Ok, just finished reading The Other Side. Here's my reactions:

Story: 9/10
I'm really enjoying this story, and I'm totally roped in. Aside from a few minor dialog issues, I'm loving it. I wouldn't even call them issues, I'd just say some of the dialog was a little cheesy/obvious. I want to read the next issue right now. Please tell me its scheduled to come out in a month.

Art: 7/10
The art is nice, though inconsistent I must say. The guys look a little different at time throughout the story. Ray looks young, almost teenage. Winston looks closest to the movie out of all of them, followed by Venkman. Spengler's hair bugs me. On the positive side, the colors are dark, like the story, which is awesome. Ecto-1 looks a little different, more boxy… but if that's what they needed to do to avoid the licensing fees and make sure the book can be put out, all the better. I don't hate the art, but the cover art is so nice, it kind of makes me wish that the guy who did that had drawn the entire book.

Overall: 9/10
Even with the minor art issues, I can't fault this book at this point. Its a great story, I flew through my first read of it cuz I was so into it. I really can't wait for the next issue, and of course, its inexpensive. I paid $3.60 for my first copy and $3.99 for my 2nd copy (I think my comic shop offers a discount on reservations and my first copy was reserved). Its such a treat to leave work, and go pick up a new Ghostbusters comic, and be able to come home and relax with a beer and read a new Ghostbusters story. I really can't be happier right now. I must say, best of all, it came out on time!!! (Sorry, couldn't resist… it's not meant as a jab at Clavet. I seriously am happy that the eagerly awaited book came out on time.)

*****Spoilers?*****





Aye, it certainly feels good to have, and to hold, and to read a brand new Ghostbusters comic! Overall I'm definitely pleased, and look forward to future issues. Hopefully this series has a longer life than the 88mph series. Here are my initial thoughts on the first issue:

The artwork is pretty good. I think I probably enjoyed the coloring job the most. The linework could stand improvement however. The ghost traps looked very boxy & inaccurate in a lot of the shots, and the proton packs weren't that great either, though I realize that the equipment is hard to draw.

The character designs overall are great, but as Doctor Venkman mentioned I don't really like Egon's spiked hair, I don't think it fits him. I also dislike the new elbow-pads. Nitpicky as that may sound, I love the look of the three-sectioned pads; not sure why they changed them. The Ectomobile is different, but I dig it. It's a nice combination of Ecto-1 & Ecto-1A (with the hazard tape), but mostly Ecto-1.

I also agree with the dialogue complaints. Some of it sounded a bit cheesy; the gangster lingo was a bit over-cranked, and they always exaggerate Venkman's jokester side. Also, there was a bit too much dialogue which was purely expositional. (Ex: "Poltergeists. Damn their ability to interact with the physical world.“)

As for the story, it's definitely engaging, but I'm cautiously optimistic as to how it will progress. Seems like everytime you deal with main characters dying, or their spirits being displaced & bodies possessed, the potential at least for ”silliness" or whatever I guess increases. Hopefully this story arc turns out okay, and we get back to earthly GB's fighting otherworldly beings.

Overall it was a good first issue. There were a few pretty great standout frames as well. I don't think it was as great as Legion, but things may certainly change. The biggest question I have however is:

Where's Janine! This series better have plenty of Janine love. (*janine)

Come on guys! Get in here and discuss this!!!

I really liked the comic. The only thing that could use some work is the equipment. It would be nice to see those blinking lights on the proton packs.

I always wanted to see a dark aproache at ghostbusters. The art style is different then the legion series. I don't have any problem with it. It was only a quick read, I always have that with comics they are always way to short. For me they could have made 10 pages extra.

I hope that will also see Janine and the containment unit in the future comics. This first issue was a great and hopefully it will lead to more series.

Best regards,

Robert

AWESOME comic, and even better is that thanks to Ghostbusters.net I got the regular and variant cover signed by Tom Nguyen. and after reading it i can say I LOVE IT

I liked it. Yea, the writing needs some work and the art is a little off. But its good. And mainly because I've stayed away from any news regarding the story…I was actually really surprised when Winston died, and the end panel with the 3 of them dead. I mean, using my brain, for 2 seconds, I realized they'd be fine, but I was needless to say, very confused for those 2 seconds.

Its interesting in comparing it to Legion. I think Legion did a nice job of making the transition from movies to comic. But in the end, I'll pick up any story thats about the boys. After all, more than a few of us have written some very awesome fan fic about them, so we know there is no shortage of ideas. Hopefully this series sells well and we can stay on long enough to do more and more. So, you know, buy more, buy them all, spread them around.

It was a decent first issue. As I said in CGC, it's hard not to compare it to Legion, whose art and coloring I think are a bit superior to this one, but the art was still good. The writing was a little sketchy in places, especially considering Ray's shock over possession considering he himself was possessed in an event MENTIONED in the book. Also, I had a problem with the end of the issue. I thought it was a bit TOO dark for GB. It just didn't feel right. But, hey, they got 3 more issues to work out the kinks!

Personally, I am a little disappointed with the first issue. First and foremost, like most of you, I feel that the writing is rather flat and unfunny. I think this stems from the fact that so much of what makes Ghostbusters series great are the intangible things the actors do to bring the words and jokes to life. The comic misses an opportunity to truly capture the relationships between the characters and how they interact with each other through plain and uninspired dialogue. Thus, the story suffers significantly in terms of its faithfulness to Ghostbusters canon.

