Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers The Call

Ghostbusters 101 #1-6

by Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening (Illustrator), Paul Feig (Introduction)

Worlds collide as your favorite characters from the Ghostbusters movies -- both series! -- meet for the first time! It's the biggest crossover since they crossed the streams!
Before they began investigating the supernatural, most of the original Ghostbusters were teachers... and they've decided it's time they start sharing their knowledge again. But when their first batch of students start poking around the firehouse and accidentally set in motion the merging of two universes (it's easier than you'd think) Venkman, Stantz, Zeddemore, and Spengler will need all the help they can get to put things right! And who do you think will Answer The Call? (If you guessed Holtzmann, Yates, Tolan, and Gilbert... you get a gold star!) It's a brand new inter-dimensional meeting of the minds.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Ghosts, Supernatural

125 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2017

About the author

Erik Burnham is a Minnesotan writer and artist that first broke into comics with a series of humorous short stories in the Shooting Star Comics Anthology. These stories featured his original creation, Nick Landime, and culminated in a one-shot: Nick Landime vs. the World Crime League, published by Shooting Star in 2005.

Off and on, in this same time period, Erik also produced a short run of an online strip, The Down Side, until technical issues wore him down. He aims to return to the strip one day.

In 2007, Erik found produced work for two other anthologies – a short humor piece for History Graphics Press’ Civil War Adventures #1, and a horror story for Gene Simmons’ House of Horror #3, produced by IDW Publishing.

This lead to several other projects for IDW, up to and including his critically acclaimed run on the ongoing GHOSTBUSTERS comic book.

Erik has worked on other projects not related to comic books, and hopes one day to share those with the public at large. In the meantime, he still lives quietly in Minnesota; any rumors about this being because he’s completely afraid of the forty-nine other states (and Canada) remain unverified at this time.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

So a quick update - its always dangerous when I go looking for a title in my collection as invariably end up stumbling over other titles I instantly want to re-read - well guess what I did it again. And you know what I am totally unapologetic and I loved ever page of it. This is the best part of being able to keep the books I enjoy -I get to do it all over again, and I suspect again


If my previous read was a totally random stab at reading a book - this was the opposite the culmination of a lot of waiting and planning.

I have always loved Ghostbusters ever since I saw the first film one christmas with the family many years ago (and being amazed how it gave my older brother nightmares too).

Since they we have had sequels and reboots and all sorts of merchandise in-between.

And of course the comics. Now I have always been reluctant to read those simply because the span several publishers, styles and stories. However with IDW took over the license I started to feel that it would all start to pull together - and it appears it has.

Okay so the book - here we have the classic team up of several of the franchises teams. I must admit it works really well (although it would have been fun to see an even bigger team up but hey they left that door open for some future book I suspect).

The book has a lot of classic humour in it - and makes some great little references which perfectly support the cameos we see in the latest film (which I will say I actually enjoyed).

The story line is pretty predictable, however you know what I do not care, I was here to see the teams in action, both against the apparitions and each other - and I can tell you I was not disappointed. Now I am not an expert on the Ghostbuster comic franchise but I will say that if I can decipher what the chronology of the series is I would certainly be looking to read more.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Universes collide and merge, bringing the worlds of the 80s and 16 Ghostbusters together--can they save the day? This was super charming and a lot of fun. The 80s team doesn't interest me very much, but once the groups combined I thought it was great. I love that there's a ghost who can pass for human and is training their interns, which is definitely something fun to play with. Lots of fun and explosions, love Holtz and her other world person (an Agent!) basically falling in love with each other, love Holtz crushing on Scully, Abby and Erin's friendship, Patty's immense knowledge of history and more.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, rounded down.

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. The idea of the Answer The Call and classic Ghostbusters meeting should be cause for celebration, but this one really misses the mark.

It takes three issues before they're even in the same universe. I appreciate a slow burn, but when it's a six issue limited series, that's a bit too slow. Then there's a hell of a lot of page time devoted to technobabble, which is usually fine, but when it's really as simple as 'there's a ghost with pieces in both dimensions and that's why they're crossing into each other', it's a bit redundant. Even the characters remark that the classic Ghostbusters make things more complicated than they need to be - so if you're aware of it, then don't do it?

There's also the issue of the 'villain' of the piece, which is a nameless ghost that doesn't even talk. There's a hint earlier on in the crossover that there might be something more sinister involved, but that plot point is entirely ignored later on. Not every story needs to be the end of the world, but it'd be nice if there was a good reason to bring everyone together rather than just a simple ghost.

