Ghostbusters: Dead Man’s Chest #1 is written by David M. Booher and published by Dark Horse Comics. Artwork is by Aviv Or, colours by Cris Peter and letters by Jimmy Betancourt.
Ghostbusters: Dead Man’s Chest #1 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
The Ghostbusters’ increasing notoriety is throwing them for a loop. While Trevor steadies himself by trying to plan a “friendiversary” celebration for him and Lucky, Phoebe meets someone who might be a real friend instead of just a social media follower. But friendships new and old have to take a back seat to more immediate concerns when a ghostly saber summons the ghost of Captain Kidd and threatens to transform NYC into a ghostly pirate town!
Review
Say what you will about the recent Ghostbusters movies, I think one of the things they manage to get right is that mix of playfulness and terror from the personalities and designs of the ghosts in question that allows the series to maintain one of the core elements that made it so likeable in the first place. Thankfully, this is also something Dead Man’s Chest, the newest comic spin-off from this beloved franchise, understands and revels in.
The issue opens with a fun set piece where the family try to capture a ghost wreaking havoc in an art museum. This opening is colourful and enjoyable, filled with all the hijinks you would expect from a ghostbusting encounter. The way this opening also utilises the art in the museum as well as is a fun addition to the formula, leading to some creative visuals.
However, after this set piece, the issue goes more in the direction of the newer films by spending more time on the characters than the ghosts. This isn’t a massive problem as the characters are just as engaging here as they are in the films, but the recent entries in the franchise have arguably felt rather slow due to their padded runtimes and the fact that we spend so much time with the characters. Frozen Empire particularly struggled with this by only going all in on the ghosts for its final act.
The characters on their own are fun enough as their individual stories can be interesting to see unfold, such as Mr Grooberson and Callie’s relationship and Phoebe making a new friend at school. The reason the non-ghost-related scenes worked in the original films was due to the cast’s comedic abilities, making those moments worthwhile and funny. The newer films, and as a result, this comic as well, treat the family dynamic in a mostly serious manner with occasional humour scattered throughout.
It’s important to have good, strong characters at the centre of your story, but Ghostbusters often works best when there’s a consistent balance of comedy, character and ghostly hijinks all flowing from one to the other. This heavy emphasis on the characters’ lives works for that purpose, but takes away from the other elements that tend to take a backseat until needed.
With that being said, the issue does end on a high note, leaving a lot of possibilities open for where this series could take its ghoulish adventures. The artwork from Aviv Or does a really good job of exaggerating the smaller details and expressions, making this series fit more in line with a Saturday morning cartoon, where the visuals are concerned.
The first instalment is a solid start with a lot of potential for future issues to take advantage of the things that make this franchise work as well as it does. The characters are still as entertaining as they usually are, but I’m hoping their dynamics get tested as the story unfolds.
Verdict
Dead Man’s Chest is a more than successful translation of the Ghostbusters films to the medium of comic books. It’s cartoony in all the right ways, but only feels like it’s getting into a groove in the last few pages.
⭐⭐⭐.5
