''The Real Ghostbusters'' is a

comic series This page provides lists of best-selling comic book series to date. It includes Japanese manga, American comic books, and European comics. This list includes comic books that have sold at least 100million copies. There are three separate lists, ...

spun off from ''

The Real Ghostbusters ''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...

'' animated series. Versions were published by

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dill ...

and

NOW Comics NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic book ...

. Publication of the series began on March 28, 1988.

Publication history

NOW Comics

NOW Comics began publishing the series in August 1988. The series ran for two volumes, two annuals and one special. The first volume ran for twenty-eight issues. The series was primarily written by

James Van Hise James Van Hise (born 1949) is an American popular culture historian and comic book author. He had a long connection with the popular fanzine ''Rocket's Blast Comicollector'' (''RBCC''), and was its editor/publisher from 1974 to 1983. He also had ...

, with the exceptions being issue #4 by La Morris Richmond, and issue #21 which featured

reprints due to production delays.

John Tobias John Tobias (born August 24, 1969) is an American comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer and writer. Tobias is best known for creating the ''Mortal Kombat'' series along with Ed Boon, to whom he pitched the game concept. Tobia ...

, Phillip Hester,

Evan Dorkin Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American comics artist and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books ''Milk and Cheese'' and ''Dork''. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himsel ...

and Howard Bender were among the pencilers for the series. The series went on hiatus for a time due to the publisher's financial difficulties, but was subsequently re-launched. The second volume ran for four issues, one special (''The Real Ghostbusters Spectacular 3-D Special'') and two annuals (one regular and one 3-D). The series had a main story that ran from the 3-D Special through issue 4, followed by back-up stories reprinted from the Marvel UK run. They also contained game pages and health tips for kids and parents. Several issues of volume 1 and the main issues of volume 2 used covers taken from the Marvel UK run. NOW Comics also published a three issue miniseries in 1989 called ''Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II'' that was collected as a trade paperback.

Marvel UK

'' published a magazine-sized comic for 193 issues that also spawned 4 annuals and 10 specials. The series started its run on March 28, 1988. Each issue contained three to four comic stories, a prose story alternating from a regular tale to one narrated by

Winston Zeddemore Winston Zeddemore PhD is a fictional character appearing in the ''Ghostbusters'' films, TV series, and video games. He was played by Ernie Hudson in films and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first three seasons of ''The Real Ghostbusters''. B ...

, a prose entry of ''

Egon Spengler Egon Spengler, PhD is a fictional character from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films '' Ghostbusters'', ''Ghostbusters II'', and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'', in the animated television series '' The Real Ghostbusters'' and '' ...

’s Spirit Guide'' typically discussing the entities in the comic, a bio of a character or ghost that appeared in the series, and a short Slimer strip. The comics featured a rotating line-up of creators, including

John Carnell Edward John Carnell (8 April 1912 – 23 March 1972) was a British science fiction editor known for editing ''New Worlds'' in 1946 then from 1949 to 1963. He also edited ''Science Fantasy'' from the 1950s. After the magazines were sold to anothe ...

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

Andy Lanning Andy Lanning is an English comic book writer and inker, known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and for his collaboration with Dan Abnett. Career Lanning works primarily at Marvel Comics and DC Comics as an inker. He has also pencill ...

, Brian Williamson, Anthony Williams, Stuart Place,

Richard Starkings Richard Starkings (born 27 January 1962) is a British font designer and comic book letterer, editor and writer. He was one of the early pioneers of computer-based comic-book lettering, and is one of the most prolific creators in that industry. ...

, and

Helen Stone Helen Stone is an English civil engineer and has been managing director of WS Atkins Structural Engineering, which she joined in 1972. Early life Helen Elizabeth Stone was born in February 1950. Education She attended the North London C ...

. The series ran weekly and eventually began to feature reprints from the American comics as well as stories that appeared previously in the series. The American comics were often broken up into four to five parts, and incorporated the failed

Slimer Slimer, originally referred to as "Onionhead" and sometimes "the Mean Green Ghost", is a character from the Ghostbusters (franchise), ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and the ...

! series beginning with issue 121. The last original story ran in issue 171 with the remaining issues being

reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known a ...

s from the earlier comics and the American books. Four annual comics were produced in a

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

format. Each book contained several comic strips, full-page Slimer strips, and prose stories. The books also included game and activity pages, and reprints of bios found in the regular books. Some of these issues were collected by

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and co ...

into

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

. These include: * ''A Hard Day's Fright'' (collects ''The Real Ghostbusters'' #1-7, 9, 11, 19, 50 and 99, 96 pages, October 2005,

, ) * ''Who You Gonna Call?'' (collects ''The Real Ghostbusters'' #12, 16, 19, 24, 33, 48, 52 and 53, 1989 Annual, 1990 Annual, 1992 Annual, 96 pages, April 2006,

, ) * ''Which Witch Is Which?'' (96 pages, July 2006,

, ) * ''This Ghost Is Toast!'' (96 pages, November 2006,

, ) Marvel UK also reprinted NOW Comics' tradepaperback ''Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II'' in 1989 as well as reprinting various issues as a compendium called ''The Real Ghostbusters: The Giggling Ghoul and Other Stories'' also in 1989. Outside of the ongoing title, the Ghostbusters were also featured in the 30 issue run of ''The Marvel Bumper Comic''. An anthology style comic that was published by Marvel UK from 1988–1989, and that featured strips based on different characters and properties.

Slimer

A spinoff series that spotlighted the popular Ghostbusters character

was also published. NOW Comics published a series that ran nineteen issues from 1989 through 1990, as well as spawning a one shot special called ''The Real Ghostbusters 3-D Slimer Special''. Some of these issues were reprinted as a tradepaperback in 1991. Marvel UK also published a 19-issue series.

Titles

NOW Titles

*''The Real Ghostbusters'' Volume 1 #1-28 *''The Real Ghostbusters'' Volume 2 #1-4 *''The Real Ghostbusters'' 1992 Annual *''The Real Ghostbusters'' 1993 Annual *''The Real Ghostbusters starring in Ghostbusters II'' #1-3 *''The Real Ghostbusters Spectacular 3-D Special'' *''The Real Ghostbusters 3-D Slimer Special'' *''Slimer'' #1-19

Marvel UK

*''The Real Ghostbusters'' #1-193, 1989-92 Annual

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Ghostbusters Comics, The 1988 comics debuts Comics based on television series Comics by Dan Abnett Comics set in New York City Ghostbusters comics

Publication history

NOW Comics

Marvel UK

Slimer

Titles

NOW Titles

Marvel UK

See also

Notes

References