That said, there is some great stuff in here, hence the three stars. The character work is excellent as always - Erik Burnham's been writing the classic 'busters for long enough to know how they all work, and the ATC characters fit in naturally. There's some great moments between Erin and Abby, Holtzmann seems impossible to get wrong, Kevin is hilarious in literally every panel (the sticky notes!) and we even get an acknowledgement of the fact that the OG Ghostbusters actors showed up in the ATC movie. Plus Dan Schoening's on art, so everything looks wonderful as well (There's a section when he randomly changes style just for two panels set in the Get Real universe (I think?) and it's just insane).

Everyone Answers The Call has some good moments, but they're unnecessarily buried under an uninspired plot that spends a bit too long explaining itself and not long enough capitalizing on the crossover premise.

[Vail Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only hindered by the fact you need to know some of the IDW continuity, which itself is like an extension of the movies, unlike the cartoon, but like the cartoon, they have cameos from Extreme Ghostbusters.
...
Confused? Don't be.
It's a great time with two paranormal bustin' squads that make you feel good. And SO much more character depth to the Gal!Ghostbusters than their movie ever gave them.
Also, Holtzman.
Holtzman is a mood.

[Amy Walker - Trans-Scribe Reviews]

Ghostbusters 101 brings together the Ghostbusters with their inter-dimensional counterparts from Ghostbusters Answer the Call as their two universe’s collide with disastrous results.

When the Ghostbusters decide to try to raise some extra cash by letting members of the public come to their headquarters to experience being a Ghostbuster for themselves, the latest interns play around with the dimensional portal and encounter a ghost from another universe.

With a part of the ghost coming through the portal, the entity is able to try to pull itself back together, resulting in the two worlds merging together, bringing the two teams together to figure out a way to separate their two dimensions.

The combination of the two Ghostbuster teams actually work incredibly well together, mainly thanks to the newer team not just being carbon copies of the originals in female shells, but completely different and unique. The over the top enthusiasm and craziness of Holtzmann annoys both teams in equal measure, the friendliness and history knowledge of Patty wins over the original Ghostbusters, and Abby and Erin are able to work alongside Egon and Ray, using science as a common ground.

The book is able to give each character their own moments to stand out, to demonstrate why they’re good at what they do, and why they deserve to be a Ghostbuster. Even the relatively new characters of the 101 class get some moments to themselves, with Garrett, a character only introduce in the second issue of the cross-over, getting a poignant scene where he discovers his sick father has died by coming face to face with his ghost, giving him the chance to have a goodbye.

Ghostbusters 101 is able to mix these character moments with some fun comedy beats, with the Answer the Call’s Kevin being as ridiculous as always, and even uses the merging of dimensions for some small single panel gags, including the New York Mayor changing person halfway through a speech before reverting back to normal.

The best moments, however, are the ones that address what could have been inconsistencies, especially with the cameo appearances of the original cast in the latest film being explained away, and even the idea of Ghostbusters across multiple dimensions being tied back into the original film mythology.

Whilst in the past the Ghostbusters ongoing series has made an effort to make each dimension stand out with its own art styles, even recreating the classic cartoons, Ghostbusters 101 uses very subtle differences in the looks of the two teams and their separate New York’s. Whilst this does mean that each dimension doesn’t stand out as much as previous inter-dimensional adventures the series has done, it does mean that the merging of the two worlds feels much more fluid and natural, instead of being jarring.

A good combination of both the classic Ghostbusters films and the latest remakes, the book not only gives a great stand alone adventure that fits well into the mythologies of both versions of the franchise, but justifies that the newer version can exist without erasing what has come before; something that may help to placate the screaming man babies that condemned the latest film simply for having an all female cast.

[Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was enjoyable and, for the most part, kind of makes me feel there is some type of redemption for that poorly rated Ghostbusters reboot film of 2016. This story continues to make use of the multi-verse gateway that is soo not secured away in the fire house basement and helped introduce the alternate Earth in which the ghostbusters is the all female team. At 6 issues, the majority of the characters was developed with both Kate McKinnon's and Chris Hemsworth's characters becoming overtly annoying to the point where you would wish they would scale it back a bit. Worth addressing was the absurdity of the female's team approach to shoot away and "disperse" the ghosts rather than trapping them and containing them. I mean, there is really so much that can be considered wrong from the 2016 movie but I was glad this was addressed and written in that a temporary disperse will only result in the anomalies coming back and potentially in a stronger form.

Again, this was a pretty solid volume but I tend to have liked the majority of the stories Erik Burnham has given us. The characters grow at a fair rate and the cast continues to grow. Based on previously volumes, there is still so many more stories to go with characters that have only been teased with in the past.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ghostbusters are kicking off an internship program and, in addition to that, a day camp program. Why not, it’ll help them make a little money and find promising new recruits? It seems like a perfectly reasonable plan until their interns cause an accident that starts merging their New York with the New York of another universe. With another universe come more Ghostbusters ready to answer the call and help prevent reality from collapsing in on itself.

