Jeez, I want to give my review issue by issue, but for some reason I keep feeling that I should wait until all 4 issues are done to say anything in depth. Rachel is an example of why I think I should. I didn't feel as strongly negative about her as I suppose the rest of you did (I honestly didn't mind her)...I had a feeling that whatever she was, she wasn't completely telling the truth and I was willing to wait to find out the real story. I didn't exactly peg her as evil as she appears she may be (my personal theory before the series started, based on preview art, was that she was a buster from the future and came back in time to help), but I think that just goes to show that the 4 issue mini series format is very constricting as far as story telling. There are only a few ways to make that work, the obvious being 1 issue of set-up, 2 issues of conflict/ peril/ build up, 1 issue of resolution (similar to Legion). Another is like this and simply jump into the middle of the story and sacrifice only a couple of those precious 20 pages for the backstory. With more time, we could have seen a build up with Rachel, perhaps even making her a likeable character with a reasonable history, and then slowly get hints that she isn't what she seems. Instead, we rush a half arsed excuse, dislike the character from the get go, only to come back a month later and find out we like her again (or are at least interested again) cause there may be more to her than we thought!
Anyway, I will say that the spelling errors do take me out of the story a little. It kind of reminds me of when you walk through a flea market and see the cheesy knock offs of popular action figures like Power Rangers or something.
"SPOOK-STOPPERS! WITH THERE AWSUME PROTO-PACKS THEY FYGHT AGANST the EVIL LORD VIGGO! IN A QEST FOR TO SAVE HUMNATIY!"
And 2 of them have blue suits and "Winston" is just Ray messily hand painted brown, but his hair is still red.
As far as Ray saying "DR. VENKMAN!", I took him as saying that in a different tone. The best way I can describe it is how if you have a really good friend you haven't seen in a while and when you see them you say their first and last name, but in an endearing way. Similar in tone to how Dana says "Dr. Venkman" in the 1st film when she sees him in the orange jacket after her Orchestra thing (beginning of "The Stiff" scene), only with a bit more exuberance. It's kind hard to describe the tone you imagine someone speaking in over the internet. Imagine if Ray had continued the sentence "DR. VENKMAN, YOU OLD SCOUNDREL!! GET OVER HERE!!" and then Pete was like "Good to see you too, Dr. Stantz."
Heck, now that I think about it, it's like when he says "Nice working with you, Dr. Venkman" during the crossing the streams scene in part 1!
Anyway, in short, this is LOADS better than TOS. It does feel more like RGB, but for someone who enjoys the cartoon as much as (if not more than sometimes) the films, I can very much live with a little cream in my coffee so to speak. I was bouncing in my seat when I saw all the little hints as to the truth behind Rachel, so I am definitely looking forward to the last 2 issues.
The only thing I wasn't fond of was the resolution to this issue. I get the feeling that the script for at least this issue was turned in before the game came out. Otherwise, the author, who is still doing a superb job, really doesn't care to double check the continuity. For all the time and care it seems was taken to near perfectly intertwine the game with BOTH films while still moving the story forward, it kind of irks me that it doesn't seem like anyone really cares to recognize it as part of the film continuity. The "freeze ray" was oh-so-close to the game's stasis stream, but when the dragon just fell to the ground and shattered, I cringed a little. THE GAME COUNTS, PEOPLE! For all practical purposes, if GB3 comes out, it should technically be GB4!
I guess that's just me being a little nit-picky though... Just my humble opinion.
The whole business with Morgan La Fey was just too confusing. I got the sense that she wasn't exactly human at the moment, she was essentially sending her essence ahead of her to issue threats and say "HERE I COME!", so it made sense that they could trap her, effectively canceling out her threat from both angles, and the scene, for how it plays out, was very well written! Peter was actually brilliant throughout, from page one through the end. Here was no different. But the equipment needs to make up it's mind as to what it does. Did the pack overload? Did it turn into a trap? Why didn't they just use a regular trap? If it over loaded, why didn't it blow up?
It kind of feels like with TOS, we got someone who didn't know the characters or the equipment especially well, so we got a crappy story. With DA, we get someone who seems to know the characters really well, so we get great character driven moments, but anytime a character uses or talks about the equipment, the author shows they know the bare bones: Guns that hold ghosts in place, boxes they get sucked into. Past that, they get into trouble "upgrading" and making stuff up, thus the "over-loading-trap-pack".
Maybe the third time will be the charm... especially if I write itt:
As far as "Smart Peter", I don't mind him. I mean, for those that don't mind a little RGB influence, this is the guy who built an Ecto-Plasmic Proto Capacitor from spare parts and didn't know it! Sure it wasn't what he set out to build, but it was from scratch! If he's already helped build/develop countless other pieces of equipment with the team, who's to say he can't do it himself, especially if he's already helped build one like it before? I figure Pete's such a slacker that with other geniuses around him, he pawns the work off on them, or takes shortcuts he doesn't always think through until it's too late. But when he's in a pinch, he can come through. Especially, again with the RGB influence, if Peter suddenly found himself in a position not unlike that of his favorite western heroes, only even MORE geared toward his area of expertise with ghosts and such, he would definitely capitalize on that. It's like living in a book or movie or tv show tailor made for him to star in!
All in all, I am really enjoying this...
...but seriously, IDW, just say the word and I will deliver unto thee a story that will blow you and your mothers out of the water and into last thursday...I've got at least 6 stacked on a shelf and ready to go, and countless others cooking in my head...heck, who do I talk to about a cartoon?
