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Well, after months and months of checking many of the Wal-Marts in the Indianapolis area, and the one in Avon (near where Ogre works) about once a week, to no success, I'd pretty much given up. Ah well, like I said, I still had a set of the vintage originals, right?
Then, last Tuesday (December 8th) I went into the Wal-Mart in Avon and...lo and behold...
Holy cow!
There were seven in total, two of everybody except Venkman. After I left, there was one of everybody except Venkman.
I thought about pulling some money out of my GenCon fund to go back and buy the rest, to start a set that I could actually open up, but decided against it. Leave those for some other thirsty Ghosthead!
Oh hey...look! A sorta early Christmas present!
Two thoughts brought me to this story idea. One old, one newer.
The older one was the realization that, with all of the Egon and Janine "moments" that were depicted in RGB canon and in my stories, there was one that hadn't made it in yet: just how did the events of GB2's disastrous turn in Janine's characterization come out? I'd touched on it briefly in Forever as a sort of aside during a flashback, but I thought maybe it was time to "show" that event.
The newer one: in 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game we see what appears to be the same painting of Vigo the Carpathian we'd seen in GB2, spouting menacing dialog and ironic foreshadowing. How did that get there? I kind of ignored it for a decade, until I thought I had a way to make it work for me.
Anyway, I hope you find it interesting, and once again, sorry it took so long to get part 2 done. For the first and last time, I'll just blame it on "Because 2020"
--Fritz V. Baugh
Ghostbusters: Mr. Stay Puft's Christmas Adventure
December 24, 1983--Timeline Year One
It's Christmas Eve. Venkman's in a foul mood. Ray misses his family. Egon is not sure how to react to Janine's elf costume. Winston has a fateful meeting. And then the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man shows up. Wait, what? How is that even possible?
(First Posted December 12, 2011)
Ghostbusters: Spirit of the Season
By Jason Knetge
December 17, 2003--Timeline Year Twenty-One
The Ghostbusters (???) are called to help stop a spook during the holiday season. .
(First Posted December 20, 2008)
Ghostbusters West Coast: Silent Night
By Mick Nielson
December 25, 2008--Timeline Year Twenty-Six
It's Christmas in LA...and everyone's lost their voices!
(First Posted December 25, 2008)
--Fritz V. Baugh
Because lots of stupid people think COVID-19 is a hoax and won't wear masks, the pandemic is rolling right along, more stuff is being delayed, and now Ghostbusters: Afterlife is among the things being delayed.
Like nearly every film slated for 2020, Sony has hopscotched the release date for "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" multiple times during the pandemic. It was originally scheduled to open in July before it was pushed to March 5, 2021. Given the unpredictability of coronavirus and audiences' apprehension to go to the movies amid a global health crisis, there’s no telling if the latest summer release date will stick.
In better news, I've finally been working on "Picture Imperfect" part two, including a cover picture I'm very pleased with, and hope to have it out by...well, let's just say the end of the year.
--Fritz V. Baugh
It's October 1st, so time for the Pumpkin Head Spice theme and the Halloween Reading List!
Ghostbusters Nightsquad: All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One
By Bo Holbrook, Ben King, and Fritz Baugh
September 2003--Timeline Year Twenty One
It seems like just another day for the members of Ghostbusters Nightsquad. The original Ghostbusters are out of town, and a few small jobs keep things from getting too dull.
But in the shadows, a sinister plot is being hatched...a plot that will change the team forever...
Guest stars Jeff Nash, Vincent Belmont, and Fritz Baugh.
(First Posted July 17, 2006)
Ghostbusters Nightsquad: All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two
By Bo Holbrook, Ben King, and Fritz Baugh
September 2003--Timeline Year Twenty One
Catastrophe!!! The Extreme Ghostbusters defeated!!! Nightsquad's worst enemy has taken over Central Park!!! And Nightsquad can't do anything about it, because they're in jail!!!
(First Posted July 24, 2006)
Ghostbusters Nightsquad: All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Three
By Bo Holbrook, Ben King, and Fritz Baugh
September 2003--Timeline Year Twenty One
As if the Blair Witch wasn't enough...the cult's plot has drawn in another familiar face, one that had nearly defeated the original Ghostbusters more than once. Will Nightsquad, even with the help of Vincent Belmont, Jeff Nash, Fritz Baugh, and Roland Jackson, have a chance in hell against them?!
(First Posted July 31, 2006)
Ghostbusters Nightsquad: All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Four
By Bo Holbrook, Ben King, and Fritz Baugh
September 2003--Timeline Year Twenty One
It's the final showdown between Nightsquad, their allies, and the Hain Witch. The fate of the world is at stake (again), and even if the Ghostbusters are victorious they will pay a price in dearest blood...