In concept I really like Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers the Call. I like the idea of the Answer the Call Ghostbusters and the classic Ghostbusters meeting up and working together. I like the idea of the contrast between the teams and seeing how their tech compares. This mini-series wasn’t exactly that though. While there was some fun interactions and nifty ideas this felt more interested in the classic Ghostbusters and setting up later comics in the shared universe than in the Answer the Call Ghostbusters. I don’t think this was something the team planned on so much as they were more used to and comfortable with the classic Ghostbusters and so tended to use them more out of habit. That isn’t a knock against the comic in and of itself, I just have no attachment to the classic Ghostbusters and that effected my enjoyment of the comic.

The stage is set when an intern sticks his hand through a dimension door and gets grabbed by a ghost leading to that ghost trying and pull itself back together, thus merging the dimensions. The effects of that dimensional merge aren’t really felt until the third chapter/issue and then the cast gets to know each other. In a longer graphic novel this approach could have worked well and built to the teams working together and learning from each other. This was six issues though, so we get some bits of the teams working together but fast tracked. Classic Ghostbusters have been at this longer and so have more of a grasp on busting ghosts, Answer the Call Ghostbusters are by turns interested in this and bothered by it.

This is where the thing I mentioned earlier comes in. I feel like the team on Ghostbusters 101 wasn’t much interested in the Answer the Call Ghostbusters or didn’t know much about them while writing this. So the Answer the Call Ghostbusters have a tendency towards feeling really flat, kind of like the writer was given a two sentence description of each and just went with that. I know that isn’t entirely fair to Erik Burnam, since he was juggling a pretty huge cast and these are fairly new characters. It still stands that the Answer the Call Ghostbusters can feel like parodies of themselves while the classic Ghostbusters feel a lot more rounded. Holtzmann, I think, probably gets it the worst with teasing from the movie having become a tendency towards out right rudeness and needling people until they’re desperate to get rid of her. Conversely, Patty had her historian aspect ramped up and gets a couple of nice moments related to knowing about the places they visit, so that was pretty cool.

The art here is interesting, it’s very stylized. There’s a level of cartoony-ness here that works in some places, like with the more monstrous ghosts, but then not in others, a lot of the expression work is strange. The character design as a whole is a little odd. There’s a fantastic array of different body types even in crowd clusters, but then there’s something about the faces that I can’t quite put my finger on. The backgrounds tend to be pretty awesome, with really cool detail work. The backgrounds add a lot to the feel of a scene, which is something I’m not entirely used to but appreciate.

There was a bit at the end that was pretty great, showing different possible worlds and iterations of events. I would have liked more stuff like that. Over all though, I’m a little cool on Ghostbusters 101: Everyone Answers the Call as a finished series. It isn’t bad, just not what I was looking for. It gets a three out of five, mostly for being one of those things that I would have probably enjoyed more if I had just happened across it rather than having spent a few months looking forward to it.

[Juan DeLeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pleasant surprise. The weaving of these characters and their dimensions was a fanboy write up. The juggling of the films and comic books creates a very unique crossover. Having the opportunity to have characters interact with each other and acknowledge what they bring to the table, in this incarnation was successful to me. I like the breakdown of major characters and their machinations over their innovations. The send ups by Burnham were spot on and it fed the narrative, keeping it moving. It would have been nice to give a bit more to character development and depth. A good opportunity for that was when Abbey Yates expresses her insecurities to Erin Gilbert. There was meat there that was left on the bone, when a pep talk was all that was needed to set that straight. Although, very necessary to make up of the team, I found Holtzmann so terribly annoying. Self center egotistical, just like the rendition of comic book Venkman, but with a Jar-Jar Binks disposition of sucking the attention from a scene. I don’t know how one could tone down such a character. Burnham did favor the original Ghostbusters as flawless dudes, with no insight to their insecurities, just strictly can do guys with a job to do. There was a missed opportunity to going deep with these guys. It felt like though the characters may have had enough ID juice, they would not have to check their bravado. Overall, I liked it.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went to buy the new Ghostbusters that Kelly Thompson had written but FP didn't have it so I bought this instead. Mainly because it had Kylie meeting the new ghostbusters. And I loved Kylie! Though seriously WTF was she wearing in her middle appearance? White button down shirt BEIGE sweater vest???? At least when she showed up she as in stripy gloves and a lab coat! Also disappointing that she wasn't a proper ghostbuster!!! As she should have been! When all the controversy started over the women in the new film I did wonder why everyone had forgotten her!
The story was ok, interdimensions done quite well with fun reasoning and excuses. Though I had to laugh at the "explanation" given for the women ghostbusters destroying things. I mean I had no idea that previous fans had been upset by the lack of "science" they used because it was different to the original. For "busting" ghosts....
There was a really lovely scene between Abby and Erin, but Holtzmann was definitely WAY too hyper and outgoing and Patsy a bit of a cliche of herself. I enjoyed it but it wasn't great. I'm looking forward to Kelly's book though and seeing what she does with the girls.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a bit slow to start, an enjoyable crossover event! I'm a bit rusty on my original Ghostbusters team and haven't read their comics, but I enjoyed the interaction between the characters, even if there were way too many (including the interns).

