Review – Ghostbusters 101 #6 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Erik Burnham
Artwork: Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado (colours)
Release Date: 30^th August 2017

Issue six kicks off with both teams and the cadets setting up their plan to split the two universes. The humour and pacing in the issue is about as perfect as you can get – a level of quality which is frankly to be expected by now from this particular creative team. The story wraps up neatly and with just the right amount of nostalgia.

There is also an unexpected and moving development for Garrett, a new IDW-verse character. This comes completely out of left field and is a bit of a gut punch despite us not really knowing him. It once again shows the creative excellence that is now considered the norm for Burnham, Schoening and Delgado. Not only can they provide real emotion, but they can also revive characters that some had already previously written off.

When Ghostbusters Answer the Call was first released, I’ll admit that wasn’t exactly blown away by it, but nor was I particularly dismayed. I enjoyed it, but also found it slightly too forgettable. The main reason for this was the lack of character development. The characters of Erin, Patty, Abby and Holtzmann were interesting but never fully explored. I understand this was due to time constraints and not that it wasn’t thought about. Thankfully, this is where Ghostbusters 101 came in.

The original team do take a bit of a back seat in this overarching story (aside from teaching the Answer the Call team a few things), but what we get instead is heaps of character development and more classic Holtzmann moments. It’s also no exaggeration to say that we learn more about their personalities, drives and fears in this six-issue series than we do in the entire live-action film. My only disappointment is that I feel Patty wasn’t given as much “screen time” as the others, although hopefully this will be corrected in the new Answer the Call series that is coming out soon.

This book has definitely restored my faith in the Answer the Call team and serves as a testament to the IDW creative team’s passion and skill. I am really looking forward to the future of the Patty, Abby, Erin and Holtzmann as they now know a lot more due to the ending of this series.

Go buy the single issues – or pre-order the collected edition – right now. You won’t regret it. Even if you’re new to the IDW Ghostbusters comics, this series is a perfect jumping-on point.

Rating: 5/5.

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