[Bulbous]

I’m a new fan who has recently discovered the Ghostbusters cartoons. I’ve started watching the Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters series and I’m thoroughly enjoying them.

I’m particularly fascinated by the unique blend of humor, action, and supernatural elements in these shows. The character development is also quite impressive. I find myself drawn to the complexity of the characters and their interactions.

However, as a newcomer, I’m sure there are many aspects of these series that I’m not fully appreciating or understanding. I would love to hear from long-time fans about what makes these cartoons special to you. Are there any specific episodes, story arcs, or character moments that stand out? Any hidden gems that a new viewer might overlook?

Also, I’m curious about the Ghostbusters comic books. How do they compare to the cartoons? Would you recommend them to a fan of the series?

Thank you in advance for your insights. I’m excited to delve deeper into the Ghostbusters universe and engage with this community.

[Fritz]

I’m a new fan who has recently discovered the Ghostbusters cartoons. I’ve started watching the Real Ghostbusters and Extreme Ghostbusters series and I’m thoroughly enjoying them.

First of all...

I’m particularly fascinated by the unique blend of humor, action, and supernatural elements in these shows. The character development is also quite impressive. I find myself drawn to the complexity of the characters and their interactions.

Those are just the sort of things that I would say drew me in. Especially for a cartoon marketed mostly at young boys in 1986. As someone who was 15 in 1986, I know what a wasteland cartoons were for all of those things. Don't get me wrong, there were quite watchable cartoons in that era, but the only thing I found besides RGB that scratched those itches were when I discovered anime.

However, as a newcomer, I’m sure there are many aspects of these series that I’m not fully appreciating or understanding. I would love to hear from long-time fans about what makes these cartoons special to you. Are there any specific episodes, story arcs, or character moments that stand out? Any hidden gems that a new viewer might overlook?

The main mission statement of J. Micheal Straczynski, the original story editor (who went on to create Babylon 5 and write comic books) was along the lines of "Write it exactly like you would of it were Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis etc." and don't talk down to the audience. Again, I was alive in 1986. I remember what formulaic crap most cartoons of that day were.

As some of the long time members of the GB boards know, one area that really got my interest was the surprisingly deep portrayal of Egon Spengler; they gave the guy one of the best voice actors in the industry (Maurice LaMarche) and a dynamic, eccentric character design. JMS seemed to latch onto the character as well, and built on the broad strokes of the first movie to really flesh him out. This was especially evident in the slow burn over the course of the series in his relationship with Janine; first he was more annoyed by her than anything else, then we see him start to associate with her after work ("Janine's Day Off", "Roller Ghoster"), have the flash realization when he thought he was about to die that he loved her ("Ragnarok and Roll"), a delightul moment of snotty jealously when she dated some other guy ("Robo-Buster") and of course the crescendo, admitting he loves her ("Janine, You've Changed")

And I can't forget that Janine herself was something we didn't see a lot in American cartoons of the time. She was gutsy, abrasive, and didn't take crap from anyone. (Sigh) And then starting in 1987 various dumbasses with stupid agendas started treating her like crap, by turns either making her a bland, dime a dozen Mommy Figure, or throwing her at lesser men. They haven't completely stopped, either--Ghostbusters Afterlife was awful to watch as a Janine fan, seeing her screwed over again. (Not saying I hated the movie, I didn't, but as a Janine fan, an Egon fan, and an Egon/Janine fan, seeing Egon turned into a crook and a deadbeat Dad who had a kid with some nameless person and not even letting Janine say something to Callie like "I guess I'm your stepmother" was the biggest blight in it to me)

Also, I’m curious about the Ghostbusters comic books. How do they compare to the cartoons? Would you recommend them to a fan of the series?