What I couldn't stand was the drawing style. The original Ghostbusters in particular were drawn so cartoony that it was difficult to tell who was who, with awkward lips that seemed to meet the side of their faces. Likewise, the 2016 Ghostbusters were caricatures of themselves but also not... flattering? I can't quite explain it. Funnily enough, the interns were drawn more realistically and I liked their style the best.

Would've enjoyed this more if I hadn't been pulled out of the story by the drawings, but I'd still read more.

(And I thought the whole point of the banishment was to separate the dimensions once more? Maybe I was lost in the scientific babble.)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially, I was trudging through this. The setup seemed a little lackluster and the transitions choppy at best. However after that rocky start I really enjoyed this. The references to all the movies made me smile, but I feel like I would have better appreciated this or perhaps understood all the non-movie references if I had read the other Ghostbusters graphics/comics of this series.
Glad it was inter-dimensional and not time travel or "who is the real ghostbusters."
Verdict: Fun if you liked/loved all the films.

[James Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat crossover that respects both versions of the Ghostbusters, giving the 1984 and 2016 teams each time to shine. (I particularly enjoyed seeing Patty's history expertise.) The crisis was also a nice change of pace from the usual "one villain emerges that both sides have to battle". I also liked the titular "Ghostbusters 101" concept, of classes to teach potential future Ghostbusters (such that I wished more time had been spent on the "cadets"). (A-)

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a treat. My only complaint with the 2016 Ghostbusters movie was that I think it should have been an extension of the same universe, rather than a complete reboot. Enter this comic, in which the various Ghostbusters universes intermingle and you get to see Holtzmann and Egon interact. Comedy gold.

The story is a little scant, but it's just a HEAP of fun to see the '84 Ghostbusters and the 2016 Ghostbusters get together. Totally worth a read.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ghostbusters have opened up a training academy. I mean what could go wrong? Right! An intern managed to open a gate that allowed a ghost to exist in two dimensions at once. Not good since this started merging the two dimensions. The Ghostbusters of each dimension got together to try and save their dimensions and the world. Plenty of crazy action and interesting interaction between the teams. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good but it's weird how the 1984 Ghostbusters seem to be the primary characters instead of the 2016 Ghostbusters when they're who are the ones we all came here to see.

This did a pretty good job getting Holtzmann's voice right and the art was mostly good. The front cover was disappointing and the women all have weird mouths were my biggest issues.

[Angie Mowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a lifelong fan of Ghostbusters this was almost a mandatory read. I loved how they mashed together the two universes, gave us a nod to Bill Murray's character in Caddyshack, and used Gozer to tie the whole thing together. Even the cameo by The Real Ghostbusters was great.

[Luis Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful crossover and it could easily had worked as a movie.

Art style and coloring is fantastic, really enjoyed the references and callbacks and the inclusion of other dimensions and character designs from other shows makes this a great read.

[Carly Jerome · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this comic! It was fun and fresh. The characters were all true to themselves (ie their movie characters. The art was fun (not my favorite, but still fun). It was a quick read, and quite enjoyable. Now, if only the beans had spilled about what Holtzmann's PhD was in...

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

101 brings two dimensions together and so therefore the male and female Ghostbusters. The idea is neat but the story is plodding, weighed down by superfluous minor characters and half-funny, cutting-room-floor dialogue. The likenesses, off-puttingly, convey almost nothing of the original actors.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy successor to the on-going IDW series and the 2016 reboot, even with a few moments I would have left out. Plenty of amusing meta-humor, too.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough crossover - but a couple of days after reading it, I can't remember much about the plot.

[Bryce Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story that stayed true to the characters. Please, keep writing more of these, guys!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

would 10/10 watch this movie!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was fun. While I'm not as big a fan of the new movie as the originals, there's no doubt that the characters are completely captured here in voice and behavior. Nicely done.

[pianogal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent crossover. I loved seeing these two teams together.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the humor of this story. Certainly it is a bit goofy that the teams meet each other, and the school aspect is fun, but it works. I look forward to reading more fun books like this one!

[Leslie Jonsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mix of the new and old Ghostbusters movie characters. Very interesting and readable plot, hope there is a sequel!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy, with lots of extraneous characters. Nice reminder of Kate McKinnon’s character, but generally meh.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good crossover and this was a lot of fun.

[Jean-François Tremblay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, even funny at times, but not a lot. I wished it could have been more - more interesting, more epic.

But Kevin made me laugh! :-)