Annuals
Marvel Comics Ltd released four hardcover Real Ghostbusters annuals, following the standard British annual format of larger-format collected stories aimed at holiday gift purchasing.
Annual 1989
Released in 1989. The 1989 annual is the first in the series, featuring Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore. Detailed story content has not been catalogued from available sources.
Annual 1990
Released in 1990. The 1990 annual is the most story-rich of the four, containing multiple standalone strips sharing a loose UK-tour framing. The Ghostbusters undertake a "working holiday" in which their goal is to capture every ghost and supernatural creature in the United Kingdom. Individual stories across the annual include:
- A visit to Stonehenge where the team encounters Gozo, the son of Gozer, who seeks revenge for the events of the first Ghostbusters film. Gozer's name is misspelled as "Goza" at one point in this story despite appearing correctly elsewhere in the annual.
- A case involving living mannequins haunting a store.
- Peter rides a roller coaster haunted by a Rollerghoster, described as a fungeist (a poltergeist that ruins people's fun).
- Spirits haunting an environmentally irresponsible tycoon.
- Janine Melnitz deals with hundreds of prank calls traced to a Phone Phantom ghost.
- The team helps the Clan McClood build a fire before the Monster of Loch Gloom arrives.
- Peter and Slimer spend a night in a haunted house that is identified as Borley Rectory, a location also referenced in the IDW comic "Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively."
- The team captures a Demon Bowler that has been imprisoning people inside its bag.
- Slimer encounters a pair of frightened Beefeater guards at the Tower of London.
- The Ghostbusters trap the Loch Ness Monster.
- The UK tour concludes with Gozo making a final appearance, forcing the team to choose between rebuilding Stonehenge or releasing all the ghosts they captured across the annual.
Slimer appears throughout the annual alongside the core team.
Annual 1991
Released in 1991. The 1991 annual includes stories featuring a Video Tape Demon, a Kitchen Specters strip focusing on Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler, and an encounter with the Late Bus. Slimer and Janine Melnitz also appear.
Annual 1992
Released in 1992. The 1992 annual features the core team of Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore. Specific story content has not been catalogued from available sources.
Collected Comics Specials
The Collected Comics specials are a numbered series of squarebound collected editions reprinting stories from the main weekly comic. Thirteen numbered specials were published with seasonal branding (Spring, Summer, Holiday, Winter, Autumn). A notable pattern across the line is that many covers reuse artwork from specific issues of the main series rather than commissioning new cover art.
| # |
Title |
Release Date |
Cover Source |
| 01 |
Spring Special |
March 1989 |
Reuses cover from The Real Ghostbusters #008 |
| 02 |
TV Special |
August 1989 |
Reuses art from "The Doomsday Mask!" story, The Real Ghostbusters #014 |
| 03 |
Holiday Special |
July 1990 |
Reuses cover from The Real Ghostbusters #032 |
| 04 |
Summer Holiday Special |
August 1991 |
- |
| 05 |
Spring Special |
March 1992 (approx.) |
Reuses cover from The Real Ghostbusters #023 |
| 06 |
(no sources catalogued) |
Unknown |
- |
| 07 |
Winter Special |
January 1992 |
- |
| 08 |
(no sources catalogued) |
Unknown |
- |
| 09 |
Holiday Special |
July 1993 |
- |
| 10 |
(no sources catalogued) |
Unknown |
- |
| 11 |
Holiday Special |
1994 |
Reuses cover from The Real Ghostbusters #100 |
| 12 |
(no sources catalogued) |
Unknown |
- |
| 13 |
Autumn Special |
Fall 1995 |
Reuses cover from The Real Ghostbusters #125 |
The Collected Comics 13 Autumn Special is believed to be the last comic in the entire Marvel UK Real Ghostbusters publishing program, released approximately three years after the main series concluded.
Monthly Digest
Marvel Comics Ltd published a monthly digest series subtitled "The Best From The Ghostbusting Gang!" collecting previously published stories from the main weekly series. At least five issues are known to have been released:
| # |
Release Date |
| Monthly #1 |
November 1990 |
| Monthly #2 |
December 1990 |
| Monthly #3 |
January 1991 |
| Monthly #4 |
February 1991 |
| Monthly #5 |
March 1991 |
Issues #1, #2, and #4 are confirmed in available sources. Each features the four core Ghostbusters. The digest format ran concurrently with the main weekly series during late 1990 and into 1991.
Puzzlebuster
The Puzzlebuster is a hybrid puzzle-and-comics publication released by Marvel Comics Ltd. At least six issues were published. Each features the core team of Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore.
| # |
Release Date |
| Puzzlebuster #1 |
August/September 1990 |
| Puzzlebuster #2 |
October/November 1990 |
| Puzzlebuster #3 |
December 1990/January 1991 |
| Puzzlebuster #4 |
February/March 1991 |
| Puzzlebuster #5 |
April/May 1991 |
| Puzzlebuster #6 |
June/July 1991 |
Issues #1 and #2 are confirmed in available sources. The format combined activity and puzzle pages with comic strip content.
Poster Magazine Winter Special
The Poster Magazine Winter Special was released in November 1990. It is a combined poster and comic publication. The poster featured in the issue is based on the cover artwork from The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990. The core four Ghostbusters are featured.
A standard Poster Magazine (without the "Winter Special" designation) also exists in the Marvel UK Real Ghostbusters publishing line.
Easter Special
The Easter Special was released in April 1990. Unlike the annuals and collected comics, this special reprints content from the American NOW Comics Real Ghostbusters series rather than from the Marvel UK weekly.
The special contains two stories: a reprint from NOW Comics The Real Ghostbusters issues 1-3, and a reprint from NOW Comics The Real Ghostbusters issues 1-4. The cover reuses the title page art from the NOW Comics issue 1-3 story.
Credits for the NOW Comics stories reprinted in this special include:
- Story: James Van Hise (story 1), La Morris Richmond (story 2)
- Pencils: John Tobias (story 1), Evan Dorkin (story 2)
- Inks: Brian Thomas (story 1), Ken Steacy and Andrew Pratt (story 2)
- Colors: Rich Powers (story 1), Ken Steacy and Andrew Pratt (story 2)
- Letters: Jim Massara (story 1), Andrew Pratt (story 2)
- Editor: Tony Caputo
The editor credit (Tony Caputo) reflects NOW Comics editorial involvement in the source material. This special sits alongside the main Marvel UK publishing program but draws entirely on the US NOW Comics production pipeline for its content.
The Marvel UK Real Ghostbusters specials and annuals are a specialized collecting area, particularly sought by UK-based members and international collectors interested in the British side of the franchise's publishing history. The annuals in hardcover format are the most commonly discussed among collectors on GBFans.com, with the Annual 1990 receiving particular attention for its extended UK ghost-tour storyline and the appearance of Gozo.
The Collected Comics specials, with their long tail extending to 1995, are among the harder items to complete as a full set, and several numbered gaps (issues 6, 8, 10, 12) represent volumes where cataloguing is incomplete. Community members with these issues are encouraged to contribute to documenting their contents.
