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"Kinda hard to eat cake with your head cut off, Marie"
Anything exciting happen that weekend?
We'd had pretty much perfect weather for the last five or six Gen Cons, so I guess we were overdue for what George Carlin called a "Rain Event." So Saturday night, there was actually a tornado warning, and a later confirmed sighting of a high altitude tornado. The con itself was fine, other than some leaks in Hall B of the Event area.
My good friends at Pointy Hat Games were there, with a new expansion to their awesome Elemental Conflux game. Go check it out at the link!
"Wait, we avoided the tornado and now there's a motherfuckin' Terrasque?!?!"
Ha ha no.
No, this was an exquisite miniature (doesn't seem like the right word with something that big) painted by an artist named Andy The Painter. Having seen his work firsthand, all I can say is...wow.
Okay, now for the inevitable pictures of my loot haul:
The card expansion is in the middle, along with this year's badge and a few freebies. I got some dice, which everybody does. To go with the Optimus Prime Action Edition I got last year, this year I got a TF1 Classic Class Ironhide. (I can already hear him saying "But Pax...") Plus a couple plushies: Yotsuba Nakano from The Quintessential Quintuplets and an Espeon. I have stuffed Pokemon and stuffed cats at my desk: the purple psychic murder kitty fits both groups!!!
Hey, remember when I passed on this Dragon Dagger three years ago?
Yeah, they had it again this year and I didn't make the same mistake twice:
(Morpher is the one Playmates put out a year or two ago)
Big year for us buying Paizo products: one of the things distracting me from doing the writing I should have been doing over the spring was working to start a campaign based on their second edition of Starfinder. The books we bought at Gen Con will help with that. There's also a couple of Pathfinder 2 books that had stuff that interests Ogre and I, relevant to Starfinder or not.
One with some personal significance:
Pelgrane put out a second editon of 13th Age. This series has been impressive from the get go, and while I've never actually played it directly, I mercilessly steal stuff from it to use in other games, most notably the brilliant Escalation Die.
And I have to note...
...I backed this book, which means my name is right there in the long list of other backers. Not a huge deal I know, but forgive me, right now seeing my name in a real, honest-to-gosh printed book still gives me a zing.
Now the wait until August 2027.
--Fritz V. Baugh
The figures are finally, officially using the molds from the Power Pack Heroes Janine and Louis and Hasbro is doing what Kenner should have done about thirty-six years ago: presenting them with proton packs and colored to actually be in Ghostbuster flight suits.
Janine, sadly but expectedly, is in a pink flight suit, while Louis's is green.
I have some mixed feelings about this.
Sure, It's pink, but I want that Janine. I mean honestly, this is something they should have given her even before the Power Pack Heroes came out.
On the other hand, I don't give a flying bluk about Louis Tully. I could give it to my cats to play with for all I care. And packing them together brings a tinge of thirty-seven year old bile to my throat...reminding me of the only thing they did to Janine creatively that was worse than helium cheerleader Mommy Janine.
Anyway...
Gen Con starts this week. May depend on how much money I have left over, I guess. 
Meanwhile, in Things I Will Definitely Never Be Able To Afford..
MONDO Reveals People Busters for Real Ghostbusters 1:12 Scale Line
Fan favorite characters, along with the first (official) Peoplebuster Winston and "Remils"? Aw man I hate being poor.
And that's not all!
Mondo did a deep dive into Ecto-1-centric episodes of the show to uncover never-before-seen details and inspire new accessories. One standout addition comes from the episode "Follow that Hearse," in which the Ecto-1 is possessed by a monstrous Earth Spirit. Mondo recreated this moment with a swappable hood that allows fans to display the car in its possessed form, complete with tentacles, and they've even included a figure of the Earth Spirit itself, marking the first time the character has ever been made into a collectible.
The Ecto-1 also comes with alternate looks from the show and includes the Ecto-3 sidecar as an additional accessory, rounding out what is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious and detailed Ghostbusters vehicles ever produced at this scale.
It's a great time to be a Real Ghostbusters fan.
It's not so great to be a Real Ghostbusters fan with limited finances, but that's where I am I guess.
--Fritz V. Baugh
Very active on the news front this last week. The biggest one first:
From GBNews: "Netflix’s Upcoming Ghostbusters Animated Series Called 'Night Shift'”
Originally announced during Ghostbusters Day 2022, the animated project has spent the last several years quietly progressing behind the scenes, with only occasional updates emerging through industry events and trade reports. Today’s reveal marks the biggest public update on the series to date, finally giving fans both a title and a clearer idea of what’s ahead as Ghostbusters continues its return to animation.