(First Posted August 7, 2006)
Ghostbusters Nightsquad: Aftermath
By Bo Holbrook and Fritz Baugh
October 2003--Timeline Year Twenty-One
One week ago, the Hain Witch destroyed his headquarters and killed two of his friends. Now, the drunken wreck who was once Bo Holbrook is confronted with the chance to rebuild--problem is, he's not sure it's worth it.
(First Posted September 17, 2007)
(Okay, it technically didn't take place on Halloween...but c'mon, SAMHAIN!!!>
Ghostbusters West Coast: Flipped Out
October 31, 2006--Timeline Year Twenty Four
It's Halloween and something extra weird is going on...as our heroes are confronted with a team of opponents who are both shockingly wierd and very familiar. Not the least of them, a woman named Ellie...
(First Posted October 31, 2006)
Ghostbusters West Coast: HELLoween
By Aidan Munroe
With contributions from the entire GBWC team
October 31, 2007--Timeline Year Twenty-Five
Halloween is the busy season for a GBI franchise, and this year's no exception. It starts with a familiar ship full of ghostly pirates...and then gets even wierder from there!
(First Posted October 31, 2007)
Ghostbusters West Coast: The Masks We Wear
By Jason Knetge
October 31, 2009--Timeline Year Twenty-Seven
It's Halloween, and sure enough something weird has happened: everybody has turned into their Halloween costume! Join Doctor Who, Deadpool, The Wolfman, Ash Williams, Kitty Pryde, Wolverine, and the Cat Girl as they try to figure out what caused this--and how to reverse it.
(First Posted October 31, 2009)
Ghostbusters West Coast: One Froggy Halloween
October 31, 2014--Timeline Year Thirty-Two
It's Halloween, which is seldom a quiet time for any Ghostbusters franchise, and this year is no exception for the West Coast office. A literature professor with personal ties to one of their own is being stalked by a froglike monster. Can they save him before he croaks?
(First Posted October 31, 2014)
Thanks for reading!
--Fritz V. Baugh
Normally, right about now I'd be doing a post with pictures of all the crap I bought during GenCon, but there was no GenCon this year. They had an online event, but that wasn't really my thing--spending hours in the Exhibit Hall, seeing the costumes, chatting with friends we only see in person there--those are the things I look forward to. Sure, I spent a lot less money this month than I otherwise would have, so there is a slight silver lining.
Ah well, only 351 days until GenCon 2021. Hopefully.
I apologize for the second part of "Picture Imperfect" running so far behind; I feel like I owe you a bit of an explanation:
Some of it you already might have noted: I had spent some time in early June working on some code updates on my old, mostly-defunct Digimon fan site. I'd had that basically ready to go for the week before the release of Picture Imperfect, Part One. It was just a passing nostalgia for an old favorite provoked by a few videos popping up on my Youtube feed, and I'd really meant to do that update for literally a decade.
The part I haven't mentioned online is the fact that on Thursday, June 18, I was involved in an auto accident. Somebody rear-ended Ogre and I while we were on the way to pick up dinner; Ogre wasn't hurt, but I'm told I was bleeding profusely from my head and extremely incoherent. I don't know that for a fact: my memories fuzz out in the afternoon about an hour or so before I ordered the pizza, and don't come back "on-line" until sometime in the early morning hours of Friday, June 19th, at a local hospital. Though, you know, there was the wound on my head that was stapled up, so I totally believe that it happened.
I really didn't come out of it too badly: I was concussed and had a head wound, but no other physical damage. And no mental damage. But the vehicle I was driving, which had originally belonged to my later mother, was totaled. Thus, the last two months have been filled with doctor visits, waiting for insurance settlements, and the search for an affordable new vehicle.
Ogre, our Dad, and my two youngest brothers have been a great help during this time. Things do seem to be getting a bit closer to normal--as normal as it can be when we're still in the midst of a pandemic and a Presidential campaign where a shocking number of people are still planning to vote for the fuckturd who botched up the response to that pandemic--and hope I can get this story out to everyone before much longer.
Thanks, as always, for your patience.
--Fritz V. Baugh
I sometimes worry that I've gotten myself pidgeonholed as the "Egon/Janine Guy". So having told the "big" stories, I drifted on to other things; other teams of Ghostbusters; Ray Stantz's love live; hobbit mating dances; and even romances that other franchises have fucked up.
Yeah, but some time ago, I realized there was one story I had to tell about the couple that brought me to the dance. One piece of the narrative that, due to a combination of creator politics and a perception of "this is a boys show and they hate this stuff", had barely been touched.
--Fritz V. Baugh
Sony was apparently getting ready to put out some manner of celebration today, but between the continuing pandemic and the spate of unrest caused by people who've had enough of being treated like crap by an orange asshole and those who follow it, that too has been delayed.
