. The colors by Blond enhance the pencils wonderfully, adding an appropriately dark and moody environment to the “ghost story” part of the book, while the ghost effects and pyrotechnics from those famous “unlicensed nuclear accelerators” are eye-poppingly brilliant, piercing the gloom in a way that is evocative of the special effects of a summer blockbuster.

Unfortunately, the art suffers from the fact that three of the four regular cast members wear similar outfits and have similar hair. There are a couple panels of “back-of-the-head shots” which make it hard to tell exactly who is talking to whom. Luckily, such instances are mercifully brief, but they are still somewhat jarring and disrupt the flow of the narrative.

Easily, this is one of the better books to come out of the “80s Nostalgia Craze.” The story thus far reads more like a sequel to the first movie than its actual sequel does. The self-referential humor and nods to the fans continue to be done in such a way that they don’t hinder the story for the three comic-reading people in the world who bought this book without having seen the movie first. Presently, its only major flaw is that the second issue was well over three months late. With all of the “80s Books” on the shelves, this one has to stay in the public eye as much as possible if it has any hope of competing with the transforming robots, colorfully-clad military men, and astonishingly muscular sword-wielding barbarians on the shelves today. Maintaining a monthly (or even a bimonthly) schedule will go a long way towards reminding people that this book exists and that it is one worth reading.


ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
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[James Groves]

Wow man, i saw this on the previews and the art looks really good for this title. Great review Brian! Together with all things Transformers and He-man, i'll pick this one up!!

[Anand Khatri]

Wow, I passed on this when I saw it in the previews. Now I regret that decsion. I'm definetly gonna get this.

Btw...Great Review! :D

[Brian Geers]

One of the many things that causes this book to slip under people's collective radars is the fact that the solicits in the previews are so general and so bland compared to the actual story itself. Based on just what was said in the blurbs in Diamond Distribution's catalogs, I thought this book was going to be bland, stale, and utterly snooze-worthy, like a couple of the other "Nostalgia Books" on the market. After reading the first issue, I was pleasantly surprised. The second issue (despite being three months in the getting here) is more of the same, only better.

[AndrewDabb]

Brian,

Glad you're enjoying the book, but it's Dabb, not Dobb. Though considering I was Andrew Nabb when I was doing a book through DC, maybe Dobb isn't so bad...

Anyhow, thanks for the kind review. And I think you have a point about the Previews text, I'll try and make it more exciting.

Andrew

[Brian Geers]

Ummm... Eep? :blush:

As someone who has gone through most of his life with his last name misspelled (the State of New Jersey insists I'm "Brian Gers" despite my various attempts at telling them otherwise, and I've gotten various "Greerses" and "Garrises" along the way). All I can say is "It kinda looked like an 'o' on the credits page, but now that I look at it harder, I can sorta see the little tail on the end."

Well, that and, "I'm sorry, Mr. Dabb."

As for the solicits in Previews, the ones I've been seeing for the upcoming regular series seem to be more in keeping with the tone I've been seeing in the book so far. It's just that the ones for the Ghostbusters: Legion miniseries seemed to focus a great deal on the "serious" central plot (don't get me wrong, this whole Draverhaven thing is actually pretty intriguing so far). While my fears were put to rest within the first three pages of issue #1, up until its day of release I was worried that the series would be some grim, realistic reimagining of the license as opposed to being the most fun I've had in 22 pages.

In any case, keep up the good work! :D

[Judiusx]

Man I loved the part about the hair! When Egon styles up his hair in the mirror and he looks like his cartoon counterpart, hehe.

What I really loved about this issue was something that I went in hating. What I was hating wasn't something in this issue in particular or the first issue it was something I hated with the second movie, cartoons, and previous comic series and that is that the Ghostbusters were treated as...well, Ghostbusters. What people tend to forget is that they're 4 people who had lives long before becoming Ghostbusters and I would love to see those other areas of their lives explored and I'm glad this issue finally opened that door. It'd be great if this could continue with the other characters especially Winston who we know even less about. Remember who Peter, Ray and Egon were in the first half hour of the movie? THAT'S who I want to see explored. Who are these guys that put on those Ghostbuster uniforms?

[AndrewDabb]

<< As someone who has gone through most of his life with his last name misspelled (the State of New Jersey insists I'm "Brian Gers" despite my various attempts at telling them otherwise, and I've gotten various "Greerses" and "Garrises" along the way). All I can say is "It kinda looked like an 'o' on the credits page, but now that I look at it harder, I can sorta see the little tail on the end." >>

Yeah, it does sort of look like an "o" on the credits page. And, really, it's not a huge deal. I just thought I'd let you know.

<< In any case, keep up the good work! :D >>

We're trying. Thanks for reading.

Andrew

[Darkness3167]

Yeah great series so far, it has some of the best looking art around at the moment, and a really cool story to go with it. i just wanna know when issue 3 is coming out :look: