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.