While we're at it, in case you haven't heard, GenCon 2020's been canceled. Longtime readers know this is one of the high points of my year, as among other things I get to see Vincent Belmont and his wife in person. Well, not this year, so no post in August with pictures of the crap I bought, which will probably be a silver lining to some people.
They say hindsight is 2020, but personally, I can't wait until 2020 is hindsight.
Stay safe and health out there.
--Fritz V. Baugh
It's the Ectozone's Seventeenth Birthday! It's all moody, and doesn't want a big fuss made over it today "Because bithday parties are for babies!!!" and we can't throw a party anyway because Social Distancing.
No new story today, but I think I'll have one ready soon.
As of this writing, no Kenner repops have made it into my collection, but as you can see above the rerelease inspired me to dig out Ogre and my old Kenner figures from the Eighties and Nineties. Being a little older than most of the kids playing with them, they're in pretty good shape (other than the self-applied paint apps and the fact we snipped off the proton beams). (You can see some more pictures of them here).
I once again, have to express my gratitude to everybody who visits this place. It's because of you that I'm still doing it nearly twenty years later!
--Fritz V. Baugh
Not unexpected under the circumstances, but Ghostbusters: Afterlife has been delayed to March 5, 2021. A lot of movies have been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic; not much point in putting out a movie when theatres won't be open to show them, after all.
Disappointing, but it's almost certainly the right decision.
--Fritz V. Baugh
Gregorian: Saturday, 29 February 2020
Mayan: Long count = 13.0.7.5.6; tzolkin = 4 Cimi; haab = 14 Kayabr
French: 11 Ventôse an 228 de la Révolution
Islamic: 5 Rajab 1441
Hebrew: 4 Adar 5780
Julian: 16 February 2020
ISO: Day 6 of week 9 of 2020
Persian: 10 Esfand 1398
Ethiopic: 21 Yakatit 2012
Coptic: 21 Amshir 1736
Chinese: Cycle 78, year 37 (Geng-Zi), month 2 (Ji-Mao), day 7 (Ren-Yin)
Julian day: 2458909
Day of year: Day 60 of 2020; 306 days remaining in the year
Discordian: St. Tibs Day, Year of Our Lady of Discord 3186
Order of Hermes: X Day of Pisces, XXIX Age of Aquarius
(That last one is made up, and based on the modified Ars Magica dating system I sometimes refer to in my fan fics)
Anyway, the last week has been pretty cool:
Hasbro Reveals Kenner Classics at New York Toy Fair
They also unveiled a line of roleplay toys, some Kenner-esque versions of the movie likenesses (they're even calling them the "Fright Features" line), along with an ECTO-1 (not a repop of the old Kenner; it includes the jump seat as seen in the Afterlife footage), and a slightly more upscale Plasma Series of the four Ghostbusters as seen in the first movie, along with Dana-as-Zuul and Gozer. Nothing spoiling the characters in the new movie yet, other than a ghost named Muncher, but the toys will be made.
As you might expect, I'm most excited about the Kenner repops. I hope they do well enought for Hasbro to consider expanding the line; thanks to the Power Pack Heroes line of figures back in the day, they have everything they need to make a "proper" Janine in uniform with proton pack. (Well, and Louis Tully too, but that's far less of a priority of mine.)
The New Fright Features will warrent a look; it may hinge on how "compatible" they are with the Series 1 repops. I'd be in hog heaven if the new figures used the exact same peg as the Kenner ones, allowing us to swap the proton packs.
Even if the movie blows, we're getting some awesome toys out of it!
--Fritz V. Baugh
Oh yeah, that...
IDW has Ghostbusters: Year One in the works, and it looks to be interesting, especially as it will prove that IDW can do Ghostbusters stories without dragging in guest stars from other dimensions. Most of the crossovers have been pretty good, but man, did it get old fast.
I don't know for sure what will be coming up at the Ectozone. I've been tossing some ideas around in my head, especially after Thirty Five Years Later was finished. I may do some more stories of the not-so-far-in-the-future-anymore Ghostbusters. I'm kicking around some stuff with the dormant Ghostbusters West Coast; not necessarily "reactivation", maybe more finally slaying the White Whale that is the unfinished "Toy Soldiers", a high-spectacle vampire story I started just before I became sick of fucking vampires.
On the other hand, speaking of things I'm fucking sick of...
...there's a Presidential Election this year, and oh fuck, that means we're going to be hearing more about and from Donald Fucking Trump, as though we haven't heard enough from that orange asshole the last five years. I know there are still 40% of the people in this country who think that extorting foreign governments and throwing children in cages are good things, but I think the world will be a better place by ten billion percent when he's gone. I don't drink alcohol, smoke anything, or take drugs not prescibed to me by a doctor, but after the last five years of life in America I understand why people do those things.
Anyway, have a safe and happy thirtieth year of the Age of Aquarius
--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