Well, depends on which ones. I'm assuming that you probably mean the more recent IDW run; the artist on most of them, Dan Schoening, is a big RGB fan and packed them with injokes and Easter eggs in the background. The Ghostbusters themselves are caricatures of the movie actors, but there's one significant character who bears a distinct resemblance to the EGB version of one of the Ghostbusters, IDW versions of two other EGB characters, and there's a miniseries called "Get Real" that basically crosses over the IDW Ghostbusters with the Real Ghostbusters. The stories are very good, and the enthusiasm of the creative team shows, but it did get a little overdone the constant crossovers with other versions of the Ghostbusters, the Ninja Turtles, and the Transformers, for example.

Now Comics also did a comic series from 1988-1992 based on the cartoon; I quite enjoyed it. In the opinions of many, it was basically carrying the early show's torch during the "Slimer! And..." era. It's available to read right here on GBFans:
https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/Real_Ghostb ... ics_Series
https://www.gbfans.com/wiki/Ghostbusters_II:_NOW_Comics

There was also a longrunning Marvel UK comic around the same time, but it was a lot more juvenile

Thank you in advance for your insights. I’m excited to delve deeper into the Ghostbusters universe and engage with this community.

Well, this is the place!

[egb fan]

Hi, Bulbous, and welcome to the community.

Sorry to have missed this for a while. I don’t actually check back here often, having said everything I want to say probably several times across a few different forums, so I was glad to see someone might be interested in me saying some of it again. Fritz (above) is a good friend of mine, whose perspective on The Real Ghostbusters (RGB)… well, speaks for itself, really. So will mine, perhaps, on Extreme Ghostbusters (EGB).

I never was particularly into Ghostbusting per se, but in characterisation. Poor Roland has a reputation for being boring, and fan activity over the years suggests that he’s the least inspiring of the four EGBs (not just for me), but I certainly value his contribution as the most useful and supportive member of the team. Garrett is strikingly extroverted and makes his presence felt, and I believe that Jason Marsden makes him much more likeable than he might have been with an unusually thoughtful performance. Kylie is thoroughly engaging, and has been the one most to capture the imaginations of movie and/or RGB fans, as well as being in my top two favourite characters. I have found (through evidence of which most seems to have been deleted over the years, so you’ll have to take my word for it) that those of us who are first and foremost EGB fans, are most inspired by Eduardo. I could go on and on, but let’s be succinct for now and just cite hidden depths.

Too many episodes of the show were badly written, in my opinion. I’m not going to mention those again. There are many I’d recommend, but to demonstrate the character traits I’ve just pointed out:
For Roland’s valuable contribution, ‘Grundelesque’ and ‘Fallout’.
For Jason Marsden’s thoughtful performance as Garrett, ‘Seeds of Destruction’.
For Kylie sparking one’s interest, ‘Darkness at Noon’ (particularly Part 1).
For Eduardo piling on the layers, ‘Till Death Do Us Start’ and ‘Rage’.
(Only a few of these are overall favourites of mine; with another lead-in on another day, I’d recommend different episodes for different reasons.)

I’m an Eduardo and Kylie shipper, too. Love/hate relationships can be very irritating, if the love doesn’t really seem to be there, if there’s no particular reason for the antagonism, and/or if the girl just hates the boy (which is something that happens increasingly, it seems to me). I believe that Eduardo and Kylie’s relationship has none of these issues, as the love and the hate can both be accounted for in the multi-faceted characterisation (I am not going to expand on that now, because it – that is, I – could get very boring ).

As an EGB fan (and, indeed, the EGB Fan), I find the two-part special ‘Back in the Saddle’ to be average as an EGB episode, as characterisation has to be spread very thin. For that reason, it slightly irritates me to hear it called a ‘fan favourite’ (as I have, somewhere), but it’s true that GB fans in general love it as an EGB episode for obvious reasons.

Should you want the boring details in their entirety, I expand on all of the above somewhere on my EGB fan site. My opinions on all episodes appear in my Episode Guide, some (extremely) detailed analysis of Eduardo and Kylie’s relationship on my Shippers’ Page, and minute detail about how I (and, to a lesser extent, my brother Jake) got into the show and its characters at EGB and Me.

I hope you enjoy your GB community experience, and I’d be interested to know how your own opinions develop.