Like Ecto-1, I too felt that the ending was a little too dark. I think that this is because so much of the story is reminiscent of an RGB episode that having the Ghostbusters gunned down in the middle of the street doesn't fit.

I will withhold my comments about the story arc in general, as this is only the first issue. I would like to read the entire story before judging it.

I felt that the art was good. I didn't much care for Egon's look in particular, but I appreciated the artist's intentions.

Overall, I would give this comic a 7/10. A very average effort with good intentions but poor execution.

I wasn't impressed with the five page preview, but held some slight reserve on the idea that the five pages may not have been the first five pages– that we were given a select preview– and seeing that that wasn't the case was disappointing. I think that when you're trying to establish a new universe, and lets face it here if this is going to eventually go past a mini-series its going to be its own universe, you have to reintroduce us to the characters in a way that doesn't seem like rehash. This is one of the things that LEGION got absolutely right. This is one of the things that OTHER SIDE got absolutely wrong.

The argument could be made that we can be jumped right in on this story based on what we as fans already know about the Ghostbusters. We know how the characters are supposed to act, we know their history for the most part, etc. Now if you're marketing this book directly to the hardcore fans then you're golden with this story, but if you're wanting to attract new readers, new fans, OTHER SIDE #1 definitely feels like you're missing part of the story. Ghost gangsters talking when out of nowhere the Ghostbusters come kicking in doors and spouting bad dialogue.

The characterization, aside from Winston (go figure, easiest to write), is off. Venkman is close, Stantz and Spengler are way off. Yeah, Ray is enthusiastic– but he's not retarded. Spengler never says anything remotely intelligent, “spock like”– in short Egon and Ray have been turned into more or less background characters. Ray shows a bit of that bipolar/manic rage when Winston gets shot (ugh), but other than that blah.

The story so far seems like bad RGB. Lets get something clear, I'm not of the opinion that Real Ghostbusters is the be all to end all of Ghostbusters greatness. Though I do adore the first two seasons and the episodes from syndication, but other than a few of the last season episodes the show is mostly kid crap. This comic could very easily fit into season 4 or 5, or maybe even some of the Ghostmaster episodes. So far its just sloppy, boring story telling.

Now for the art.

I don't like it in the book. I was surprised when I saw the sketches that Graham Crackers attendees got, thinking that maybe the art was so bland because of a bad inker– definitely possible– but then checking the credits I noticed that most of the inking was done by the artist himself. I'm going to assume that this book was rushed to meet an october deadline, the art definitely appears to be quick and dirty. The backgrounds are flat, boring. There's nothing adorning the walls in any of the scenes in the firehouse– the equipment closets are flush with the wall. I'm going to touch back on how there's nothing on the walls in the firehouse. Its the Ghostbusters firehouse. There's going to be AWESOME shit all over the walls. Equipment we've never even imagined, photos and newspaper clippings, awards, etc etc. Not here. This problem also relates to when the Ghostbusters get gunned down in the street (ugh), and the colorist tries his hardest to make the panels look interesting by doing the firey-rage swirl, or whatever the hell its supposed to be. Overall this whole book looks like a webcomic that we could've produced. Note I said looks, I know we can write better than this.

Overall, 4/10. The book is weak. Issue 2 gets a pass just to see if perhaps the first issue was something of a hustle, and some real story kicks in next issue, though I'm kinda doubting that's the case.

I think this new comic is alright, but just alright. I think part of my problem is I'm annalyzing this book a lot more because of what Champagne had said about the franchise in general. I think his initial interviews kind of pissed me off so now whenever I read this book I kind of look at it with disdain. I know it's a little crazy, but whenever the writer comes out and says that Ghostbusters was only mildly successful, and complains about the kiddieness of the old stuff, I kind of get the feeling that his take on the Ghostbusters should then turn my opinions upside down and totally pull me into his world. So I kind of feel like he set the bar high and didn't make it. It especially kind of puts me off that this is supposed to be so seperate from the RGB universe but the gangster ghosts has already been done.

That aside the effort feels ok. I think that with Legion though, it felt like 88mph was doing it because they actually loved the Ghostbusters. Even though seb completely ripped a bunch of people off it still seemed like he wanted to publish the franchise because he was a fan. Too me it kind of feels like IDW new that the ghostbusters would probably sell well so they picked it up and threw some people into it who don't have as much of a passion for it. I know that these aspects probably shouldn't effect my actual opinion of the writing and comic in general, but for some reason it does.

My last comment about the writing is that I also feel like this comic should have had more of a intro. Obviously these Ghostbusters are different than the other Ghostbusters so it would have been nice to get to know them a little better. I think Legion 1 did a good job of setting it up. Sorry for comparing a lot of what I'm saying to Legion.

Ok that aside, I think the arts ok, but is lacking a bit. Even though I don't feel that super detailed backgrounds are always important, I think that this book definitly needs them in some spots. Especially in the firehall. There should definitly be a seperation in color from the walls and the floor where the Ecto is. It just kind of looks like the guys are floating there. I think people are right about the inking in the comic too. Everything feels very monotone. Maybe it's not the inking. It might be the color. The Egon hair weapon kind of bugs me. Not to be a jerk, but page 9 bottom middle panel, Egon's head is way too small.

On the plus side though, at least the Ghostbusters are finally getting some print after way too long of a wait. My favorite art in the book so far has to be the mob ghosts. I think those guys all look really good and the blue spirit color looks great on them.

Sorry for being so negative, but my expectations were set pretty high with this one and so far they haven't been fulfilled.

-Gary