An amusement park can't be that dangerous, right? Cue the flying stuffed monkeys.
The Good
Writer Erik Burnham has Venkman's voice down perfectly. The style, sense of humor, and pacing are all there for this very memorable character. Reading the issue, anytime Venkman spoke, I heard Bill Murray. How giggly did I get during those moments? Very. The issue has a great sense of humor and aside from Venkman, it does a great job of capturing all the characters from the films.
If you played the Ghostbusters game for the Wii, and loved the animation style, then this book is truly up your alley. It has a great, over-exaggerated animated style to it that in many ways matches the style from the Wii version of the video game (Dan Schoening on art and Luis Antonio Delgado on colors) . I loved the think lines, bright colors, and elongated faces. It gives this book a unique style that sets it apart from others and from the movies.
This book feels like a Saturday Morning Cartoon, which I recently found out don't really exist anymore. It appeals to all Ghostbusters fans and if I had to pick only one of the franchise books at IDW, I'd pick this one. If you've ever liked Ghostbusters, you'll like this book.
Very awesome final page reveal. I can't wait for the next issue.
The Bad
I jumped onto this book at the wrong time. It seems like we're at the tail end of a story line, the worst place to jump on. If you're a Ghostbusters fan, you really won't have a problem with jumping into the world, but you'll have a problem while you play "catch-up" with the story. You may want to keep your eye on that catch-up paragraph in the beginning so you're not too confused.
The Verdict
What a fun issue! I was a bit cautious about this series, but after reading it, I found myself loving it. Erik Burnham does a fabulous job with writing a fun issue, and he really captures the character's voices well. I loved the art style and loved that last page reveal. The only downside I had with this issue was that this was not a good jump-on point and it took a little while for me to fully understand what was going on. Otherwise, I recommend this issue!