Ghostbusters 101 Crosses Over Old, New Teams in March

Coming out March 22 is the first issue of a new series, Ghostbusters 101, that promises to feature both the 1984 male team and the more recent group of women bearing the title.

I don’t envy writer Erik Burnham and artist Dan Schoening taking this on. They’ve been working on the licensed comic for five years, so they know their stuff, but they have quite the challenge in balancing the audiences for the two teams — those who want to see more stories with Abby, Patty, Erin, and Holtzmann and those who think women can never live up to Winston, Egon, Ray, and Venkman. The boys have been featured in the title for a while, giving them a “home field advantage” (and the press release is careful to point out that the stories will be “set in the long-running IDW continuity”), but they’ve all had female proteges to expand the cast. I want to see the groups treated as equals.

The two teams meet due to “an inter-dimensional mishap” (also not new to the series). Series editor Tom Waltz says, “Abby, Erin, Patty, and Holtzmann are such fun characters, and to be able to have them join forces with the original ‘busting crew (as well as our expansive roster of fan-favorite supporting characters) is a wonderful creative opportunity for all involved…. I’m confident it will prove to be a proton blast of epic proportions — for both old and new fans of this sensational franchise.”

The main cover is part one of six interconnected images showing the full cast. This issue will be $3.99 for 32 color pages and can be preordered from a comic shop with Diamond code JAN17 0460.

There are two variant covers, one by Erica Henderson (JAN17 0462, not shown) and the one below by Tim Lattie (JAN17 0461). Retailer incentive covers will feature photos of the different casts.