REVIEW: Something Strange 3 by Richard Crypt

 

Something Strange is, quite simply, the finest Ghostbusters fanfic available. Richard Crypt, who turns out art at an astonishing rate and does commissions too, has the knack for creating work that just feels like genuine GB material.

I'd highly recommend his Patreon, where you get access to sneak previews and exclusive images for as little as a $1/£1 a month. If you really can't stretch to that, at least follow him on Instagra, where you'll get glimpses of his incredible work.

The part we look forward to, though, is Something Strange, a fully-realised print comicbook that is published only occasionally, but my god, it's a great piece of work. It's remarkably professional for a fan-produced item, and each issue features a collection of strips of various lengths telling stories of the 'busters and characters caught up in their world.

We're on the third issue, and this time round it's a direct follow-up to Ghostbusters II, examining the public image of the Ghostbusters following the bizarre occurances in New York in 1984 and '89. We see events from the Ghostbusters' point of view, revisit major characters from the film, and get a glimpse of what both the media and the average New Yorker think about these things. 

Richard's artwork is absolutely spot-on. His ghosts fit right in with the films, but also have a feel of The Real Ghostbusters, upscaled and enhanced to the highest quality. RGB HD. He has the Ghostbusters' likenesses down pat, but it's his skill at recreating other actors in a few lines of black on grey that really impresses. I'm not going to post whole images or pages here - you'll have to support Richard for that - but just look at this one panel.

It's just a sketch of the lower half of his face, and you can immediately see that's Harris Yulin, and know we're going to see how the events of the Ghostbusters' trial and the return of the Scolari Brothers affected Judge Wexler. It's immaculately done. It's not only GB actors who are rendered with skill; characters are frequently cast as recognisable faces, and it's a lot of fun spotting who's guest starring in a strip. (I was pleased, but not at all surprised, to see that Richard is clearly also a fan of the 1993 classic Super Mario Bros.)

You can buy the latest issue on Richard's Etsy site, as well as the previous two, and I'd recommend going straight over there and buying them all. Well-written and exceptionally well illustrated, these comics are a must for the Ghostbusters fan. Plus, if you're a patron, you get your name hidden on the cover, something which never fails to make me smile like a fool (although I don't think anything will beat issue one's "Tessier Slimed Again" newspaper headline).

Subscribe to Richard Crypt's art here, and buy his work here.