Review – Ghostbusters: Get Real #4 (of 4) (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Erik Burnham
Artist: Dan Schoening
Release Date: 30th September, 2015

This is it. Proteus has found the Real Ghostbusters hiding with the IDW incarnations and they have their final battle. In the interest of spoilers I’m not going to go any further. What I am going to discuss is how this is a masterclass in fan service, limited series ending, and epic foreshadowing.

Being a massive Ghost-Head this series has done fan service brilliantly (especially the second issue), and this final issue is no exception, with both teams pulling the obligatory group pose (a la Power Ranger team-ups), and the usual nods and winks to their respective lore. This is the closest that Dan and Eric could have gotten to fan fiction without putting off casual readers and it is balanced perfectly. At no point does it feel over the top or gratuitous, they really have found and hit the sweet spot perfectly.

I have said it before and will again, the IDW Ghostbusters creative team can do no wrong! They love the source material and treat it with respect and care while bringing in new ideas and characters and merging them seamlessly. While doing this they give the series a satisfying conclusion (I won’t give it away), that a casual reader wouldn’t feel cheated by, or that requires further reading of the upcoming annual or new ongoing series. Other limited series I have read in the past lose steam somewhere between the halfway point and the penultimate issue and the whole series tends to suffer as a result. There is a dip in the 3rd issue here, but this turned out to be the lull before the final battle and not a breakdown on the story.

Finally, the foreshadowing in this final book is woven through this issue perfectly can should be shown to other teams to see how to do it properly. It isn’t ever haphazardly dropped in and some sections actually form part of the main story.

Overall this is a great series and I would love to see the various Ghostbuster teams – shown in issue 2 – interact via another limited series. Maybe the the Real or IDW Ghostbusters get visited by some of the other teams due to their dimensions being destabilised by Proteus’s actions. Who knows? All I know is that I can’t wait to pick the phone and call the boys in grey in their upcoming Annual and new ongoing series.

Rating: 4/5.
Overall series score: 4/5 (10/5 if a Ghostbuster fan)

The writer of this piece was: David Gladman