Review: “Ghostbusters Artbook” Features a Treasure Trove of Artwork Inspired by Original Film

Hi everyone –

I graduated high school the same month that the original Ghostbusters film came out and I had no idea what an iconic film it would be all these years later. While Ghostbusters: Afterlife was moved to 2021 due to COVID-19, we were sent Ghostbusters: Artbook by Insight Editions. It is presented by Printed in Blood and is “an exclusive, fully illustrated celebration of the iconic film franchise, featuring hundreds of unique art pieces from creators all over the world”. Read below for more information and my review of this 208 page book.

The synopsis for Ghostbusters: Artbook:

Celebrating the legacy of the pop culture classic, Ghostbusters, this deluxe, hardcover art book features an ectoplasmic jackpot of brand-new, exclusive artwork inspired by the most iconic paranormal investigators in cinematic history. Bringing together brilliant artists from animation, comics, fine art, and beyond, Ghostbusters: Artbook showcases incredible artwork inspired by the iconic 1984 film. Filled with unique interpretations of fan-favorite characters such as the Ghostbusting team, Slimer, Gozer, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, this deluxe art book shows that decades later there’s still only one team to call—Ghostbusters!

The brief introduction is by Jason Reitman, the son of the original director Ivan Reitman – he is also the director of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. After the intro, there is a treasure trove of artwork that includes various takes on scenes and recognizable icons from the film, like the Ecto-1. Some of the pages include commentary from the artists on why they chose a particular scene or item. For example, Eric Millar chose Slimer because at nine years old, he spent a few days in the hospital after having his tonsils out. His father bought comics and magazines, including an issue of Marvel’s Slimer comics – and Millar says how “that green spud cheered me up”. The commentary is actually a lot of fun for me since much of it hearkens back to the 80s, which is the main era I grew up in (70s-80s) – with VHS and Betamax and Ecto Cooler…the book is really is just a fun celebration of Ghostbusters. There is a lot of artwork of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the characters in the film including in movie poster form, Slimer and more. As far as art books go, it is an excellent one. There isn’t a ton of text, but there is some on many pages when an artist wants to talk about inspiration.

The artwork can be realistic or very different from the final movie version and you can see that in the image below.

I recommend Ghostbusters: Artbook to anyone who is a fan of the original film.

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