Ghostbusters International #2
IDW Publishing
Written by: Erik Burnham
Art by: Dan Schoening
The end of Ghostbusters International #1 saw the team being proposed a buy out. Erland Vinter, a Scandinavian businessman, wanted to buy the Ghostbusters and use them as a real estate ghost cleaning service. PCOC, the Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission headed by Walter Peck, has current control of the team and refused the buyout. They did work out a contracting system to allow the Ghostbusters to work intermittently for two week periods. It’s this deal that leads to the Ghostbusters going international.
Ray, Peter, and Winston head to Venice, Italy, while Egon stays at home, still mending from the injury he received at the U.N. Their main mission is to tackle one of the most haunted sites in Italy, the island of Poveglia. Upon arriving to Venice though, Ray discovers that the abundance of ambient spirits there is interfering with his detection equipment and begins to have some hesitations about the approaching job. Peter, care free as usual, ignores the problem and ventures out on a self tour of Venice, with haunting results. While all of this is happening, Egon is still researching and looking for a book to help him with his theories. Perhaps just trying to occupy his mind wasn’t his true intention in issue one, but it still hasn’t been made clear what he’s really looking for.
Again, Ghostbusters International had me laughing out loud. Burnham writes a story that moves along at a brisk pace, but showcases all of the characters and their personalities. Egon being studious as ever, Ray acting like the smart and over excited kid explaining Poveglia, Winston wanting to get the work done, and Peter being, well, Peter. Even the brief appearances of Janine were amusing, as well as the snarky back and forth between Venkman and Peck.
The artwork still bothers me in this book, but I’m growing accustomed to it. It just seems so jarring seeing the caricatured Ghostbusters in comparison to the other characters. Some of the details in the art also don’t seem as polished this time around. There’s a wide shot of Venice at one point and it seems like it was missing some finishing touches. Some other panels also have a heavy unfinished sketch feel, but it doesn’t seem to detract from the overall pleasant appearance.
Ghostbusters International #2 was another enjoyable read. Burnham truly understands how to write these characters and is crafting an interesting story. We now know the fate of the Ghostbusters team is still in PCOC’s hands, but we know not what dangers lurk in Poveglia. The artwork by Schoening may not be the best asset of this title, but it also doesn’t detract from the overall quality either. I feel his artwork will make you love it or leave it. At any rate, I can hardly wait for the next issue to see what ghastly ghouls the boys will be taking on.