Plot
The issue opens with the ghosts of two children, Michael and Laurie, fleeing a massive tentacled entity in some unseen spiritual realm. Laurie manages to break free of the creature's grasp. Separately, Ray Stantz is summoned to a reunion by Benny, the ghost of a former student from Ray's junior high school days who has been bullying younger child ghosts. While Ray investigates, Laurie crosses over into Peter Venkman's dreams and warns the Ghostbusters about the danger.
The team learns that the Soul Catcher, a powerful ghost, has been deliberately stealing the souls of children who died in accidents and holding them prisoner for decades. The four Ghostbusters, Egon Spengler, Peter, Ray, and Winston Zeddemore, work together to locate and confront the Soul Catcher. Janine Melnitz also appears in a supporting capacity. The Ghostbusters ultimately defeat and capture the Soul Catcher, freeing all of his child prisoners.
One-Off Characters
Michael and Laurie are the ghosts of two children who died in accidents and were subsequently captured by the Soul Catcher. Laurie's ability to slip free and reach Peter through his dreams is what sets the Ghostbusters on the case. Benny is the ghost of a former student from Ray's junior high school; his bullying of the other child spirits adds texture to the story's ghost-community setting. The Soul Catcher is the antagonist of the issue: a tentacled entity that has spent decades collecting and imprisoning the spirits of children. None of these characters appear in other issues of the NOW Comics series.
Notes
- This issue was published the same month as Real Ghostbusters Starring in Ghostbusters II Part 1 and Slimer! Issue #6, placing all three titles on shelves simultaneously in October 1989.
- The Soul Catcher storyline touches on themes of child death and spiritual imprisonment, making it one of the darker standalone stories in the NOW Comics run.
References
- NOW Comics. The Real Ghostbusters Vol. 1 #14. October 1989.
- Ghostbusters Wiki (Fandom). "NOW Comics Vol. 1-14." (plot and credits reference)