I admit, as an old fan fic guy, the first thought I had was "I wonder what Bo Holbrook thinks of this"
Second thought was "Are the Commodores going to be on the soundtrack?"
More seriously, it'll be neat to see how this turns out. My only real complaint is my usual old-man-yelling-at-clouds gripe about "Why isn't it on real TV so I can watch it legally?!"
Also in the news this weekend:
Mondo, producer of spectacular RGB figures I'm way too broke to buy, unveiled their latest product:
Yep, it's the easiest reuse of the molds imaginable, but it's also based on a very loved episode: "Citizen Ghost" 's Ghost Clones/Anti Ghostbusters. We're probably looking in the $400 range at best, so, yeah, I guess my streak of not getting these continues. Do look awesome, though.
Anything else?
Yep. After too long a time, it's finally here...
The Real Ghostbusters 2024: The Sign Of The Twins, Part Seven
June 20, 2024--Timeline Year Forty-Two
The race is on! The Herald of Gozer has kidnapped Eden Spengler, and there's no chance it's for anything good! Will the Ghostbusters find Eden before it's too late?!
Thanks for your patience, and keep reading!
--Fritz V. Baugh
The Ectozone is now Twenty Three years old! If you want to take a look at how this site has grown and evolved over the years take a look at the Archive page HERE
New update on the Ghostbusters animated project that seems to have been in hell forever, from GB News
As part of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, taking place June 21 through 27 in Annecy, France, Netflix will present a first look at the untitled animated series on June 24th, marking the franchise’s first official showcase for the long-awaited project.
According to newly issued press materials, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire filmmakers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan, both serving as executive producers on the animated series, will attend the presentation alongside showrunners Ben Hibon and Elliott Kalan.
Also confirmed for the series is Ghostbusters co-creator Dan Aykroyd, who will serve as an executive producer on the upcoming animated project, a role he has held across Ghost Corps productions since the company’s formation. Sony has also outlined a targeted 2027 release, with further details coming later.
We'll just have to see how this goes, as always.
Anyway, I owe everyone some apology and explanation.
I haven't posted a story since October of 2025, almost seven months ago; I don't think I've had that long a hiatus between stories since the lead-up to the conclusion of Chronicles of Gozer or in the year or so after my mother's death.
"The Sign of the Twins" is a big thing I've been building up to since the end of "Gemini Rising", which was, holy cow, twenty frickin' years ago. But it creates its own kind of pressure, and I kept trying to push myself to make it pay off. At one point last year, though, I looked at a big chunk of what I'd done and realized I wasn't liking where I was going. So I threw out about half a chapter of stuff and re-thought things. I lost time because of that.
In January, I was finally getting a head of steam, and had "Sign of the Twins, Part Seven" about half done....when I caught a urinary infection that put me in the hospital for almost a week. And I was in a weird sort of hazy state for a good month afterwards; my eating and sleeping habits were all over the place. I just didn't have any energy to write.
There were a number of other Real World situations going on. A childhood friend of ours ran into legal trouble and became homeless; he lives with us for the time being, but that also led to a lot of adjustments for everyone involved. And again, not much energy to write with.
And when the energy did start to come back...well, there were other interests that grabbed my attention. Ogre and I had the opportunity to possibly start an RPG group; that required some time and energy to create characters and come up with scenarios.
I'm not trying to excuse this long hiatus. What I'm trying to do is explain it; there's a difference, I hope.
I deeply apologize for the long wait. I wish I could have released a new chapter today, but I can do the next best thing: "The Sign of the Twins, Part Seven" is almost complete thanks to a recent burst of enthusiasm, and barring any major upsets I will be releasing it on Monday, June 8th.
Thanks for your patience, and keep reading!
--Fritz V. Baugh
Well, 2025 is now in the history books, and 2026 is begun.
I wish I could announce a new story chapter today like I did on January 1st last year, but the last couple months both Real Life and some non-GB interests have been eating at my time. But I have made some progress on "The Sign of the Twins", and hope to have something ready to go soon.
So, anyway, I want to wish everyone a Happy N...
Have as safe and happy a Thirty Sixth Year of the Age of Aquarius as you can.
--Fritz V. Baugh
Ghostbusters ™ and © Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. No use of characters and images associated with the above or any other trademarked material is intended for profit, or to challenge the copyrights of the above holders. Characters and ideas not appearing in the above copyrighted works are to be considered © Fritz V. Baugh and/or their other respective creators